The Obama administration has just announced what it says are “immediate actions” being taken by the Interior Department to “strengthen oversight” state strip mine regulators and “to better protect streams affected by surface coal mining operations.”
One of these “immediate actions”?
Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement says it is going to publish an “advance notice of propose rulemaking” to gather views on how it should rewrite the federal stream buffer zone rule.
But wait … we already knew that — and we knew that this move by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar essentially delays any action to overturn the Bush administration’s weakening of the buffer zone rule until at least early 2011.
And, according to this release, the advance notice of proposed rulemaking still hasn’t been published … the news release says it “will be sent to the Federal Register shortly.”
Joseph Pizarchik, the new OSMRE director, said:
We are moving as expeditiously as possible in the rulemaking process, but we will not take shortcuts around the law or the science.
But remember that OSMRE could have simply published a proposed rule for public comments, and would have been able to make changes in the buffer zone rule much sooner.
Interior also announced a “new practice” under which review and approval of SMCRA permits “must be coordinated with reviews and authorizations required under the Clean Water Act.” It’s not really clear what’s new here, but the release says:
States must confirm that mining activities in stream buffer zones will not violate state or federal water quality standards. OSM will work with the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate these permitting processes and ensure effective and coordinated compliance with provisions of the Clean Water Act.
What is new is this: OSM announced
… A number of proposed actions to improve the agency’s effectiveness in overseeing state implementation of their approved surface coal mining regulatory programs.
Under these proposed actions, OSM would, for the first time since coal-producing states assumed responsibility for their regulatory programs, conduct independent inspections of operators with state-issued surface coal mining permits. OSM would also conduct more oversight inspections, place greater emphasis on reducing the off-site impacts of mining, and review more state-issued surface coal mining permits and state permitting processes in an effort to improve state permitting decisions. The new OSM oversight and enforcement policy will also include revised guidelines for conducting oversight inspections.
Pizarchik said:
Through tougher oversight and stronger enforcement of SMCRA, we are putting all hands on deck to ensure that Appalachian communities are protected.
But, here’s what Pizarchik’s immediate boss, Assistant Interior Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Wilma Lewis had to say:
America’s vast coal resources are a vital component of our energy future and our economy, but we have a responsibility to ensure that development is done in a way that protects public health and safety and the environment.
We are moving as quickly as possible under the law to gather public input for a new [buffer zone] rule, based on sound science, that will govern how companies handle fill removed from mountaintop coal seams.
Until we put a new rule in place, we will work to provide certainty to coal operations and the communities that depend on coal for their livelihood, strengthen our oversight and inspections, and work to better protect streams and water quality.
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Ken,
You could have waited until tomorrow to post this.
It’s almost quitting time.
This all looks good on a press release, but actions are what counts. Interior’s intention to conduct independent inspections is really important. Perhaps now regulations will actually be enforced. We also applaud a basis on sound science, something not seen from the previous administration. We’re glad to see some real teeth starting to poke through their gums. But they’re still blasting on Coal River Mountain adjacent to seven billion gallons of toxic coal sludge on top of a hollowed out mountain, endangering a thousand people.
Oh, jeez, will there be anyone left in OSM by 2011 who would recognize a violation and be able to issue it? Are there any violation forms available or does another committee also have to be set up to create those?
This inquiring mind wants to know: It’s taken six months to get to this announcement stage since OSM signed the MOU in June with EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers. So how many years will it take to get these “action” plans and committees up and running?
Aren’t “action,” “plans” and “committees” mutually contradictory, especially in the context of OSM doing effective enforcement?
Reminds me of the old Soviet Russia economic model of 5-year plans to make tractors, raise wheat, make soap, etc. Every 5 years the current leader announced new goals that included all the unmet production targets of the last 5-year plan plus the additional millions needed for population growth. The country fell farther and farther behind and finally imploded.
Laws are meaningless unless those laws are enforced. That has been the problem all along, the laws were not strictly enforced. This has also been the case regarding worker safety as well. Many a good man has lost life, limb and health because an agency turned their head to violations and failed to enforce the law. For now, I have hope in the new head of MSHA.
I hope and pray that this agency, this administration is sincere in that the laws are finally- strictly enforced. The citizens living below, living downstream and the environment desperately need and deserve the protection. Awareness has finally been raised nationally, even out side of the coal producing states. We will be watching.
Unfortunately, whatever comes from this, it will never reverse the well over 400 buffer zone variances that have been granted by DEP in past years.
“OSM would … place greater emphasis on reducing the off-site impacts of mining” If this would mean impacts to the people and communities so greatly impacted, and their wells, and flyrock, and on and on, it would be a breath of fresh air
Bottom line: What good is it to do oversight when nothing gets done with its results?
“It’s the same as it always is every year” said three-decade OSM employee when I asked about the recent annual evaluation report on a state regulatory program.
Very sad.
P.S. Before July 2009, OSM did not even bother to know how many inspectors that it still had — I did the count for them. (Most of its remaining authorized representatives do non-inspection activities.)
Note: I was with OSM from 1978 to 1995 after having been a state reclamation inspector since 1975.
I have waded through the material and this is my take on it:
http://groups.google.com/group/bob-mooney/web/osm-improvement-actions
Insofar as the MTR MOU: the principals are meeting at CEQ today and they are to have a revised summary of the Pittsburgh summit.
Related:
This is an MOU that was signed in February 2005. It was part of the discussion in the Pittsburgh summit, as well as, the streamlined permitting processes already being used by the Sates of Ohio and Virginia.
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
AMONG THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS,
THE U.S. OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING,
THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, AND
THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING CONCURRENT AND COORDINATED
REVIEW AND PROCESSING OF SURFACE COAL MINING APPLICATIONS PROPOSING PLACEMENT OF DREDGED AND/OR FILL MATERIAL
IN WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES
http://groups.google.com/group/bob-mooney/web/404%20permitting%20MOU.10feb05.pdf
I wouldnt put too much faith in this press release. This president will be a historical foot note in 3 years.
Keep telling yourself that, Scott.
More bull than a western rodeo. The “green” administration is turning a distinct brown. Obama’s own “Kenny Boy” is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and never met a coal, oil or gas company he does not like. OSM/EPA oversight is a bad dream come true.
[...] their budget and staffing, trying to figure out if they have the resources needed to implement the reforms in oversight of state programs that were recently announced, or whether they need to ask for more money from the White House and [...]