Rogers Response to Mingo Logan Coal V. EPA Court Decision

Press Release

In response to today's District Court for the District of Columbia decision in Mingo Logan Coal v. EPA, Congressman Harold "Hal" Rogers issued the following statement:

"Since he took office, President Obama's Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has been running roughshod over our coal communities. Last October and twice this week, the EPA has struck out in federal courts. Today's landmark decision in the Spruce Mine case is a huge victory for coal country and speaks to the very heart of our concerns that President Obama's EPA is out of touch, out of control, and out of bounds. The arrogance of EPA officials of retroactively repealing legal permits has created total uncertainty for miners and mine families and I am pleased to see the court rule in favor of common sense and due process. In the last three years, dozens of mine permits have been held up in regulatory limbo, coal jobs scrapped, and miners given pink slips because this agency is trying to put coal out of business. Today's decision makes Administrator Lisa Jackson 0 for 3. For our country's national and economic security, the war on coal must end and our people must be put back to work."

Last year, the EPA took a wholly unprecedented action by vetoing a long-standing mining permit in Logan County, West Virginia, at Spruce Mine. The permit had been issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2007 after a comprehensive, 13-year, 1600-page environmental review by state and federal agencies, including the EPA. The mining operation provides 250 miners with long-term employment opportunities, and creates 300 more indirect jobs throughout the community. Revoking this permit would have eliminated a $250 million investment in a county with uncharacteristically high unemployment. Today, the court found that EPA exceeded its statutory authority and that the Spruce Mine's permit remains valid. More specifically, the court found that the EPA does not have the authority to retroactively veto a permit already issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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