Thursday, September 24, 2009
Guest Speaker – J. Michael Onifer, VP Established Business Units, CNX Gas
Brass Tree Restaurant, Williamson, WV
Social hour 6-7, Dinner 7
Dinner - $10 if you have not pre-paid
RSVP to Georgene Robertson 304/792-8433 or (grobertson@archcoal.com)
Many of you attended the “Friends of America” festival in Holden. More than 75,000 of you turned out to show your support for our coal miners despite the threat of rain, thunder and lightning. That takes a lot of dedication.
As Ted Nugent said, however, showing up at a rally is the easy part. Taking action the next day … contacting your elected officials, your congressmen, your senators and Mr. Obama … is the real test.
I am asking you to take that next step today!
Please take a few moments to make those calls or send an email to your elected officials. We have made it easy for you.
Below you will find a list of West Virginia officials and their phone numbers. You will also find a list of email addresses for those same officials. Simply pick up the phone and dial the numbers or cut-and-paste the email list into your “send to” bar. We have also included a sample letter. Simply cut-and-paste it into the body of your email and add your name and phone number.
Let them know you support our coal miners! Let them know you oppose cap-and-tax! Let them know you want the backlog of mining permits released so that our people can mine coal. Let them know YOU ARE A FRIEND OF AMERICA! And let them know YOU ARE A FRIEND OF COAL!
There is no time to waste. Your jobs and the jobs of your family and friends … the very future of our state … depend on you!
Sample Letter
Dear __________________,
As one of your constituents, I am writing to let you know how I feel about the issues facing our country today.
I am worried about our future.
The actions of the Obama Administration and the policies it is pursuing – particularly with regard to cap-and-tax and coal mining – are simply dead wrong. They are hurting my family, my friends and my neighbors. Unless something is done to stop them, they will destroy my community and our state. Honestly, I am afraid for our nation and our way of life.
I am asking you to oppose cap-and-tax and to demand that the Obama Administration stop its attack on the coal industry. We can’t afford the increases in our electric bills that will come with cap-and-tax! We can’t afford to keep subsidizing terrorists and their supporters in the oil producing countries by importing their oil.
We need coal! We need it today more than ever and the Obama Administration and its supporters on Capitol Hill are killing the industry and shipping the jobs overseas.
I am asking that you stand up for our state and our people. Tell Pelosi, Reid and Obama to support West Virginia Coal and West Virginia coal miners.
Yours,
YOUR NAME and PHONE NUMBER
______________________________
Permit delays could mean layoffs and mine closures
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Today’s decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withhold 79 pending coal mine permits is a reckless act that coupled with the agency’s decision earlier this week to re-evaluate a two-year old permit, will jeopardize jobs and further restrict West Virginia production.
Facility prime example of using former surface mine lands for economic development
By Chris Hamilton
Chairman, Coalition for Mountaintop Mining
VARNEY, W.Va. – The dedication of the Mingo County Air Transportation Park in southern West Virginia this past week is a prime example of the value of our surface mine lands in the effort to build and diversify the economy of the Appalachian coalfields.
Friends of America Festival brings 100,000 to mountaintop mine site
Organizers call on mining families to oppose Obama’s assault on coal and America’s economy
HOLDEN – They came early and stayed late. They came despite the threat of heavy rain, thunder and lightning. They came because they support the coal industry. They came because they are patriots and care deeply about the future of their country. They came from as far away as Alaska and Europe to let their voices be heard by an American president and a radical Congress trying rob them of their heritage, their jobs and their way of life.
Almost 100,000 people – mostly working coal miners and their families – turned out Monday for the Labor Day “Friends of America” rally at the old Holden 22 mountaintop mine site near Logan, W.Va. The event featured legendary guitarist Ted “the Motor City Madman” Nugent as emcee and Hank Williams, Jr., John Rich (formerly of Big and Rich), Halfway to Hazzard, Taylor Made and the Blackwater Outlaws as musical guests. Also on hand were Fox News commentator and talk radio host Sean Hannity and Lord Christopher Monckton, a science advisor to Margaret Thatcher, a former British prime minister. Monckton is an outspoken critic of global warming theorists.
By BRIAN WOODSON
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD — Is it possible to use a football game as inspiration for a state whose most important natural resource is under attack.
Why not? Who would have expected Marshall to win the GMAC Bowl in 2001, trailing 38-8 at halftime.
How about the Thundering Herd themselves?
By BRIAN WOODSON
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD — Bob Pruett is a friend of coal. Unfortunately, not everyone feels the same, and that worries the former Marshall football coach.
“Right now the coal industry is under attack, it really is, it is under attack,” said Pruett, who served as the guest speaker for the Bluefield Rotary Club on Tuesday at the Holiday Inn. “I am not a political person, I’m really not, I’m not running for office.
Aug. 09, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Political climate for energy policies cools
Poll: Economy outweighs environment
By JENNIFER ROBISON
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Monday's National Clean Energy Summit 2.0 will bring a parade of celebrated public policy experts to Las Vegas to discuss greening the country's economy.
PATH is a joint venture between Allegheny Energy and American Electric Power (AEP) to build a new, high voltage, interstate transmission line that will go through West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.
At the recommendation of the Board of Miner Training, Education and Certification, Director Ron Wooten announced his intentions to “withdraw” the proposed Rules Governing the Safety of Those Employed In and Around Preparation Plants in West Virginia. The rules were proposed on June 30th and a public hearing was scheduled for this past Thursday, July 30th.
The training board objected to the training and certification provisions contained in the proposed rule on the basis that the proposed rule usurped their authority under law and due to the Board not being consulted or involved in the rule making.
A special half day mine safety workshop is scheduled for August 11th at the Embassy Suites in Charleston. The workshop, beginning at 9 a.m. and concluding with a buffet lunch, is open to all WVCA members and will feature an up-to-date review of federal and state mine safety regulatory and enforcement programs.
Earlier the week the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection received a clarification letter from the federal Environmental Protection Agency regarding the mining-related NPDES permits that the federal agency intends to review. In the letter, EPA states that it will review state-issued NPDES permits for coal mining operations that are public noticed after August 10, 2009. EPA will have 30 days to provide comments to WV DEP and the company regarding an NPDES permit following EPA’s receipt of the requested information. A copy of EPA’s letter to WV DEP is available on request from
jbostic@wvcoal.com.
In conjunction with the Bluefield Coal Show, there will be a Friends of Coal Golf Classic at the Fincastle Country Club in Bluefield, VA on September 15th. Contributions will benefit The Wade Center. The Wade Center exists to promote and nurture the growth of the children, teens and young adults of the Greater Bluefield community through practical programs and mentoring relationships.
This week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that West Virginia’s year-to-date production was down 7.8% as compared to last year. West Virginia’s 52-week production, through 7/18/09, was off by 2.5%, compared to the 2008, while total U.S production was down by 1%.
Comparing this year to last, from January through May, EIA reported that 2009 metallurgical exports were off by 35.9% and steam exports were down 37.1%. For the same period, coal being imported had decreased by 25.6%.
Last weekend’s Friends of Coal Auto Fair in Beckley drew an estimated 100,000 people to the YMCA complex. The event continues to grow each year and is rapidly becoming a premiere event on the state fairs and festivals calendar. Those on hand showed their support for West Virginia’s coal industry while enjoying a weekend of fun, music, hot cars and good food, headlined by the Saturday evening concert.
Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito will be the guest on this month’s “Coal Seam” television show. The show will be taped Monday morning at the Library Commission studios inCharleston and will be available all month on your local public access and West Virginia Library Commission channels as well as in streaming video on the West Virginia Coal Association website at
www.wvcoal.com.
The topic for this month’s show will feature a discussion of the status of anti-coal legislation in Congress, including the issues of cap-and-trade and mountaintop mining.
Beginning with the July 4 weekend, the West Virginia Coal Association and the Friends of Coal rolled out the first component of a new ad series that offers a “Prayer for America.” The ad offers thanks for our families, our communities, our service men and women and for the hard working coal miners on whom we depend. A two-minute video was created featuring the theme and was shown prior to the concert at this past weekend’s Friends of Coal Auto Fair in Beckley.
The two “cap & trade” rallies on Saturday were well attended and quite successful. The Charleston Town Hall Meeting filled the auditorium at the State’s Culture Center as the crowd heard compelling comments from West Virginia’s 2nd District Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, former Mountaineer Football Coach Don Nehlen and Farm Bureau President Charles Wilfong. Immediately following the Town Hall Meeting, an even larger crowd was reported for the rally on the steps of the State Capitol.
The Beckley “Save Coal Rally”, sponsored by the Southern West Virginians for Coal and the West Virginia Conservative Foundation had several hundred participants at the entrance to the YMCA Paul Cline Memorial Soccer Complex, where the Friends of Coal Auto Fair was going on.
By Gene Kitts, Senior Vice President-Mining Services, International Coal Group, Inc.
Why do we surface mine in Central Appalachia? It’s certainly not because we like the public attention and we really don’t enjoy the struggles with regulatory agencies, the years of permitting delays and the seemingly endless litigation. The fundamental answer is that coal is surface mined because that is the method necessary to recover the resource.
Starting with the basics
Why do we surface mine a coal seam or group of seams instead of deep mining that reserve? The answer is generally determined by geology and topography. However, in many cases the coal reserve has been previously deep-mined and surface mining recovers what was left. Surface mining through abandoned deep mines, recovering the blocks of coal that were left decades ago, is relatively common. Contour mining along the outer boundary of old deep mines has been a widespread practice for years. The advent of the highwall miner, which is a more productive successor to a coal auger, has encouraged this trend. Back to geology and topography – how do these factors determine whether a seam is surface mined or deep mined?
In further pursuit to better understand the overwhelmingly complex issue of “cap & trade” the Association has scheduled a briefing for Monday, July 27th, at the Charleston Civic Center at 1:30 p.m. All members are encouraged to participate and the entire business community is also invited to attend. The briefing will feature a presentation by Myron Ebell who is the Director of Energy and Global Warming Policy for the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC, followed by a question/answer session. It is planned to last 1½ hours.
Myron began the educational process for the Association’s Board on Thursday via a conference call. This meeting will provide more details, information and will delve further into the strategies being discussed as the bill is currently pending in the U.S. Senate.
