West Virginia's Second District Congresswoman was scheduled to have a face to face meeting with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson on Thursday.
Those in Jackson's Office, though, canceled the meeting on Thursday morning. No new date for it has been set at this point.
"I am going to keep my voice loud and clear in her ear is what I'm going to do," Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito said of what she was planning to tell Jackson. "Set the boundaries and then let us adjust to them, but they will not set the boundaries."
Congresswoman Capito's Spokesperson Jonathan Coffin issued the following statement following Thursday's cancellation:
"It's incredibly disappointing. This is an issue that impacts families and jobs across our state. West Virginians simply want to have a dialogue and ensure that the Administrator understands that the decisions of this Administration have a real world impact on families in Appalachia. Thus far, we haven't been able to have that.
"We're in contact with the EPA to reschedule as early as possible."
The meeting was to come as the EPA continues its extended reviews of more than 20 pending surface mine permits.
Earlier this year, the EPA also rejected an already issued permit for Arch Coal's Spruce Number One Mine in Logan County, one of the largest such projects in the state. Officials with the U.S. Army Corps said the permit should stand. It's now being argued in court.
"Timelines are very free flowing. You can't tell where they are," Congresswoman Capito says of the current permit process.
"If you come in and reach back and take back a permit that was permitted under the law two years ago and come back and say 'No, you can't do that anymore.' They keep moving the guidelines and it's very frustrating for us here."
Congresswoman Capito says more government involvement in the coal industry is not the answer.
"Government is supposed to be the protector of the national defense and those who can't help themselves and all of the other things. But we're not supposed to be the king of compensation, king of the banking system, king of the permitting of coal mines," she said.
