Sen. McConnell calls vote allowing coal companies to pollute drinking water

In early Feb 2017, House Republicans voted to meant to block the stream protection rule meant to protect U.S. waterways from coal mining operations, which the Senate is expected to approve within a week or so.

The new Department of Interior regulations overhauled requirements for coal mining operations in order “to avoid mining practices that permanently pollute streams, destroy drinking water sources, increase flood risk and threaten forests.”

The stream protection rule mandates testing and monitoring of waterways before, during and after mining operations, and requires companies using mountaintop removal mining to restore land to its “previous condition” after operations are finished.

Senate leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, a dyed-in-the-wool Obama Hater and Coal Industry Sycophant, commented on the rule by saying.

• “The stream protection rule is just one example of the former administration’s policies that have jeopardized jobs and taken power away from state and local governments in order to grow the federal bureaucracy.”
• “This regulation, like many others of the Obama era, does not take into account the negative consequences these policies would have on hardworking Americans and the families they support.”

Per Mitch and his coal industry comrades, the decline in miner jobs is the fault of government reg-u-lay shuns. This claim is patently false since the primary reasons for mine closures and the loss of mining jobs is (a) lower prices for natural via fracking, (b) decline in demand from China and (c) competition from renewable energy sources.

The repeal of the “stream protection rule” will not impact on the reasons for mine closures and miner layoffs. Put simply, coal miners are not likely to see any significant increase in job gains in the future.

However, since Republicans have a history of wasting taxpayer funds to reward their constituencies such as farmers (paid to not plant anything), sugar growers (prices of sugar subsidized), and government purchases of various commodities.

In fact, the USDA consistently purchases surplus cheese to assist Dairy Producers due to overproduction and/or lack of demand with the surpluses being dispensed to food banks and Families in Need.

I’m sure a government handout for Diary Producers can be formulated for Coal Mining companies and if so it could be handled accordingly.

• Gov’t purchases all additional coal produced after March 2017 that coal companies are unable to sell on open market
• Natural Gas companies ordered to increase prices to same as coal
• Gov’t will place 50% tax on all coal imported by Atlantic and Gulf Coast utility companies from Latin American countries
• Trump to sign executive order reimbursing all coal companies for losses incurred from 2013 through 2016
• Impose $500 monthly tax on home owners in California and all other “blue states” who’ve converted to solar panels, thereby reducing demand for coal with funds to be paid as bonuses for coal company executives  

What’s more important Mitch, clean drinking water for the citizens of Appalachia and your constituents in Kentucky or profits for Coal Companies? Thought that’s what I thought you’d say Mitch.

Clearly, the overwhelming majority of Americans are much more concerned with saving coal mining jobs and more importantly profits for owners of Coal Mining operations then they are to assure that the air they breathe is clean or the water they drink is safe.

And lastly, does anyone really give a damn how many more victims of “Black Lung Disease” there will be in the future other than the family members of the victims of this deadly disease? You can be assured that Mitch and those of his ilk don’t much give a damn about this issue since all they care about is assuring profit for their coal industry campaign donors.