The U.S. House of Representatives is staying busy this summer, moving all kinds of legislation that reflects the views of its new Republican majority. The Rural Blog has reported relatively little of it because it hasn't come to a floor vote and most of it is probably doomed in the Democratic-controlled Senate. But now things are starting to get more real.
The latest example is the delay of a bill that would restrict the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate the disposal, often rural, of ash from coal-fired power plants. The Energy and Commerce Committee was scheduled to pass it today, but the chairman, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., said he would wait until after the July 4 recess in the hope that it can "get much stronger bipartisan support," reports Manuel Quinones of Greenwire, a service of Environment & Energy News.
Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., chairman of the panel's Environment and Economy Subcommittee, "appeared skeptical about the prospect of drawing significant Democratic support for the bill, but said it was worth the effort," Quinones writes. The measure would let states "oversee their own coal ash disposal oversight programs as long as they follow minimum federal guidelines. But many Democrats have expressed concerns with the approach." (Read more; subscription required)
Yesterday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee "approved a fast-tracked bill that would shift regulatory powers over water, wetlands and mountaintop-mining regulation from U.S. EPA to the states," Paul Quinlan of Greenwire reports. The vote was 35-19, with only four Democrats voting for it, so its prospects in the Senate are very chancy. EPA said the bill would keep it from protecting water quality and public health. (Read more, via The New York Times, which carries some Greenwire stories)
The latest example is the delay of a bill that would restrict the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate the disposal, often rural, of ash from coal-fired power plants. The Energy and Commerce Committee was scheduled to pass it today, but the chairman, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., said he would wait until after the July 4 recess in the hope that it can "get much stronger bipartisan support," reports Manuel Quinones of Greenwire, a service of Environment & Energy News.
Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., chairman of the panel's Environment and Economy Subcommittee, "appeared skeptical about the prospect of drawing significant Democratic support for the bill, but said it was worth the effort," Quinones writes. The measure would let states "oversee their own coal ash disposal oversight programs as long as they follow minimum federal guidelines. But many Democrats have expressed concerns with the approach." (Read more; subscription required)
Yesterday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee "approved a fast-tracked bill that would shift regulatory powers over water, wetlands and mountaintop-mining regulation from U.S. EPA to the states," Paul Quinlan of Greenwire reports. The vote was 35-19, with only four Democrats voting for it, so its prospects in the Senate are very chancy. EPA said the bill would keep it from protecting water quality and public health. (Read more, via The New York Times, which carries some Greenwire stories)
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