WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Speaker Tim Armstead urged EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Friday to consider the devastating impact recent EPA regulations could have on West Virginia jobs.
Armstead was joined by legislative leaders from across the country at a White House briefing sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Armstead asked McCarthy to consider the overreach of the EPA, and said that the stringent regulations has resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs.
“The Obama Administration needs to be reminded of the devastation that we know all too well, especially with the most recent layoffs that have resulted in thousands of West Virginians losing their jobs,” Armstead said after the meeting.
More than 2,000 state coal workers were laid off before Memorial Day last month.
Within the last three years, estimates project that more than 20,000 coal jobs have been eliminated in Appalachia.