Environmentalists criticize new head of federal agency on coal mining

In Washington, D.C. the US Senate has confirmed a new director for the federal agency charged with protecting communities from the impacts of coal mining.  Joseph Pizarchik will head the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. He was confirmed by a Senate vote last Friday. But environmental groups have raised concerns throughout the nomination process. They say his track record in Pennsylvania, at the state's Environmental Protection Agency, shows a pattern of siding with industry over the needs of local communities in mining areas.

We're joined by Tierra Curry. She's a biologist at the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental advocacy group based out of Tucson, Arizona.