Cantwell Seeks Stricter Financial Assurance Options For Coal Mine Cleanups

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is pushing legislation that would tighten financial assurance requirements on coal companies, eliminating their ability to rely on "self-bonding" in an effort to protect taxpayers from footing the bill for cleanups if a company goes bankrupt. Cantwell introduced the legislation , S. 3066, dubbed the Coal Cleanup Taxpayer Protection Act, June 16. "We need to make sure the taxpayer isn't on the hook for cleanup work...