National Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn issued the statement below in support of a bill (H.R. 896) introduced in Congress this week by House Transportation & Infrastructure Water and Environment Subcommittee Chair Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio), who in a press statement today said: “The EPA is continuing to overstep their regulatory authority written in the Clean Water Act, negatively affecting businesses and job creators and leaving vast uncertainty. The Regulatory Certainty Act will ensure the EPA follows the law and allows businesses to grow.” His bill would amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and limit the EPA’s authority to pre-emptively or retroactively veto Clean Water Act permits.
Following is NMA President and CEO Hal Quinn’s statement:
“The U.S. mining industry welcomes the clarity provided by Rep. Gibbs’ legislation which addresses serious concerns with EPA’s regulatory overreach under the Clean Water Act (CWA). His legislation clarifies when EPA has the authority to veto or preempt permitting decisions by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under Sec. 404(c), and will ensure that such decisions are made in a fully informed, fair, and transparent manner.
“With EPA continuing to extend its regulatory reach over our nation’s waters and lands, businesses need more durable assurances that their investments will not be perpetually exposed to the agency’s whims. Rep. Gibbs’ legislation draws reasonable bounds around EPA’s authority, and provides job creators the regulatory certainty and due process they deserve.”