Utah 1 of 13 states suing to block Obama coal mining rule

Utah 1 of 13 states suing to block Obama coal mining rule

(Stasis Photo, Shutterstock)


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas and 12 other states, including Utah, have asked a federal court to block final rules from President Barack Obama's administration designed to reduce coal mining's impact on streams.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton petitioned a Washington-based appeals court for an injunction Tuesday.

Paxton said in a statement that the "Stream Protection Rule" imposes "mandatory, one-size-fits-all" regulations that violate states' rights.

Joining Texas are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Last month, North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem filed a separate lawsuit challenging the rule there.

The U.S. Interior Department argues that the rule will protect 6,000 miles of streams by preventing coal mining debris from being dumped into nearby waters.

Republicans have vowed to overturn it under President-elect Donald Trump.

__

Eds: This story has been updated with the Texas attorney general's office correcting its original statement to say it is joining 12 states in seeking to block federal rule, not 13. This version removes South Carolina and Arizona from the list of parties to the case, but adds Colorado.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

BusinessUtah
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast