Capito, McConnell introduce senate resolution to overturn Obama’s Stream Protection Rule
U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) introduced this week a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn Obama’s Stream Protection Rule.
The Stream Protection Rule, issued during the last weeks of Obama’s presidency, requires coal developers to test and monitor the quality of waterways that could be affected by mining operations.
According to Capito, the rule would not only make coal more expensive to mine and use, but the Department of Interior (DOI) did not consult with states on developing the rule.
“The Stream Protection Rule is the latest in a series of overreaching and misguided Obama-era regulations that have targeted America’s coal industry,” Capito said. “If this rule was allowed to stay in place, it would add to the economic devastation for people in coal communities. Together with Leader McConnell and my congressional colleagues, I look forward to nullifying this harmful rule that is bad for jobs, families and businesses, especially in energy producing states like West Virginia.”
Companion legislation was also introduced in the House of Representatives. Once the House takes action, the Senate will take up the measure.
“Put into place by the Obama Administration at the 11th hour, the ‘stream buffer’ rule is a harmful regulation that unfairly targets coal jobs,” McConnell said. “It is just one example of the former administration’s policies that have jeopardized jobs and taken power away from state and local governments in order to grow the federal bureaucracy. Further, this regulation, like many others of the Obama era does not take into account the negative consequences these policies would have on hardworking Americans and the families they support.”