Yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) correctly determined that requirements on the hardrock mining industry for demonstrating financial responsibility under section 108(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) are unwarranted. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement:

“This is just good policy. States already have innovative, robust regulations to ensure the highest level of environmental protection and reclamation. I commend the EPA for recognizing that mining is vital to rural economies and altering course on this devastating policy. We are already too reliant on foreign nations for minerals that are buried in our backyard. It’s about time we incentivize self-sufficiency and acknowledge existing rigorous federal and state environmental laws.”

Background

In February 2017, Chairman Bishop and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) sent a letter to EPA Acting Administrator Catherine McCabe requesting a deadline extension to the proposed financial requirements under CERCLA section 108(b). 

Chairman Bishop and Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton also wrote EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy in August 2016 detailing their concerns about the increased costs, duplicative regulations and lack of stakeholder input during the development of the rule.