Give U.S. Rep. David McKinley credit for tenacity in standing up for his constituents' best interests.

When the Environmental Protection Agency proposed regulating coal ash as a hazardous material four years ago, McKinley, R-W.Va., pointed out the agency's plan was far out of proportion to any public health risk from coal ash. He also cited the enormous economic impact of the proposal.

McKinley's efforts forced the EPA to back away from its initial plan. Now, he wants Congress to enact legislation that, in effect, would force the agency to stick to more reasonable rules.

A hearing on McKinley's bill is scheduled for this week in the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy. As McKinley noted, his bill is a result of bipartisan efforts in both the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.

If enacted, the bill will require states to enforce EPA rules announced in December. That will safeguard the public - and avoid loss of as many as 316,000 jobs that would have been affected by the initial plan.

McKinley's bill, for which he deserves enormous credit, should be enacted.

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This editorial ran on March 17, 2015. You may find the original here.