{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=5CC11688-99C5-4764-974B-50D74B6F27C7", "Heitkamp Statement on Final Stream Protection Rule", "2016-12-19", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "BISMARCK, N.D. \u2013 U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of the Interior released its final Stream Protection Rule.\r\n\u201cAs I review the final Stream Protection Rule, I continue to have real concerns about this administration\u2019s one-size-fits-all approach to the regulation of energy development and production, which doesn\u2019t work for our state,\u201d said Heitkamp. \u201cWhen a top Interior Department official visited North Dakota in May, I showed her firsthand how this rule would hurt our state\u2019s coal industry and workers, and how it failed to take into account drastic differences in mining practices and geography between states like North Dakota and regions like Appalachia. Going forward, I\u2019ll work with my colleagues in the U.S. Senate and the incoming administration to see if this rule is workable. We need commonsense energy policies that provide good-paying jobs and affordable, reliable power for folks in North Dakota and around the country \u2013 and I\u2019m determined to make that possible.\u201d\r\nProposed last year, the Stream Protection Rule was intended to address issues with Appalachian mining practices, but the draft rule showed little understanding of the mining practices of the lignite industry or the geography of North Dakota.\r\nIn May, Heitkamp toured Beulah\u2019s Freedom Mine with a top U.S. Department of the Interior official to make sure the agency understood how the Stream Protection Rule would negatively impact the state\u2019s coal mining industry, and to press the agency to fix its draft rule to guarantee coal has a viable path forward in the state. Janice Schneider, Interior Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, came to the state to hear about concerns that lignite mining leaders and North Dakota officials have with the Office of Surface Mining\u2019s (OSM) draft rule. Schneider oversees OSM and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which Heitkamp criticized in January for its freeze on federal coal leasing.\r\nPrior to Schneider\u2019s visit, Heitkamp urged Interior to remain actively engaged with North Dakota\u2019s coal industry in making fixes to its draft Stream Protection Rule.\r\nThe Stream Protection Rule comes at a challenging time for coal-fired power because of EPA\u2019s Clean Power Plan rules on new and existing power plants, the federal moratorium on coal leases, and more. In January, Interior announced it would review the federal coal program and stop issuing new coal leases on federal lands \u2013 potentially for three years \u2013 during the review process. In North Dakota, around 20 percent of coal comes from federal leases, and the state is paid around $1 million in royalties annually, with half going to support counties and schools in the state.\r\nHeitkamp has pressed BLM to continue reviewing the two pending applications for coal leases from BNI Coal in North Dakota.\r\nHeitkamp has long worked to guarantee that coal remains a vital component of North Dakota\u2019s energy mix, most recently introducing a bill with broad bipartisan support to extend a key tax credit that incentivizes the development and use of carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies and processes. Heitkamp\u00a0brought EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy\u00a0to North Dakota in February 2014 so the Administrator could hear about the impacts of EPA regulations from North Dakotans.\u00a0Heitkamp has also\u00a0brought Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz\u00a0to North Dakota in August 2014 to push the U.S. Department of Energy for more investment in clean coal technology.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=5CC11688-99C5-4764-974B-50D74B6F27C7"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7145578749477863, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}