[jetpilot]

TO: COA Members and Friends

It took the EPA approximately 24 hours to come up with a statement that blames all the problem on the Kentucky administration.

[B]EPA says Kentucky resisting talks on mining practices[/B]

[B]BY TOM LOFTUS • OCTOBER 19, 2010[/B]

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday defended its decision to block Eastern Kentucky mine permits, saying the action was based on the “best science available” to protect Kentucky waters.
“Despite many efforts by the EPA, state officials have not engaged in a meaningful discussion of sustainable mining practices that will create jobs while protecting the waters that Appalachian communities depend on for drinking, swimming and fishing,” the agency said in a statement released by its Washington office.
The statement was in response to lawsuits filed in federal court in Pikeville by the state and the Kentucky Coal Association. The suits challenge EPA's decision to block 11 water discharge permits sought for surface mining operations in Eastern Kentucky.
The lawsuits allege that the agency, in issuing guidance to states for such permits earlier this year, established a new and tougher standard for which a public notice and comment period is required. The suits also charge that the EPA usurped state authority.
The EPA's statement said that it provided the guidance at the request of Kentucky to insure “permits are reviewed using the best science available to protect residents from the significant and irreversible damage this practice (surface mining) can have on communities and their water resources.”
Gov. Steve Beshear, Senate President David Williams and House Speaker Greg Stumbo blasted the EPA in statements Monday, saying that the agency's action was excessive and needlessly threatened the [FONT=inherit! important]jobs of thousands of miners.[/FONT]
But the EPA statement said the agency “continues to be willing to work with the industry to reach commonsense agreements allowing them to mine coal while avoiding permanent environmental impacts and protecting water quality.”

[Hoot Gibson]

My question is why now, two weeks before the election are states with Democratic governors suing an unpopular Democratic administration? The Obama administration has been using the EPA and the other resources at its disposal to attack coal mining companies operating in Kentucky and West Virginia for nearly two years. The timing of the suit smacks of a belated, feeble attempt to distance state Democratic parties from the Democrat in the White House.