Congressman Alex Mooney introduced H.R. 1644, the STREAM Act, which seeks to to prevent implementation of a new stream buffer zone rule last week in an attempt to further protect the state’s coal miners.
“West Virginia is blessed to be abundant in natural resources. Unfortunately, the President is intent on destroying coal as a domestic energy source,” Mooney said in a statement. “In order to preempt the President from opening a new front in the War on Coal, I submitted the ‘STREAM Act’ this week. The bill would prevent the administration from implementing a new stream buffer zone rule intentionally designed to shut down all surface mining and a significant section of underground mining in the Appalachian region.”
“According to industry estimates, the expected rule from OSM would shutter tens of thousands of jobs in West Virginia and hundreds of thousands nationwide. The impact of such a serious hit to the coal industry would also have the effect of increasing home-energy prices for hardworking taxpayers. This bill protects the ability of Americans to seek prosperity from our nation’s natural bounty and is good policy for our families.”
Mooney said the bill’s introduction will protect the thousands of West Virginians employed by the coal industry.
Citing the 2014 Coal Facts Report from the West Virginia Coal Association, Mooney said 6,970 people or about 36 percent of all West Virginians directly employed in coal mining work live in counties adjacent to Charleston.
The STREAM Act was introduced on Thursday of last week. Mooney expects it to move successfully through the Natural Resources Committee, of which he is a member.
Compiled by Joel Ebert