Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., today re-emphasized her economic concerns surrounding the latest announcement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that 79 Appalachian region mining permits have been officially singled out for further delay. The EPA announced today that it has finalized its list of area mining permits that will demand “additional review and coordination.”“Today’s announcement is yet another blow to miners throughout Appalachia who continue to seek certainty from the EPA when it comes to mines across our state,” said Capito, who has argued that the EPA’s ambiguity surrounding permitting standards jeopardizes jobs and economic growth throughout the state.
In its June announcement, the EPA identified more than 100 permits as potentially needing further review. Some of those permits were then withdrawn and others were dismissed for administrative errors. This left the 79 permits that the EPA has now officially determined must receive additional review.
“We’ve seen a slow-bleed of coal jobs throughout the state and announcements like this certainly don’t offer much hope for turning around that trend,” said Capito. “We will continue to see a backlog of permits that threatens to choke off investment and jeopardize jobs throughout the region.”
Capito noted that as of today’s announcement there remains no binding deadline for resolving the outstanding permits and that considerable uncertainty remains about the EPA’s criteria for evaluating potential mine sites.
“Miners can’t meet a standard that has yet to be clearly identified,” she said. “There has to be an endgame. Yet, right now all we have is further review.”
Twenty three of the 79 permits referenced in today’s announcement are located in West Virginia.
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