Senate reverses US law protecting water from mining pollution
The US Senate voted to reverse the Stream Protection Rule, a regulation introduced in the last days of the Obama Administration that guards the country’s waterways from pollution by debris generated by surface mining. The rule, which would have rendered mountaintop removal uneconomical, had been expected to protect 6,000 miles of streams and 52,000 acres of forest. The Senate also began attempts to reverse a disclosure rule, designed to counter bribery and benefit developing countries, under which publicly-traded gas, mineral and oil firms were required to disclose any payments to foreign governments for licences and permits.

Republicans on Thursday took one of their first steps to officially dismantle Obama-era environmental regulations by easing restrictions on coal mining, bolstering an industry that President Trump has made a symbol of America’s neglected heartland.

Using an obscure law that allows Congress to review regulations before they take effect, the Senate voted to reverse the Stream Protection Rule, which seeks to protect the nation’s waterways from debris generated by a practice called surface mining. The Interior Department had said the rule would protect 6,000 miles of streams and 52,000 acres of forests by keeping coal mining debris away from nearby waters.

The Senate vote was 54 to 45, following a House vote for repeal on Wednesday.

“Make no mistake about it, this Obama administration rule is not designed to protect streams,” Representative Bill Johnson, a Republican from Ohio who sponsored the move to reverse the rule, said on Wednesday. “Instead, it was an effort to regulate the coal mining industry right out of business.”

The Senate also moved to reverse a separate rule requiring publicly traded oil, gas and mineral companies to disclose payments to foreign governments for licenses or permits. The disclosure rule was aimed at curbing bribery and at helping resource-rich developing countries hold fossil-fuel companies, and their governments, accountable.