(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, sent a letter to Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), regarding their rulemaking process for the proposed hardrock mining regulations. The Chairmen demand answers for why the EPA intentionally left out small businesses who could suffer under this rule.

“Obama’s EPA continues to implement his unwanted political ideology on America by infringing upon the rights of business owners and the energy sector with increased requirements on the mining industry,” Vitter said. “Not only are they restricting these companies’ right to do business, but they are also denying them the opportunity to voice their concerns as required by the law.”

In the letter, the Senators criticize the EPA’s disregard for current federal law, which expressly allows small entity representatives (SER) of the industry to conduct panels that allow them the chance to voice their concerns over new federal regulations placed on their industries. During the rulemaking process for EPA's proposed hardrock mining regulation, EPA failed to include SERs, which violates the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Act (SBREF). Click here to read the letter.

In April, Vitter pressed McCarthy in an EPW hearing on the Agency’s failure to comply with another law, the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Act (SBRFA) when it sent methane regulations to the White House before allowing the mandated panel of SERs to review the proposal and submit their comments to the Agency. Click here to read more.

-30-