A Pennsylvania proposal allowing coal mining to damage streams so long as a repair plan is in place has opponents gearing up for a fight at the federal level. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement published a notice in the Federal Register this week for a change to Pennsylvania's regulatory program for coal mining. States are the primary regulators under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), but OSMRE enforces a federal baseline standard for coal pollution and reclamation. The public has until April 11 to comment on a regulatory update passed into law by Pennsylvania's Republican-controlled Legislature last year without the signature of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf. Longwall mining has come to dominate coal production in southwestern Pennsylvania, the state's last major coal region. Unlike other, less-efficient forms of underground mining, longwall production does not leave behind roof supports, often leading to sinking ground above.
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