Growing energy costs will force changes in the ways we live and do business in the United States.

A lifelong leader in the coal and transportation industries, Charles T. "Charlie" Jones believes Americans might have to give up their free-traveling lifestyle, where some people drive 50 miles each way to work every day and never think twice about making other daily excursions.

"Some people are spending $200 a week to go to work. Can they stand that over the long haul? No. People will have to move closer to their jobs.

by The Associated Press

Gov. Joe Manchin has appointed the deputy secretary of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to head up the agency.

Manchin announced Randy Huffman's promotion on Friday.

Huffman replaces Stephanie Timmermeyer, who last month announced plans to resign after five years in the post.

Huffman is a West Virginia native. Besides being deputy secretary, he is also director of the Division of Mining Reclamation.

Manchin said Huffman's 21 years of experience with DEP made him an obvious choice for the position.

Timmermeyer, who had planned to resign July 1, has decided to leave the agency at the end of the month. Huffman takes over on May 1.

WHEN it comes to building the power plants that generate the electricity Americans need, the Not In My Back Yard crowd is now screaming Not in Anybody's Back Yard.

A coalition of anti-coal groups contends it has scored 65 victories over coal in the past three years, reported Judy Pasternak of the Los Angeles Times.

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Allegheny Energy has agreed to reroute part of the $1.3 billion power line proposed for northern West Virginia in a deal that eliminates major opposition from state Public Service Commission staff.

But the settlement, announced late Tuesday, does not include several citizen groups and many residents who are working against the project.

The President and Chief Operating Officer of Appalachian Power says they'll ask the Virginia State Corporation Commission to look again at the company's proposal for a $2.23 billion clean coal power plant in West Virginia.

On Monday, Virginia's Commission denied Appalachian Power's request to build the plant in Mason County.  "We'll provide some more detail to address their concerns," Dana Waldo says of the appeal.  "We put on, I think, a very powerful case about the IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) technology, the need for the power plant and the need to use coal."

The full year's schedule of the Legislature's Monthly Interim Committee Meetings has been set.  All the meetings will occur in Charleston with the exception of September, which will be held in Bridgeport.  The dates are: May 18-20; June 22-24; July 27-29; August 24-26; September 7-9 (Bridgeport); October 12-14; November 16-18; December 7-9; January 11-13, 2009; and, February 8-10, 2009.   Interims will meet in February since the Regular Session begins 30 days later than usual to allow time for the Governor's Inauguration and preparation of the State-of-the-State Address.

The 2008 Friends of Coal Auto Fair will be held July 18-20 at the UMCA/Paul Cline Memorial Youth Sports Complex in Beckley.  Headliners for Saturday will be Randy Travis with Taylor Made and appearances will also be made by the Golden Knights Army Parachute Team, Coach Don Nehlen, Coach Bob Pruett and Bass Master Elite Fisherman Jeremy Starks.

For additional information visit:  www.friendsofcoalautofair.com

The West Virginia Coal Association, West Virginia Coal Mining Institute and the Central Appalachian Section of Mining Engineers will hold their Joint Annual Meeting on May 1-3 at the Embassy Suites in Charleston, WV.  The Coal Hall of Fame will honor two new inductees on Friday evening, May 2 at the Annual Banquet.  Reservations are to be made through the WV Coal Mining Institute at (304) 293-5695 Ext. 2100.

In conjunction with this meeting the WVCA Board of Directors will hold a meeting beginning at 4 p.m. at the Embassy Suites.

West Virginians for Reliable Power – a coalition comprised of state trade association, businesses and labor representatives working to educate the state on the need for improved transmission infrastructure – will hold an energy forum on Friday, April 25, 2008 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Embassy Suites in Charleston.

The purpose of the event is to discuss the potential economic benefits that can result from transmission line expansion.

Speakers include:  Daniel Larcamp, Edison Electric Institute; Roy Smith, WV Building & Construction Trade Council; Bill Raney, WVCA; and, Tom Witt, WVU Bureau of Business & Economic Research.

Seating is limited and RSVPs must be made to bbrowncom@aol.com by April 18.

The Pocahontas Coal Association and the Bluefield Daily Telegraph honored the Players of the week in Basketball for both girls and boys as well as the Players of the Year at last evening meeting.  The recipients are listed below:

Girls Players of the Week:  Trista Thomas, Pikeview High School; Jolysa Brown, Summers County High School; Tesla Akers, Princeton High School; Emily Blevins, Summers County High School; Katelyn Mitchell, Tazewell High School; Chelsea Gallinger, Graham High School; Katie Jo Lester, Twin Valley High School; Lake Coburn, Pikeview High School; Laura Whitt, Princeton High School; Tara Havens, Montcalm High School; and, Kayla Muncy, Iaeger High School.  The Girls Player of the Year was Jolysa Brown of Summers County High School.

Boys Players of the Week:  Brandon Pauley, Pocahontas High School; Andrew Gunnoe, Summers County High School; Justin Jewell, Princeton High School; David Thompson, Narrows High School; Hunter Simpson, Twin Valley High School; Hunter Simpson, Twin Valley High School; Ansel Ponder, Bluefield High School; Kyle Kinzer, Pipestem High School; Cody Billiter, Grundy High School; Jordan Weitzel, Pikeview High School; J. L. Reed, Iaeger High School; and, Jay Kelly, Pikeview High School.  The Boys Player of the Year was Ansel Ponder of Bluefield High School,

This was the 8th year the Pocahontas Coal Association has honored the Student Athletes in Southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia in Basketball and Football.    CONGRATULATIONS to all!

The WV Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety is considering rules and regulations to establish a mandatory drug testing program for the coal mining industry. The program before the Board is patterned after Kentucky's drug testing program which has been in effect for several years.  Representatives of the Kentucky's Dept. of Mines will present their program to the Board and be available to answer questions during the Board's April 15th meeting.

The Board meeting is scheduled at the WV Office of Miners' Health Safety & Training meeting room located at 1615 Washington Street E. in Charleston.  The meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m. and is open to the public.

The Mine Safety Technology Task Force has proposed amendments to the State Mine Rescue requirements under Title 48 Series 4, and Title 36 Series 44 rules. The changes are intended to conform the state requirements with MSHA's newly promulgated mine rescue rules.
The rules will be discussed at the next meeting of the Board of Coal Mine health and Safety set for next week, April 15 & 16 in Charleston.
For a copy contact Chris Hamilton at chamilton@wvcoal.com

On March 22, 2008, The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (D.C. District Court) issued a favorable decision in West Virginia Highlands Conservancy v. Johnson, dismissing a lawsuit filed by several environmental groups seeking to compel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct studies of coal mine waste pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).  This decision is a significant victory because it avoids an EPA-focused study of coal mine wastes under RCRA, and also makes it unlikely that the agency will undertake any reexamination of additional coal mine waste regulation.
 

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GASOLINE prices may reach $4 by summer, some experts warn. Big Oil corporations are reaping obscene profits in hundreds of billions. Exxon's former chairman got a $400 million retirement package.

Such affronts caused a bitter hearing in Congress Tuesday about Big Oil profiteering. Defensively, chiefs of five global fuel firms testified that world oil prices over $100 a barrel put them over a barrel, and that Americans simply must pay astronomical prices at the pump.

Meanwhile, the upsurge in oil cost has sent coal value skyrocketing. The Washington Post reported that coal prices rose 50 percent in the past five months, and "mining companies are enjoying a windfall." U.S. coal exports are climbing, which caused the paper to note:

The director of the state Office of Miners Health, Safety and Training has his sights set on a deadline for tracking systems to be installed in all of the state's underground mines.

"Hopefully if all goes well, we should have communication tracking in all of our mines by the end of this year," Ron Wooten recently told MetroNews. He says it's not an unreasonable deadline and coal operators are working hard to get it done.

West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney counsels patience, research and neighborly communication for communities affected — and served — by coal companies.

What some experience in daily life or perceive in media coverage as mining-related nuisances — coal dust, loud noise, bright lights, slow trucks and road deterioration — can often be resolved via simple communication, Raney believes.

"Most (companies) that I’m aware of have good relations with the communities. They are addressing (issues of concern) to the best extent they can," he explained.

West Virginia exported nearly $4 billion worth of products in 2007 - an apparent record high.

The state's exports totaled $3,972,153,000 last year - up 23 percent from 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Trade and Industry Information.

Steve Spence, executive director of the West Virginia Development Office, said, "Everything we have indicates this is by far the biggest year ever" for state exports.