President Trump on Thursday signed legislation ending a key Obama administration coal mining rule.
The
bill quashes the Office of Surface Mining's Stream Protection Rule, a
regulation to protect waterways from coal mining waste that officials
finalized in December.
The legislation is the second Trump
has signed into law ending an Obama-era environmental regulation. On
Tuesday, he signed a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution undoing a
financial disclosure requirement for energy companies.
Both
the mining and financial disclosure bills are the tip of a GOP push to
undo a slate of regulations instituted in the closing days of the Obama
administration. The House has passed several CRA resolutions, and the
Senate has so far sent three of them to President Trump for his
signature.
Regulators finalized the stream protection rule in December, but they spent most of Obama’s tenure writing it.
The
rule is among the most controversial environment regulations the former
administration put together. The coal mining industry said it would be
costly to implement and lead to job losses across the sector, which is
already suffering from a market-driven downturn in demand for its
product.
At the signing, Trump called the regulation
"another terrible job killing rule" and said ending it would save "many
thousands American jobs, especially in the mines, which, I have been
promising you — the mines are a big deal."
"This is a major threat to your jobs and we’re going to get rid of this threat," he added. "We’re going to fight for you."
Republicans
on Congress, especially from Appalachia, supported that argument and
sought to block the rule several times before finally passing the CRA
resolution this month.
“In my home state of Kentucky and
others across the nation, the stream buffer rule will cause major damage
to communities and threaten coal jobs,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell (R-Ky.) said before the bill passed. “We should heed their
call now and begin bringing relief to coal country.”
Environmentalists
supported the administration rule, saying it would protect waterways
from pollution and preserve public health. They have criticized the GOP
for repealing environmental rules in the name of supporting coal mining
jobs, but doing little else to help displaced workers in mining areas.
“If
you want to help miners, then come address their health and safety and
their pension program,” Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the ranking
member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said during floor
debate on the measure.
“You can protect the coal industry
here with special interests and the amount of lobbying they do, or you
can step up in a process and have a regulation that works for the United
States of America so the outdoor industry and sportsman and fishermen
can continue to thrive.”
The Senate this week sent Trump a
CRA resolution blocking a gun sales regulation. Members could soon take
up a measure undoing a methane rule for natural gas drilling operations
on public land.
