Ohio bill would take away EPA oversight of water pollution from coal mines

A bill in the Ohio Senate would leave the state's Environmental Protection Agency unable to regulate mining-caused water pollution, instead granting oversight to the state Department of Natural Resources. Environmental activists say the bill is intended to help one mining company.

EPA denied Murray Energy Corp. permits to build a large coal slurry pond in Belmont County because of threats to a nearby creek that houses an endangered species of salamander. But officials say the bill is aimed at speeding up the approval process for mining projects. The bill's sponsor "said the EPA and Natural Resources officials often take years to review coal companies' plans," writes Spencer Hunt of The Columbus Dispatch. "That puts Ohio at risk of losing new mines and jobs to coal states such as West Virginia and Pennsylvania." (Read more)