Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar held a press conference today to announce his determination that the mountaintop coal mining “stream buffer zone rule” issued by the Bush Administration is legally defective.  Salazar directed the United States Department of Justice to file a pleading with the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. requesting that the rule be vacated due to this deficiency and remanded the to the Department of the Interior for further action.    Related News Release.

Topic: Secretary Salazar says that the Bush Administration ruling does not pass the “smell test.” (Text)

Topic: Secretary Salazar says that withdrawing the ruling will not have an affect on coal mining since the industry is still under a 1983 SMCRA ruling. (Text)

Topic: Secretary Salazar says that future impact on the coal mining industry and America’s energy supply will come from the need to reduce carbon emissions. (Text)

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today met with Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley to discuss water, education, road and job training initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life for residents of the Navajo Nation, other American Indian communities and residents of New Mexico. A major topic of discussion was the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, authorized in the recently enacted Omnibus Public Land Management Act.

Topic: Secretary Salazar called today's meeting important and said there were many issues to discuss. (Text)

Topic: Secretary Salazar says he looks forward to making the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project a reality (Text)

Topic: Secretary Salazar said New Mexico and the nation will benefit from the recently signed Omnibus Public Land Management Act (Text)