Coal state lawmakers are vowing to continue fighting tighter Obama administration oversight of mountaintop removal mining even as the House-passed budget riders they support face an uphill battle in the Senate.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) -- a top coal industry defender -- expressed favor for the Republican-sponsored amendments that the House approved as part of its bill funding the government for the rest of fiscal 2011. Manchin said he wants U.S. EPA to have a "moderate" and "balanced" approach to oversight.

"So if this is what makes them sit down and do it, then I'm for it," Manchin said.

An amendment from Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) aims to stop EPA from enforcing new water pollution guidance for coal mining companies seeking mountaintop removal permits. The National Mining Association is challenging the guidance, saying the administration is enforcing it as a final rule without going through the public notice and comment process (Greenwire, July 20, 2010).

"I hope my colleagues in the Senate will realize the serious consequences of failing to include these amendments in a final CR," Griffith said in a statement for this story. "Not only are the EPA's actions reckless and damaging to businesses in the 9th District of Virginia, but they are a threat to jobs across the nation and America's energy security."

Rep. David McKinley's (R-W.Va) budget rider would stop EPA from administering or enforcing sections of the Clean Water Act dealing with dredge-and-fill permits. McKinley's aim is to stop the agency from retroactively vetoing existing permits, like it did in January with West Virginia's Spruce No. 1 mine (Greenwire, Jan. 13).

Another amendment, from Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), would block the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement from moving forward with a new stream protection rule. That regulatory effort has drawn heavy criticism from coal country leaders and politicians (E&ENews PM, Feb. 28).

A few Democrats voted for all three amendments, including Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia.

When asked if he would champion the measures in the upper chamber, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said, "I have to look at that. I really have to look at that."

Coal's defenders in the Senate may not be able to overcome objections from Democratic leaders, however.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the House-passed CR "did such bad things to so many programs." According to spokesman Jon Summers, Reid wants a "clean" CR with no riders.

Stand-alone bills

Even before the House began debating the long-term continuing resolution, McKinley filed stand-alone legislation (H.R. 457) similar to the amendment he would later introduce. Manchin and Rockefeller are pushing for a similar bill in the Senate (S. 272).

Johnson is also considering legislation to mirror his amendment, according to a spokeswoman.

Still, the pro-coal measures stand a better chance attached to a larger, must-pass bill like the long-term continuing resolution. President Obama likely would veto individual legislation targeting his regulatory agenda -- if such bills were to make it through the Senate.

It appears lawmakers are poised to approve a short-term extension of government funding, which will avert a shutdown -- for now (E&ENews PM, March 1). But the fight over the budget riders is just beginning.

"The sooner we get this short-term funding of the government done, the quicker we can move to a long-term CR," Reid said. "That is where we're headed."

Reporter Katie Howell contributed.