Republican Interior & Environment Appropriations Puts Clean Water, Air on the Chopping Block

(Thanks to Rep. Moran for fighting tooth-and-nail against the all-out Teapublican assault on our environment! – promoted by lowkell)

Bill a polluters dream, includes an unprecedented 25 anti-environment riders

Washington, DC – Congressman Jim Moran, Northern Virginia Democrat released the following statement in advance of the July 12th Appropriations Committee markup of the FY 2012 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill:

“Through the appropriations process, the majority party is demonstrating their priorities by eviscerating the budget of the lead agency responsible for making our water cleaner and air less polluted. It reduces the EPA budget to $400 million below 1999 levels, an amount that would virtually cripple the agency’s efforts to clean up toxic sites, monitor our air quality and prevent dirty chemicals from entering our water supply.

“This legislation should be called the “Pro-Pollution Omnibus Bill,” particularly given the 25 policy riders it includes, which read like a wish list for industries looking to ignore the Clean Air and Water Acts. They even go so far as to open up federal lands adjacent to the Grand Canyon for uranium mining.”

“The Appropriations Committee should reject this poorly crafted, negligently funded, pre-meditated attack on the health of our people and the environment. I will offer amendments in the full committee mark up to strip out the harmful 25 anti-environment riders.”

Notable provisions included in the bill:

Allows uranium mining on federal lands adjacent to the Grand Canyon by lifting the moratorium on uranium mining along the Colorado River, potentially exposing 17 million people, dependent on the river for drinking water, to radioactive waste.

Paves the way for more mountain-top mining by blocking protections against toxic chemicals from mining waste running into our streams.

Protects BP and makes schools less safe by rejecting additional funding for the air toxic monitoring at schools or for the Deepwater Horizon litigation.

Allows thousands of pounds of pollutants into the air by exempting big oil companies like Shell, Exxon and BP from the Clean Air Act for any new drilling area outside the Gulf of Mexico.

Increases the odds of another oil spill by rejecting requested funds for additional staff and funding for increased facility inspections on offshore drilling rigs.