Loosening Environmental Restrictions for Coal-Mining Companies (H.R. 2824)

What is H.R. 2824?

(Updated January 31, 2017)

When a mountaintop gets bulldozed to extract coal, those bulldozers have to do something with all that rock. That rock is called the “spoil”. Without environmental protections in place, coal mining companies dump the spoil wherever, often burying streams and affording at least the possibility of nasty things leeching into groundwater. A 1983 rule established a buffer zone for streams. The Bush Administration did away with this rule in late 2008. The Obama Administration re-established a safe buffer zone for streams. This bill challenges that buffer zone. 

Argument in favor

New coal mining regulation would cost thousands of jobs and hurt job growth in at least 22 states, including historically poor states like West Virginia and Kentucky.

Argument opposed

Water pollution from coal contaminates groundwater, rivers and streams with heavy metals, mercury, and other toxins and pollutants. Moutaintop removal mining has already buried at least 2,000 miles of streams, according to the EPA.

Impact

If enacted, the bill would loosen restrictions on the coal mining industry, theoretically affecting its profits, coal-mining jobs, and the ecosystems in which the coal-mining industry functions.

Cost of H.R. 2824

The CBO estimates no significant impact on the federal budget.

Additional Info