Subcommittee Weakens Noem Bill; Clean Air Still Threatened by Mining Dust

Much attention on Rep. Kristi Noem's don't-trust-the-EPA bill has focused on her fight against non-existent dust regulations. But that comedy has distracted many from the real serious import of Noem's bill: she's actually trying to trick us into repealing the EPA's authority to regulate dust pollution in rural areas.

I thus read with relief that a House subcommittee has watered down Noem's dangerous deregulation. Last week the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power amended the bill to clarify that Noem's "exemption from EPA regulation wouldn't apply to particulate matter that is emitted 'directly into the ambient air from combustion.'"

Unfortunately, this amendment still leaves the door open for Noem to do a big favor for campaign donor and quarry man Pete Lien. The Rapid City rock-breaker testified that Noem's Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act would be good for his business... which doesn't generate any farm dust. Pass Kristi's bill, and Lien's quarry and other gravel and rock operations throughout the state will be free to kick up all the non-fossil-fuel-combustion dust they want.