from the States that deal with this enforcement activity and members of the Congress and your staff.

As an aside, Mr. Chairman, to my own remarks, would you permit me to pass on a message to you from Secretary Lujan. Over the weekend, Secretary Lujan indicated to me on the subject of valid existing rights, that perhaps the controversial air surrounding this proposed rule-in spite of his repeated position and the President's position that there will be no mining in the parks—perhaps the controversy requires further thinking on this matter.

The Secretary asked me to pass on to the committee and to others today that it is his intention to withdraw this rule so that we can approach this anew and afresh, with the new management team in place at the Department of the Interior.

I do not want to mislead you today, and I do not want to make any promises that I cannot keep. But I am going to do my best to change this agency and turn it in the direction that the Congress and the Bush Administration feel it should go. And if hard work and long hours, dedication and honesty will get the job done, then I think you will be pleased with the results.

Thank you very much.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Snyder follows:]

HARRY M. SNYDER

STATEMENT BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON

ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

July 18, 1989

Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, my name is Harry M.

Snyder, I am honored to appear before you today as President Bush's nominee for the position of Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

Let me begin by letting you know where I come from and where my education and career have led me. I was born in 1941 in Corbin, Kentucky and grew up in London, Kentucky. I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration from Georgetown College and a law degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1966. Subsequently I served the Kentucky Council

on Higher Education as Director of Finance and Legal Counsel and for ten years was its Executive Director. I served on the finance staff of the University of Kentucky and earlier with Georgetown College, where I taught commercial and constitutional law, and served as legal Counsel. I resigned recently from the position of Resident Vice President for State Relations for CSX Corporation in Kentucky.

Gentlemen, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and

Enforcement (OSMRE) has been wrought with negative controversy since it was formed under the authority of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). I understand that it will not be easy to alleviate that controversy. But it is my goal to enforce

the Act in such a way as to turn the tide of negative criticism and to ensure not only that the agency does the best possible job, but also that its positive accomplishments are recognized.

I have been told that few people outside the beltway know that there is an OSMRE or care what it does. Gentlemen, I come from a State which is very much affected by what OSMRE does and watches very closely every action taken by the agency.

I intend to work closely with those States most interested in OSMRE and with those of you who represent those States. Coal is vital to the national energy security of our country as well as that of our allies. I believe the mining of coal can be done in an environmentally sound manner. It is my intent to enforce the Act in such a way that serves both the industry and the environment although, I recognize that can be a difficult balance to achieve.

Several major issues face the agency as I move into office, including those involving the Applicant Violator System, valid existing rights and OSMRE's oversight policy. I cannot say at this time whether changes need to be made in the present direction the agency is taking, but I want to look at these areas very closely and I can promise you that once I've had a chance to review them I will deal swiftly and decisively with them and keep this Committee informed of any decisions I make.

Resolution of these and other issues will require diligence and dedication on the part of myself and all of OSMRE's employees. It is my intent to promote an open door policy at OSMRE and to develop a close working relationship with the employees, many of whom have a great deal of expertise in the law, in mining and reclamation technology, and in OSMRE's programs. I intend to extend this open door policy to those of you who will work closely with me on these difficult issues including the States, representatives of the industry, public and environmental organizations who wish to give input. If we all work together, we should be able to make significant strides in implementing the purposes of the Act in an effective and balanced manner.

Gentlemen, I do not begin to believe that I can change the

Agency or the negative perception of the Agency overnight but I can promise administrative consistency and expect and will promote accountability from myself and the employees of OSMRE.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Snyder.

First of all, Mr. Wakefield, let me say you are well and favorably known to this committee. I want to welcome you back to government. You are not here to get your ticket punched. You already had a first-class ticket, and I, for one, and, I know, the committee, very much approve of the decision of a man who has achieved it in the practice of law to come back to government.

That is a very, very important position that you will be holding, and we are delighted that you will bring to it the considerable expertise and experience which you had in the practice of law back to that position.

And so, I congratulate you on coming back, and the Bush Administration for appointing you.

I will send you some questions in writing on the central figure theory question. Are you familiar with that?

Mr. WAKEFIELD. To some extent, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, I will not take our time here to talk about it except to say that, in my judgment, it is one of the most wrongly decided legal issues that I have ever seen and clearly unjust.

For example, there is one case of a $300 a month secretary getting sued for $21 million because she processed some papers in some oil company. Just bizarre. And so I will send you some questions on that, and I hope you will look at it. Because if it is wrong, as I think it clearly is, that the Department should not be party to invoking something that is not only wrong, legally, but unjust in its applications.

Mr. WAKEFIELD. I will be pleased to look into it and respond to your questions, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. I thank you very much.

One of the areas that is most productive of litigation, and one of the more important areas that you will have to deal with is the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, with its 1987 amendments.

You may be familiar that the Nevada state legislature recently passed a law, Assembly Bill 222, which would make it unlawful for any person or governmental entity to store high-level radioactive waste in Nevada.

Now I think that is rather clearly unconstitutional. I think we have preempted that field.

I hope you will aggressively move to so declare it. We have tried mightily to propitiate the people of Nevada. I, personally, very strongly support it-$20 million a year for them. I am not a favorite character in Nevada, but that is all right. We wanted to do what was right and be-more than that, we wanted to be generous. But, at the same time, it seems to me we cannot allow Nevada or any other state to frustrate Federal laws. We want to work cooperatively. We want to be open and communicate well and all of that. But when their legislature does things like that, we simply must invoke the law and do so swiftly and strongly.

I hope you will be willing to move aggressively and strongly on that matter.

Mr. WAKEFIELD. I agree with you, Mr. Chairman, that there certainly are supremacy clause of the Constitution issues raised here. It is something that I expect to be looking into and will look at the