Democrats Question EPA Authority For New Hardrock Mine Cleanup Office

摘要

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) are asking EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to halt implementation of a new office to oversee cleanup of hardrock mines in the West until House and Senate Appropriations committees can approve the plan, questioning the agency's power to launch the office without Congress' backing. "We remind you that section 426 of Public Law 116-94, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, requires the advance approval by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees prior to the implementation of any Agency reorganizations or reprogrammings of funds," the lawmakers write in their Sept. 2 letter. "This reorganization is a significant departure from how hardrock mining remediation is currently handled at the Agency and therefore must first be evaluated by the Appropriations Committees. McCollum is the chair of the House Appropriations Committee interior panel with oversight of EPA's budget, and Udall is the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee's interior panel overseeing EPA.