Legislative Priorities

Stream Buffer Zone Rule Update

On Wednesday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit denied the Secretary of Interior’s motion to vacate the final 2008 stream buffer zone rule without going through the proper rulemaking process.  Judge Henry Kennedy stated that: 
·         “…by granting the Federal defendants’ motion would wrongfully permit the Federal defendants to bypass established statutory procedures for repealing an agency rule. The Administrative Procedures Act (APA) requires government agencies to follow certain procedures, including providing for public notice and comment, before enacting or amending a rule…An agency must follow the same procedures in order to repeal a rule…”
It seems the Department of Interior will have to alter its plans for addressing the stream buffer zone rule that it announced in the Obama Administration’s recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Appalachian surface coal mining. 

New Members

The Association Board of Directors approved the following new members during last week’s meeting. 
Producing Members:
            RWMV, LLC (Ralph Ballard)
JB Energy LLC  (Jeff Bostic)
 
Associate:
Contracting Engineering Consultants, Inc.-- Morgantown WV – (Tanner L. Johnson, Gen. Mgr.)
            J.H. Fletcher & company -- Huntington WV – (Ben Hardman)
            Lane & Young -- Charleston WV – (Gordon C. Lane, Sr.)
            L-3 Communications – Chantilly, VA – (Duncan VanBuskirk)
 
A hearty welcome is extended to these companies who help make West Virginia better every day by mining and assisting those who mine West Virginia Coal.  Thanks for the confidence and we look forward to a long and lasting relationship. 

Committee Chairmenn

Newly elected Chairman Jim Bunn named the following chairmen to the Association’s committees during last week’s Board of Directors’ meeting. 
 
Environmental & Technical Committee --- Gene Kitts (International Coal Group)
Health & Safety Committee ---Terry Hudson (Patriot Coal)
Human Resources Committee --- John Snider (Arch Coal)
Tax Committee --- Kent Hartsog (Patriot Coal)
Legislative & Governmental Affairs Committee --- Gary White (International Resource Partners)
Research Committee --- Wayne Stanley (Stanley Industries)
Public Relations Committee --- Steve Walker (Walker Machinery)
Nominating Committee --- Andrew Jordon (Pritchard Mining)
Membership Committee --- Gary White (International Resource Partners)

Waxman-Markey

During the Annual Meeting, the Association agreed to oppose the climate change legislation, known as Waxman-Markey, as it passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is currently pending before the United States Senate.  Because of the devastating effects it will have on the nation’s coal industry, its businesses and industries and the American citizens (consumers), everyone has been encouraged to communicate their concerns to their United States Senators.

Jim Bunn Re-Elected WVCA Chairman

Members of the Board unanimously re-elected Jim Bunn of Blue Creek Processing as chairman of the board of directors at the Association’s annual meeting last week.  This will be Jim’s fourth term at the helm of the largest state coal mining association in the nation. He previously led the Association for two terms from 2002-2004 and after taking a break was elected to return to the seat in August, 2008. During his first stint as chairman, Jim joined Warren Hylton in initiating the Friends of Coal campaign to bring attention to the positive accomplishments and aspects of the coal industry and its people on the State of West Virginia. 
  1. Coal is a Bridge to Prosperity

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