This action alert comes from the Waterkeeper Alliance, a great organization that, according to their mission, “provides a way for communities to stand up for their right to clean water and for the wise and equitable use of water resources, both locally and globally.” Take action to help stop a coal industry insider from becoming the next director at the Office of Surface Mining!
Please do not confirm Joseph Pizarchik to OSM
The Obama Administration recently nominated Joseph Pizarchik as the Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, the federal agency responsible for overseeing mining in the United States. Pizarchik is currently the Director of Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Mining and Reclamation, where he has promoted practices and policies designed to facilitate the coal mining industry’s destructive practices. He is not the right person to enforce our laws and protect our communities from this dirty industry.
During an August 6 2009 hearing before a Senate Committee, Pizarchik was asked about his position on mountaintop mining, one of the most controversial and devastating aspects of the coal industry, and claimed that he would have to learn more about the details and history of the practice before being able to answer! Amazingly, the nominated head of OSM, and the current director of a state mining regulation agency, doesn’t know enough about mountaintop-removal coal mining to give an informed opinion? America must do a better job of protecting the environment and our citizens from the coal mining industry.
Take Action and Write your Legislators!
Read more about Joseph Pizarchik and the coal industries dirty lies