EPA delays considering cleanup proposal.

The Trump administration has delayed consideration of a proposal to require companies to prove they have the financial wherewithal to clean up polluted mining sites after a pushback from industry groups and Western-state Republicans.

Companies in the past have avoided cleanups of many mining sites by declaring bankruptcy. That prompted the Environmental Protection Agency under President Barack Obama to pursue changes that would prevent taxpayers from getting stuck with cleanup bills.

But newly sworn-in EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt directed his staff on Friday to delay consideration of the Obama-era proposal for four months, in order to gather more public comment. Pruitt was a frequent critic of the agency during his previous position as Oklahoma attorney general, suing the EPA numerous times.

Contaminated water from abandoned mine sites can flow into rivers and other waterways, harming aquatic life and threatening drinking water supplies.