ARCH Coal announced that effective January 7 Russ Lorince will become their Vice President of External Affairs for the Eastern Region. Russ will serve as Arch’s person on the primary state trade association’s boards and committees. Prior to joining Arch, Russ served as director of economic development at WVU and prior to that worked with Allegheny Energy for 25 years.

Amanda Lawson, Director of State Governmental Affairs for Walter Energy was appointed to an advisory committee that will guide and oversee implementation of the US Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (USEITI). The appointment was made by the US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in late December.