DEAR EDITOR:

First a bit of reference from the April 14 Vindicator editorial. The editorial speaks to an environmental and health win for Ohio in that the U.S. EPA announced the good news that Ohio is no longer on the list of states that do not meet clean air standards. Ohio’s U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno was quoted in the editorial with ” … quite frankly, taking care of the environment and being good stewards is not really a partisan issue.” But then we move on.

U.S. House Joint Resolution 140 was introduced to strip prohibitions that prevented toxic mining for copper in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), located between Minnesota and Canada. If you’re not familiar with this area, it’s one of those very special and unspoiled places. An environmental treasure for certain.

Our U.S. House previously voted, along partisan lines, to strip those mining prohibitions. But then we fast forward just two days from where Moreno’s quote appeared in The Vindicator to April 16. The U.S. Senate voted as partisan as can be (Mr. Moreno, Mr. Husted, and their cohorts) to put the green light stamp of approval on the toxic mining that would trash the pristine nature of the BWCA as we know it. So, Mr. Moreno, quite frankly, screwing this precious environment clearly appears to be a very partisan issue.

DON CLOWES

Austintown