On the 21st, the Republicans voted to repeal the Stream Protection Rule. This rule was designed to protect our waters from the runoff created from coal mines.
To the Republicans, it was stifling jobs, and with no concern about our water supply they voted to repeal it.
If you do a little reading, you can see that the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement actually concluded that it would result in a net employment GAIN of 156 full time jobs.
So why repeal it? Bottom line, it was costing the coal industry money, so they paid the senators on this list, vs paying money to protect our water.
Here is the role call from that vote. If the senators are from your state, please make a note of them and vote them out.
Senate Roll Call – Repeal Stream Protection Act
Here is the actual rule, so you can read it.
Stream Protection Rule
And a recent report about it’s effectiveness. An excerpt: “Despite the higher compliance cost forecast, OSM estimates that
employment impacts will be minimal: coal employment will be reduced by 124 coal jobs on average each year due to decreased coal mined, while an additional 280 jobs will be created from increased compliance activity on average each year, for a net employment gain of 156 fulltime equivalents.”
The Office of Surface Mining’s Stream Protection Rule: An Overview
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