President Obama has elected a coal proponent to head the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM).  Simply put, this is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house.

After months of internal debate, Obama passed over prominent mining reform candidates to select Joseph G. Pizarchik, a Pennsylvania mining regulator.  Pizarchik has taken a pro-industry line on acid mine drainage and has become a leading advocate for disposal of toxic industrial coal ash in coal mine sites.  He claims this is a “beneficial use” of the same coal combustion waste involved in the disastrous TVA spill in December that devastated 300 acres.

During his August 6th confirmation hearing, Pizarchik astonishingly claimed ignorance about mountain-top removal or what changes the Obama administration might propose, since that mining technique is not widely used in his state.  That would be like the cybersecurity czar claiming ignorance of the Internet.

Obama’s choice signifies yet another broken campaign promise: to end environmentally destructive coal mining practices such as mountain-top removal.  According to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), placating the coal industry has become the central plank of the administration’s environmental agenda.

“It is appointments like this that are causing many to become disillusioned with the Obama presidency,” said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch.  He noted the Obama administration has approved tens of permits for mountain-top mining.  “Putting forward a nominee who claims ignorance on a central issue so that his true position cannot be discerned is the sort of cynical politics I thought President Obama vowed to change.”

Story at Common Dreams

President Obama signed legislation today designating 2 million additional acres of public wilderness areas.  The federal “wilderness” designation provides the highest level of government protection from logging, mining and other forms of commercial use and development.

“This legislation guarantees that we will not take our forests, rivers, oceans … monuments, and wilderness areas for granted, but rather we will set them aside and guard their sanctity for everyone to share,” Obama said at a White House signing ceremony.  “That’s something all Americans can support.”

The 2009 Omnibus Public Land Management Act is a compilation of over 160 separate legislative proposals, extends across nine states.  It establishes 10 new National Heritage sites, creates 21 new wilderness areas, expands 19 existing wilderness areas in 10 national forests, and grows several national park boundaries.  One of the largest newly protected wilderness areas is 380,000 acres in the eastern Sierra Nevada and San Gabriel Mountains in California.  (More National Park News)

President Obama’s Speech

Following is President Obama’s speech, as provided by the White House:

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Next week President Barack Obama is expected to sign legislation that will create a new national park to protect a 77-foot high waterfall in New Jersey and 35 acres of historical sites around it.  This will be the first national park Obama will designate during his presidency.

The “Great Falls” waterfall was featured in a philosophical poem by William Carlos Williams.  Beyond its intrinsic beauty, the waterfall and the surrounding community of Paterson, New Jersey are rich in history as one of the key starting locations for America’s Industrial Revolution.

However, the designation has been criticized as not having national significance and that the money used to create and maintain a new national park could be better spent elsewhere.  No doubt the Paterson community will see an increase in tourism.  But will such a small park diminish the national park brand?

The Bush administration thought so and had previously declined protected status for Great Falls.  The Washington Times notes that “a 2006 National Park Service study said the site is neither suitable nor feasible, the park system already includes enough waterfalls and similar cultural sites, and Paterson is already well-protected by the state.  The study noted that Niagara Falls has never been designated a national park because it is protected by New York.”

Story at EcoWorldly
More National Park News

President Obama continued his crusade of change by overturning a last-minute Bush administration regulation that weakened the Endangered Species Act.

The Bush rule basically put the fox in charge of the hen house.  The regulation stated there was no need to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Services on development projects if the project wouldn’t harm endangered species.  The problem is the federal agency responsible for the development would determine what “no harm” meant, instead of the scientists whose job it is to protect endangered species.

Obama stated he had restored “the scientific process to its rightful place at the heart of the Endangered Species Act, a process undermined by past administrations…  For more than three decades, the Endangered Species Act has successfully protected our nation’s most threatened wildlife, and we should be looking for ways to improve it, not weaken it.”

Environmental groups praised Obama’s action.  “President Obama’s announcement will allow [the Endangered Species Act] to do what it was intended: protect our nation’s endangered plants and animals,” said Andrew Wetzler, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Endangered Species Program.

Story at CNN