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EPA Cooking The Books On Costs Of New_Mining_Rules

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GOP: EPA cooking the books on costs of new mining rules

By John Siciliano • 2/10/17 4:20 PM

The Environmental Protection Agency is being accused by a top Republican of rushing out new regulations for the mining industry while cooking the books on cost.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, wants the costs of a proposed rule re-examined and is pressing the agency to push back its deadline to give the industry more time to sift through its concerns.

The rule involves the standards that mining companies must abide by to ensure financial responsibility for their activities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act for the hardrock mining industry.

Hardrock mines don't bring up coal, but produce metals such as iron, platinum and other substances that make up a big chunk of the electronics that everybody uses.

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"A 60-day comment period is inadequate for this proposed rule," Barrasso said in a letter sent to the acting EPA administrator Friday.

"For example, EPA estimates that if the rule is finalized, 221 facilities would need to obtain an estimated $7.1 billion in financial responsibility coverage," he said. "This estimate does not appear to be fact-based and needs close scrutiny," he added, underscoring a point made by the mining industry last month that the estimate is far too low and would lead to significant job losses if enacted.

In addition, Barrasso says he fears the precedent that the rule would set for other industries.

"This rule will affect not only the mining industry, but could also establish a precedent for the electric utility, petroleum and coal products, and chemical manufacturing industries," he said in the letter.

He is asking that the comment period, which is set to close soon, be extended from 60 to 120 days, giving the industry until July to decipher the total impact of the regulations.
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Barrasso said the costs of the proposed rule are 11 times greater than the benefits that the EPA said it would provide.

"EPA also estimates that the proposed rule would cost the mining industry between $111 and $171 million a year, depending on what types of financial assurance are allowed by a final rule," the chairman said. "Based on EPA's numbers, these annual costs are as much as 11 times greater than the benefit to EPA of $527 million over 34 years — an average of $15.5 million a year."

The National Mining Association asked the EPA late last month to extend the comment period, claiming a whole host of unanswered questions, with costs being a top concern.

Barrasso's letter echoes many of the same points that association President Hal Quinn made in his letter to the EPA on Jan. 25. The EPA analysis "estimates that the 'financial responsibility amount for the regulated industry is $7.1 billion,'" Quinn wrote. However, based on the agency's numbers, "the proposed rule will require hardrock mining companies to incur up to $171 million per year in new financial assurance costs," in which case the mining group's preliminary analysis shows "that this estimate is far too low."

If the rules move forward, "the cost of compliance will likely lead to the loss of significant metals production and numerous jobs in the hardrock-mining sector," Quinn added.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gop-epa-cooking-the-books-on-costs-of-new-mining-rules/article/2614541