Completing a two-week legislative sprint by Republicans, President Trump signed a resolution that repeals a stream-protection rule issued by the Obama administration to restrict pollution near streams and require more restoration of riparian land. “By eliminating this rule, I am continuing to keep my promise to get rid of wasteful regulations that do nothing, absolutely nothing, but slow down the economy, hamstring companies, push jobs to other countries, which is happening all over although I must say we’ve stopped it,” said Trump during a ceremony at the White House.
More than two dozen lawmakers and coal company officials were invited to the Roosevelt Room to watch Trump sign the repeal, made possible by a law that allows Congress to overturn federal regulations before they take effect. Coal companies said complying with the regulation would be costly while some ranchers and farmers said the rule would protect water purity for their operations.
The rule would have applied to an estimated 6,000 miles of streams.
“Everything you’ve done for our industry is much appreciated,” said Micheal Nelson, general superintendent of the Marion County Coal Company in West Virginia, to Trump at the White House. “This is an exciting time in our industry.”
The League of Conservation Voters said Trump “handed Big Polluters a free pass to dump their dangerous pollution into our drinking water.” Montana rancher Steve Charter said “agriculture depends on good water … Coal mining done wrong can destroy land and water.”
To read a longer Ag Insider story about the controversy over the stream-protection rule, click here.