Coal Tattoo

Rahall to move coal-ash legislation

The coal-ash news just doesn’t stop.

rahall_photo.jpgThe House Natural Resources Committee has scheduled a “markup” on Wednesday for Chairman Nick J. Rahall’s bill to regulate coal-ash impoundments under the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act.

(In case you’re not a congressional staffer, a markup refers to the meeting of a committee to review the text of a bill before reporting it out. Committee members offer and vote on proposed changes to the bill’s language, known as amendments. Most markups end with a vote to send the new version of the bill to the floor for final approval).

Rahall’s legislation, HR 493, would require the Department of Interior to issue regulations that force coal-ash impoundments to meet standards “substantially similar” to those required for other coal-waste dams under SMCRA.

For more background, see previous Coal Tattoo posts here, here and here. Text of the testimony presented at a committee hearing on the legislation is available here, or you can watch video of the Feb. 12 hearing here.