releases: https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=5CC11688-99C5-4764-974B-50D74B6F27C7
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| 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 | legacy | BISMARCK, N.D. – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of the Interior released its final Stream Protection Rule. “As I review the final Stream Protection Rule, I continue to have real concerns about this administration’s one-size-fits-all approach to the regulation of energy development and production, which doesn’t work for our state,” said Heitkamp. “When a top Interior Department official visited North Dakota in May, I showed her firsthand how this rule would hurt our state’s 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’ll 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 – and I’m determined to make that possible.” Proposed 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. In May, Heitkamp toured Beulah’s 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’s 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’s (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. Prior to Schneider’s visit, Heitkamp urged Interior to remain actively engaged with North Dakota’s coal industry in making fixes to its draft Stream Protection Rule. The Stream Protection Rule comes at a challenging time for coal-fired power because of EPA’s 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 – potentially for three years – 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. Heitkamp has pressed BLM to continue reviewing the two pending applications for coal leases from BNI Coal in North Dakota. Heitkamp has long worked to guarantee that coal remains a vital component of North Dakota’s 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 brought EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to North Dakota in February 2014 so the Administrator could hear about the impacts of EPA regulations from North Dakotans. Heitkamp has also brought Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to 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 |