U.S. Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-05)
issued the following statement in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) unannounced tour of Southern and Eastern Kentucky. The regional administrator, Gwen Keyes Fleming and EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson’s senior advisor for environmental justice, Lisa Garcia, along with staff members from the Region 4 office reportedly made stops in Manchester, Vicco, Whitesburg and Lynch.

"I'm thrilled EPA is suddenly taking an interest in southern and eastern Kentucky. I'm hopeful this means my many congressional requests for answers, Congress' repeated calls for restraint, the petitions of coal miners to stop the attacks, and pleas from mining families to end the permit moratorium will be addressed. Unfortunately, this looks like a blatantly political listening tour from people they only want to hear from. I invite them to stay a little longer, now that we know they’re in town, so they can talk with water quality experts on how our region's water is improving and tour the reclaimed surface mines that are now home to wild turkey, deer and elk. They could also visit the hospitals, shopping centers and other economic development projects that are now sitting on flat land. Before they leave, I know several thousand coal miners that have been waiting for a chance to chat with them about their livelihoods, their families’ well-being and the job-killing regulations of this Administration.”

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