Texas Attorney General : AG Paxton Files Petition to Halt Federal Overreach into Coal Industry

AG Paxton Files Petition to Halt Federal Overreach into Coal Industry

Tuesday, January 17, 2017 - Austin

Attorney General Ken Paxton today joined 14 states in filing a petition for review and injunction of a final rule titled the 'Stream Protection Rule' promulgated by the Obama administration's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. The federal agency adopted the revised rule without the participation of the states and requires the implementation of regulations governing a stream buffer zone, revegetation, restoration, fish and wildlife protections, and water quality standards.

By imposing a mandatory, one-size-fits-all rule regarding coal mining, the rule goes against states' sovereign rights allowed by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act enacted by Congress in 1977. The act recognized the individual needs states have when ensuring the public and environment are protected from adverse effects of surface coal mining operations. For this reason, Congress determined states to be primary regulators.

'Yet again, we must fight federal overreach,' said Attorney General Paxton. 'This rule tramples states' retention of sovereign authority under the Tenth Amendment and seeks to destroy an entire industry, displacing hardworking men and women and setting a precedent to disregard states' own understanding of major industries within their borders. Texas will not stand by and allow the federal government to overstep state authority, guaranteed by the Constitution, in such a detrimental fashion.'

Texas is joined in the petition by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

View a copy of the complaint here :

View a copy of the letter to Congress here: