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View Full Version : Pruitt acts to yield some EPA power over mining, development




Swordsmyth
06-27-2018, 10:34 PM
Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt is proposing surrendering some of his agency's veto power over waste discharges near waterways by mining and development.In a memo released Wednesday by the EPA, Pruitt directs the agency to study renouncing part of its authority under the half-century-old Clean Water Act to veto permits that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or states grant to allow dumping waste into waterways.
Pruitt's proposal would eliminate his agency's authority to exercise its veto before permits are applied for or after the Corps or states approve them.


His memo cites an Obama-era action by the EPA, when the agency signaled that it might object to some dumping of mine waste for a proposed gold and copper mine in Alaska. Conservationists, Alaska Native tribes and fishing groups say the still-pending Pebble Mine could harm one of the country's top salmon fisheries and valuable wetlands.
"The mere potential" of an EPA veto "before or after the permitting process could influence investment decisions and chill economic growth," Pruitt wrote.
The Trump administration says it wants to invigorate the country's mine industry, including by opening up more land to development.
Pruitt's proposal also would require the agency's regional offices to seek approval from headquarters before moving to veto a permit, and it directs the agency to consider a final environmental report by the Corps or a state, and seek public comment, before deciding on any veto.

More at: https://www.chieftain.com/news/pruitt-acts-to-yield-some-epa-power-over-mining-development/article_d748980a-8c57-5253-b0fa-c6060c53c8d3.html