Jenkins bill would roll back administration’s final Stream Buffer Zone Rule

A measure introduced by U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-WV) on Tuesday would force a congressional vote on the Obama administration’s final Stream Buffer Zone Rule impacting coal mining operations.

Jenkins introduced a joint resolution of congressional disapproval that would require a simple majority vote from each chamber of Congress on the Stream Buffer Zone Rule.

The final regulations are aimed at preventing or minimizing the impact to surface water and groundwater from coal mining. The rule would require companies to avoid mining practices that permanently pollute streams or drinking water.

“This rule is President Obama’s final chapter in his anti-coal legacy, a legacy that has cost West Virginia thousands of jobs and decimated our state’s economy,” Jenkins said. “I am taking swift action to stop this rule and this president’s anti-coal agenda. I urge my colleagues to join me in saying no to this president — no more overregulation, no more lost jobs and no more policies that put West Virginians out of work.”

Under Jenkins’ joint resolution of congressional disapproval, Congress would be able to consider and vote to overturn the Stream Buffer Zone Rule while ensuring that similar rules cannot be issued by agencies unless Congress authorizes them by law in the future.

Additionally, Jenkins supported legislation in November that would prevent the Obama administration, and future administrations, from issuing “midnight rules” and regulations in their final months in office.

The Midnight Rules Relief Act would allow Congress to review and potentially reject multiple rules issued by a president in the final months of their term in office with one vote.