Congressional Subcommittee Meets In Charleston

• {West Virginia}...A congressional subcommittee of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee met Monday in Charleston to discuss a proposed Stream Buffer Zone rule. The hearing, “Jobs at Risk: Community Impacts of the Obama Administration’s Effort to Require the Stream Buffer Zone Rule,” included several congressional representatives along with testimony from about 12 people representing the coal industry, mine workers, state environmental protection agencies and coal opponents. Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin were among the witnesses. Both West Virginia Democrats fault the Obama administration for what they consider an ill-advised, unrealistic and aggressive approach to environmental oversight. They say this approach threatens jobs and West Virginia's economy. The Stream Buffer Zone Rule was rewritten in 2008, and the Obama Administration’s Office of Surface Mining, which is currently working to rewrite it again, has expanded the rule to other portions of mining regulation, such as underground coal mines. The proposal aims to keep rock, dirt and other mining debris away from mountain streams.