Congressman Bill Johnson Statement on Supreme Court Ruling on Michigan v. EPA

MARIETTA – Congressman Bill Johnson (R-Marietta) released the following statement today after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Michigan v. EPA:

“Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court stated the EPA must consider cost – and the cost of compliance – before deciding whether regulation is appropriate and necessary. When agencies come up with costly regulations, they need to consider who will end up footing the bill.

“No one cares more about the air we breathe and the water we drink than the people who live here in along the Ohio River. However, there must be a balance between health regulation and excessive costs that would have a chilling impact on coal jobs and the cost of electricity in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio.

“The EPA, along with many other federal agencies, continues to burden the public with more costs, even as many are struggling just to make ends meet.

“In an effort to help protect coal jobs, last week I offered an amendment to the FY 2016 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill, which passed unanimously by voice vote. This amendment will reduce the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement’s (OSM) budget by $2 million, and transfer those funds to the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. This amendment will help stop excessive federal interference and restore the states’ role in surface mining regulation. In particular, over the previous 5 years, OSM has spent more than $10 million of its already disproportionally large budget to pursue a wholesale rewrite of the “Stream Protection Rule,” which has little to do with protecting streams, and more to do with strong-arming state regulatory programs.

“The Office of Surface Management has completely cut states out of the process, in violation of its legal obligations. This amendment helps ensure that OSM stays within their boundaries. Today’s Supreme Court ruling sends a similar message to the EPA.”