diff --git a/src/pdal/__main__.py b/src/pdal/__main__.py
index 7fa7d272..b0da6098 100644
--- a/src/pdal/__main__.py
+++ b/src/pdal/__main__.py
@@ -2,8 +2,6 @@
 import os
 import pathlib
 
-import distutils.ccompiler
-so_ext = distutils.ccompiler.new_compiler().shared_lib_extension
 import sysconfig
 
 import argparse