9. MINING: Pallone reintroduces bill to curtail mountaintop removal waste (04/07/2011)

Manuel Quinones, E&E reporter

A group of lawmakers led by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) have reintroduced legislation they say will protect the environment from mountaintop removal mining.

The controversial practice involves blasting mountaintops to remove the surface, known as overburden, to access the coal below. Debris is then dumped into nearby valleys as fill, often covering waterways. The Pallone legislation would amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify that fill material cannot be comprised of waste.

"By restoring the Clean Water Act to its original intent and redefining fill material, we'll be able to keep toxic mining waste out of our nation's streams," Pallone said in a statement.

The legislation is a response to a 2002 George W. Bush administration rule altering the meaning of fill material and giving mining companies more leeway in dumping debris. Environmentalists, who would prefer an outright ban on mountaintop removal mining, are welcoming Pallone's renewed effort, especially when the Obama administration seems to be delaying its own plan to rework the Bush-era fill rule (Greenwire, Feb. 25).

Joan Mulhern, senior legislative counsel for Earthjustice, said the legislation would go a long way in curtailing "the waste disposal practices of mountaintop removal, the valley fills."

But in a statement opposing the legislation, the National Mining Association said it "would result in the loss of thousands of U.S. mining jobs as well as thousands of jobs in other economic sectors throughout the economy."

Industry advocates have said valley fills are an essential aspect of surface coal mining. And despite Pallone's assurances, they say the legislation will have negative effects on other industries beyond mining.

"This is not merely a ban on mountaintop mining, which is egregious on its own, it would also ban countless other economic activities beyond mining activities that provide jobs and an economic future for millions of Americans," the NMA statement said.

The legislation has failed several times despite attracting a significant number of co-sponsors -- 172 in the last Congress. It is also bipartisan, with Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) as a lead supporter. But with the House GOP leadership hostile to new environmental rules and coal boosters from both parties committed to protecting jobs back home, the legislation's prospects are uncertain at best.

"I remain committed to passing this legislation, which will alleviate the wide array of human health issues directly correlated with mountaintop removal coal mining," Pallone said.