By Christopher B. Daly
Yes, elections have consequences.
Near the head of the line of interest groups who supported President Trump in the election and who now want favors is the coal industry. In the first few days of the new Congress, both the House and Senate wasted no time in giving a green light to surface mining companies to resume their dirty ways. Both houses have passed legislation to reverse the “Stream Protection Rule” — which does pretty much what it says. But evidently, that regulation was just too burdensome for the coal industry.
Make no mistake: the pollution that results from lifting this rule will not harm the “coastal elites” who opposed Trump in the election. No, the pollution will go into the streams in Coal Country, where voters (well, white ones anyway) voted for Trump in big numbers. He is literally fouling their waters.
With friends like that, does the white working class really need enemies?
Trump at a campaign rally last October in Pennsylvania. Photo by BU alum Dominick Reuter, AFP/Getty
Prof Chris Daly's Blog 
Outstanding reporting. I was raised in NE Pennsylvania and have first hand knowledge of what the Extraction Industries can do to a region. Lackawanna/Luzerne Counties have recovered somewhat but look at the “Bore Holes” near Old Forge. PA on Google Earth search Connell Street Old Forge PA to see the lasting effects.
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