The Bush administration and the EPA agreed to the decision

Dec 4, 2008 00:01 GMT  ·  By

The Bush administration seems to thoroughly lack common sense in its decision-making process, as evidenced by the fact that, in the last few weeks, more environment-damaging bills were passed than during the entire duration of its office. The latest proposal, which was already accepted by the Environmental Protection Agency, allows mining companies to simply throw away debris resulted from mountaintop operations into the surrounding valleys and streams, with absolute disregard to the environmental impact they cause.

No matter how you put it, or, better said, sugar-coat it, there is no way throwing mud and chemicals in streams does not affect them and the environment. While the EPA continues to claim that the decision it approved is sustainable and “well-thought,” everyone knows that this is just dust in the eyes. The Agency is simply trying to find plausible explanations for the fire sale the Bush administration is currently in the midst of, giving away free presents to the fossil fuel industry. And no wonder – this measure has been on Dick Cheney's to-do list since 2001.

 

Though Bush vouched that he would cooperate with president-elect Barack Obama to ensure a smooth transition, he seems more inclined to heed industry lobbyists than the future leader of the United States. Moreover, Obama has already announced that he firmly opposes these measures. The bill also encountered opposition in Congress, where key figures, Republican and Democrats alike, expressed their thorough dissatisfaction with the plan.

 

“With less than two months left in power, the Bush administration is determined to cement its legacy as having the worst environmental record in history,” says Earthjustice lawyer, Joan M. Mulhern. “This is unmistakably a fire sale of epic size for coal and the entire fossil fuel industry, with flagrant disregard for human health, the environment or the rule of law,” adds Vickie Patton, deputy general counsel of the Environmental Defense Fund, an environmental organization.

 

“This rule strengthens protections for streams. Federal law allows coal mine waste to be placed in streams, and the rule tightens restrictions as to when, where and how those discharges can occur,” argues Interior Department spokesman, Peter L. Mali, from the office that wrote the regulation. Most likely, his “reports” do not include a scientific report elaborated by sane researchers, otherwise there is no logical explanation for these actions.

 

The legislation has already been passed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, which means that it can now be published in the Federal Register, which is the last step towards it becoming official.

 

In conclusion, Edward C. Hopkins, Sierra Club policy analyst, says, “The EPA’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.”