SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES
Kanawha County Courthouse, Historical Courtroom 4
407 Virginia Street East, Charleston, West Virginia
Monday, September 26, 2011
9:00 a.m. Eastern Time

• Official hearing transcript
• Press Release - Jobs, Local Economies and Livelihoods Threatened by Obama Administration’s Onerous Coal Mining Regulations (9/26/2011)

OVERSIGHT FIELD HEARING ON:

• "Jobs at Risk: Community Impacts of the Obama Administration’s Effort to Rewrite the Stream Buffer Zone Rule"

Watch the Archived Hearing Webcast:

OPENING STATEMENTS:

The Honorable Doug Lamborn
Chairman

The Honorable Bill Johnson
Subcommittee Member

The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito, WV-02
Member of Congress

WITNESSES AND TESTIMONY:

Panel I

The Honorable Earl Ray Tomblin
Governor
West Virginia

Panel II

Thomas L. Clarke
Director
WV Division of Mining and Reclamation
Dept. of Environmental Protection

Bradley C. Lambert
Deputy Director
VA Department of Mines, Minerals & Energy

John Corra
Director
WY Dept. of Environmental Quality

Panel III

Roger Horton
West Virginia Co-Chair
Mountaintop Mining Coalition
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Michael Carey
President
Ohio Coal Association
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Jason Bostic
West Virginia Coal Association
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Katharine Fredriksen
Senior Vice President
Environmental & Regulatory Affairs
CONSOL Energy, Inc.
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Bo Webb
Fmr. President/ Current Member
Coal River Mountain Watch
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Maria Gunnoe
Community Organizer
(Truth in Testimony Form)

BACKGROUND:

This field hearing is part of the Committee’s investigation into the Obama Administration’s Office of Surface Mining’s (OSM) re-write of the revised Stream Buffer Zone Rule issued in December of 2008. The new rule would make significant changes to the Nation’s coal mining regulatory program established by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). America’s vast coal resources support U.S. job creation, economic growth and affordable American energy. While the coal mining industry is one of the few sectors of the economy to add jobs over the past few years, the Obama Administration’s proposed “Stream Buffer Zone” rule and other burdensome regulations threaten the jobs of thousands of hardworking coalminers and tens of thousands of jobs associated with the industry. A recent CRS report found that the U.S. has the world’s largest coal supply with 261 billion short tons—88 billion short tons more than Russia, the country with the second largest reserve. The hearing will be held in Charleston, West Virginia.

Other Hearings in the Series:

• Hearing - Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Oversight Hearing on "Jobs at Risk: Waste and Mismanagement by the Obama Administration in Rewriting the Stream Buffer Zone Rule" on Friday, November 4, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. in 1324 Longworth House Office Building.