Today on Capitol Hill
the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Environment and the Economy held hearings. The hearing was titled “Modernizing the Business of Environmental
Regulation and Protection.”
Persons
testifying at the included a number of state regulators who explained programs
and efforts to hasten the pace of the regulatory process. Perhaps to shed some
light on the reality that for folks living in Appalachia there exists scant
regulation when it comes to mountaintop removal Representative John Yarmuth
(D-KY) brought in Matt Wasson, the Director of Programs for Appalachian Voices,
to testify as to the large body of science that links mountaintop mining to the
poor health of Appalachians living in proximity to the mines. Here is a short
video of Wasson’s testimony:
Yarmuth is the author
of the Appalachian Communities Health Emergency Act (H.R. 526), which would
halt mountaintop removal until it is determined to be safe by the Director of
Health and Human Services. The science is there, but I doubt if there is any
way his bill could get through Congress. If you want to see the whole hearing,
it is here in a hyperlink sort of way.
