May 16, 2018 - Environmental groups are challenging the Trump administration's rejection of an Obama-era rule that would have required mining companies to prove they have enough money to clean up pollution.

The Idaho Conservation League, Earthworks and other groups on Wednesday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. to review last year's move to drop the rule.

Earthjustice Attorney Amanda Goodin says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency action leaves taxpayers responsible for pollution that fouls waterways and endangers public health.

Mining industry representatives pushed hard to kill the rule.

EPA administrator Scott Pruitt agreed with their argument that modern mining poses less risk for pollution despite a legacy of taxpayer-funded mine cleanups.

Under former President Barack Obama, the agency determined the opposite - that mining pollution remains an ongoing concern. 

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