Published: December 27, 2016 |

Usibelli Coal Mine and Alaska’s congressional delegation are taking strong stances against the Final Stream Protection Rule, which the Department of the Interior published Dec. 19.

Alaska’s U.S. Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski also have spoken against the new rule. 

The Department of the Interior’s Final Stream Protection Rule updated 33-year-old regulations of the establish “clear requirements for responsible surface coal mining that will protect 6,000 miles of streams and 52,000 acres of forests,” according to a DOI news release. The new rules are scheduled to go into effect Jan. 18.

Included in the Final Stream Protection Rule is a definition of “‘material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area’ for the first time,” according to the DOI’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

Lorali Simon, a Usibelli mine spokeswoman, said the update to the stream protection rule takes a “one size fits all” approach to mining, and does not consider Alaska’s geology, permafrost and ecology. 

“Back in 1977, Congress originally passed the Surface Mining Control and Regulation Act. There’s a section (708) that specifically talks about why Alaska is unique and must be considered separately,” Simon said. “This rule completely robs the states of their regional discretion. We have argued this (Final Stream Protection Rule) is a rewriting of SMRCA. This is a way of not going through Congress.”

UCM President and CEO Joe Usibelli Jr. said in a news release he has spoken about enacting a Congressional Review Act to disapprove the Final Stream Protection Rule with Sens. Murkowski and Sullivan as well as Rep. Don Young.

“We’re pretty confident that Congress will move on a review act. Of course our congressional delegation is supportive,” Simon said. 

“This rule creates a blanket national regulation that will seriously limit the availability of energy to power the lights and heat our homes in Interior Alaska and other regions across the country,” Sullivan said in a written statement. “I hope that my colleagues in Congress and the incoming administration can work swiftly to kill this last gasp of bureaucratic overreach. We need to reduce and modernize regulatory requirements, not create a maze of duplicative, conflicting, and industry-killing regulations.”

In a written statement, Murkowski said, “This rule was written behind closed doors, ignores nearly all input from state regulators and is specifically intended to put coal miners out of work. I can assure Alaskans that Congress will work to overturn this rule, and we will urge the new administration to follow the law as it considers next steps.”

“The fact that the Obama administration’s own calculations praise the expected annual loss of coal mining jobs while increasing bureaucratic jobs for additional regulators shows an absolute disconnect with the reality of a productive economy,” Usibelli said in a written statement.

The Usibelli Coal Mine is Alaska’s only coal operation, employing 115 people. It provides coal for six Interior power plants.

Source: (December 23, 2016) Newsminer.com

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