EPA Defends Authority To Create Mining Office Amid Potential Legal Limits

摘要

EPA is defending its authority to create a new western office aimed at speeding cleanups of former hardrock mining sites from Democrats' criticism that it lacks merit, while observers claim the office will likely face limits due to long-running obstacles rooted in legal liabilities under waste and water laws that have impeded such cleanups. An EPA spokeswoman says that the agency "notified Congress" of the plan to create the Office of Mountains, Deserts and Plains (OMDP) against attacks from some Democratic lawmakers. "It's unfortunate Democratic committee leadership doesn't support finding solutions to longstanding western-lands cross-cutting issues and expediting the remediation of abandoned mine lands across the country," the spokeswoman says. But Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) in a statement to Inside EPA says, "[G]iven this administration's terrible environmental record, I am skeptical that environmental cleanup is their top priority here."