Bush's Worst Midnight Regulation Yet

Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet at 4:00 AM on December 4, 2008.

There are great running lists of all Bush's midnight regulations as he secures his infamous place as the "worst president ever" in our country's annals. Apparently not satisfied with nearly eight years of environmental rollbacks, deregulation, and blatant disregard for air, water, and climate, his latest midnight regulation may be one of the worst environmental assaults yet.

The Washington Post confirmed today that a ruling was approved to make it easier for coal companies to dump the rock and dirt waste that is blown off the tops of mountains in "mountaintop removal" (or MTR) coal mining into streams and valleys:

The rule is one of the most contentious of all the regulations emerging from the White House in President Bush's last weeks in office ...

A coalition of environmental groups said the rule would accelerate "the destruction of mountains, forests and streams throughout Appalachia."

Edward C. Hopkins, a policy analyst at the Sierra Club, said: "The E.P.A.'s own scientists have concluded that dumping mining waste into streams devastates downstream water quality. By signing off on this rule, the agency has abdicated its responsibility."

MTR has been devastating to the ecosystems and communities of Appalachia and this latest ruling further threatens surface and groundwater water.

But the people of Appalachia are not going to take this one lying down and neither should the rest of us. We've got a new president coming in who once vowed, "We have to find more environmentally sound ways of mining coal than simply blowing the tops off mountains." So let's hold him accountable.

We can begin with four recommendations from iLoveMountains.org:

1. Reverse the Bush Mine Waste Giveaway: On his first day in office, Obama should reverse the lame-duck Bush administration rules that have allowed Big Coal to dump toxic mine waste into streams and rivers.

2. Enforce Existing Laws: For eight years, the Bush administration has refused to enforce the Clean Water Act and other environmental rules, allowing Big Coal to ignore our nation's laws with few if any consequences. Obama should demand that these and other rules be enforced, and hold the EPA, Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement, and the Army Corps of Engineers responsible.

3. Prioritize Appalachia in America's Clean Energy Future: The mountaintops of Appalachia provide a valuable wind energy resource -- a resource that is severely impacted or destroyed by mountaintop removal coal mining. Obama should mandate Environmental Impact Assessments and economic analyses as part of his New Energy for America Plan. With finite declining coal reserves and jobs, Obama needs to ensure Appalachia receives attention and support in the Administration's new energy plan -- which includes a $150 billion dollar investment in green, union jobs.

4. Tell Congress to Pass the Clean Water Protection Act: The Clean Water Protection Act would prevent future administrations from gutting the Clean Water Act through executive action, and it would permanently protect clean drinking water for many of our nation's cities. Obama should tell Congress to pass the Clean Water Protection Act and deliver it to his desk for his signature within the first 100 days.

Tagged as: coal, coal mining, mtr

Tara Lohan is a managing editor at AlterNet.