May 1, 2017 2 min read

Leadership in the state Senate recently introduced last week bill that will amend the Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act and remove crucial protections for our streams. This bill will undermine the authority and expertise of the Environmental Hearing Board and will ask the Legislature to decide on and interpret the existing law.

For years, those of us who have been affected by longwall mining have been pushing for the law to be amended, as it truly does not protect landowners and the environment as it was intended. But this proposed change to the law will truly undermine what little protection we have and will take away the checks and balances provided by the Environmental Hearing Board.

One has to wonder where local leadership stands on this bill, for it will undermine the hard work that went into protecting the streams in and around Ryerson Station State Park and rebuilding the park.

We hear so many times that it’s about jobs and protecting workers. But what protection are we truly giving to the workforce and the environment when we don’t hold industry accountable and allow them to hide behind rules and regulations that truly don’t protect the workforce, as we have seen with so many retires losing their pensions or health insurance, along with irreparable damage to communities and our environment. This is just another way for industry to continue to carry on with business as usual without being accountable for their actions and being allowed to walk away from their responsibility to the people of the commonwealth.

Kimberly A. Jones

Wind Ridge