Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) this week expressed his vehement opposition to the Obama administration’s proposed cut in funding for state surface coal mining permitting programs, saying that the decrease is an “abdication of federal responsibility.”

“I would submit that the coal industry, especially in the Appalachian Region, is taxed enough at this time by strenuous permitting reviews by the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and proposals being contemplated by the Interior Department,” said Rahall, who urged the House Appropriations Committee to restore the funding.

The president’s budget proposes an $11 million cut in funding for state surface coal mining permitting programs, which fall under the purview of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. In turn, the administration proposed that the states should make up the difference by increasing user fees on the coal industry – a turnaround on the longstanding commitment made under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act that the federal government would offset 50 percent of these costs.

In his letter, Rahall blasted the administration’s decision to back away from that commitment, “in an environment where the federal government is heaping new reviews and requirements on the coal industry especially in the Appalachian Region.”

The administration’s action is in stark contrast to the funding increase they requested in the previous year’s budget, which, for the first time, proposed fully funding the State programs.

“Simply put, this budget does a disservice to those of us working to provide a stable surface coal mining regulatory climate,” Rahall said. “I urge the House Appropriations Committee to discard this proposed decrease and, at the very least, maintain the current year funding level.”