Rep. Shimkus Vows to Fight EPA Fracking and Coal Ash Rules

Date: January 16, 2013

Source: News Room

Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), chair of the House Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, said he will pursue legislation to limit EPA's regulation of hydraulic fracturing and to bar the agency's pending coal ash disposal rule by replacing it with state-led standards. In a Jan. 3 statement, Shimkus said his subcommittee will ensure that EPA "does not attempt to intervene in regulation of oil and gas industry exploration through hydraulic fracturing which states have been successfully regulating on their own for many years." Shimkus also said his panel will pass a bill to establish consistent national standards for coal ash that are implemented by the states. EPA is considering whether to regulate the waste as either hazardous under the Resources Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA) subtitle C or under the less-stringent solid waste provisions of RCRA subtitle D. States, coal ash recyclers, utilities and others favor the subtitle D approach while environmentalists counter that subtitle C hazardous waste rules are necessary to ensure adequate, consistent ash controls.

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