Senate Democrats knocked four anti-environmental provisions out of an Interior Department spending bill yesterday, including riders that would have blocked new energy-efficiency rules for federal agencies and permitted lead mining in a Missouri national forest. But Democrats failed to remove language that would let mining companies dump large amounts of waste on public land, and pro-industry senators planned to reintroduce at least some of defeated riders in slightly different forms. White House aides have threatened a veto of the bill, which still contains eight anti-environmental riders.
