Boucher: Interior’s planned coal mining rules run roughshod over states

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), an ally of his southwest Virginia district’s coal industry, is not happy with Interior Department plans to overhaul protections for Appalachian waters from mountaintop mining.

His comments are among the scores Interior has received on preliminary proposals floated in late November. Interior’s plan is among the 10 “most visited regulations” on the regulations.gov website that tracks various agencies’ rulemakings.