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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House passed H.R. 2273, the Coal Reuse and Management Act of 2011. Recent rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would create three new regulatory options for management of coal ash and other coal combustion residuals (CCRs), which are the byproducts of coal combustion. Using the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to claim jurisdiction, the EPA’s regulations would designate coal ash as a hazardous waste material. If this occurs, according to a recent study released by the Transportation Builders Association, the cost to build roads, runways, and bridges in the U.S. would increase nearly $5.234 billion per year – and a cost of more than $100 billion over the next 20 years.
“The United States is the Saudi Arabia of coal,” stated Westmoreland. “In fact, nearly 50 percent of our country’s electricity is produced by coal – including the energy that powers the Capitol Building here in Washington DC. So if this country and this Congress are serious about becoming energy independent, coal must play a role in our energy plan. But, unfortunately, the EPA has a political agenda to force Americans to ‘go green,’ whether they like it or not. And even though coal is plentiful in the United States and allows for cheap electricity at a time when Americans are seeing prices rise and incomes fall, since coal isn’t ‘green’ enough for the liberal activists at the EPA, it’s got to go.”
If these stringent new EPA regulations are implemented, the cost of power production would rise and thousands of jobs could be lost. In addition, the cost of goods across the board would increase as American companies’ bottom-lines increased. For that reason, a bipartisan group of Members of Congress introduced H.R 2273. This legislation would facilitate the recovery and use of CCRs and ensure that unused portions are responsibly managed by creating a State-based permit program. This would allow the coal industry to achieve environmental goals without harming American consumers and destroying jobs. Even more importantly, it would give control to the states, taking the power away from the federal government and putting it back where it belongs.
“This bipartisan bill will rein in the activists at the EPA while at the same time protecting American jobs,” stated Westmoreland. “At a time when our economy is sagging and unemployment continues to hover near nine percent, we need to make sure our federal government is working to protect and create jobs – not destroy them. H.R. 2273 is necessary to stop the EPA from destroying American jobs and must be signed into law before their harmful regulations can hurt the American economy.”
The bill was sent to the Senate, but it is uncertain if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will allow the bill to come to the Senate floor for a vote. Congressman Westmoreland strongly encourages him to allow the bill to be voted on as soon as possible.