Cramer: Federal Regulators Have No Answer For Need For Devastating Mining Rule

Press Release

Congressman Kevin Cramer told Department of Interior officials touring the Freedom Mine today that he questioned their sincerity in developing the new proposed Stream Protection Rule that will be released this year. The rule imposes more and stricter regulations on all coal mining and creates a nationwide standard for enforcement that does not take into account the varying geographical characteristics of different regions of the country.

Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Janice Schneider led the tour of Office of Surface Mining (OSM) staff in the tour today, which was also attended by Senators John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp and North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Randy Christmann.co

"OSM is writing a rule for the coal mines in the east that is being applied across the nation," said Cramer. When asked what the problem is they are trying to fix, Schneider said she couldn't answer that question.

Cramer said as it is written the new proposed rule will be devastating to North Dakota's lignite mining industry. "To me this is another attack by the Obama Administration's war on coal that seeks to put all coal mines out of business. When this Administration isn't creating solutions in search of problems, it is apparently destroying private industry solely for political objectives. It's a sad day for our Republic when a senior official within the Department of Interior can't (or maybe won't) explain the purpose of such an important rule, promulgating fundamental changes to how we mine coal in North Dakota. They are also completely ignoring a generation of institutional knowledge gained by the North Dakota Public Service Commission, needlessly harming jobs, capital and our economy."

Cramer sent a letter last week requesting Interior officials provide North Dakota stakeholders all technical reports, data, analyses, comments received and drafts relative to environmental reviews, and draft and final environmental impact statements. It also instructs them to meet with relevant North Dakota stakeholders to further discuss the impacts of this new rule on the state's mining industry, pursuant to report language within the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, signed into law by President Obama last December.

"It is clear that Office of Surface Mining (OSM) officials did not take the hydrologic and geologic conditions of North Dakota into account when drafting these new stream protection rules," said Cramer. "Our unique characteristics specific to North Dakota's geography and lignite mining practices deserve to be better understood before this proposed rule is finalized."

Cramer was a North Dakota Public Service Commissioner for 10 years prior to being elected to Congress in 2012, managing the State Primacy Surface Mine Coal Reclamation Act portfolio during his tenure. "I know firsthand how new federal rules can disrupt a state's commerce and industry when they don't take into account the unique characteristics of an area," Cramer said. "It doesn't appear to me that OSM officials drafting this rule have complied with the language the House inserted in the Appropriations bill. As it is written it places undue burdens and expense on coal miners. Instead of addressing environmental issues with "a one-size-fits-all regulation,' I believe these concerns are more efficiently addressed by the states and policed by the industry."

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