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By Taylor Kuykendall, Reporter
An opponent once used his willingness to work with the Environmental Protection Agency as a weakness, but West Virginia's senior House representative says he is now convinced the federal agency will not work with the state.
The EPA recently released new standards for coal-fired power plants that would restrict carbon dioxide emissions. The limits would essentially mean no new coal-fired generation will be built without technology to capture carbon dioxide.
Nick Rahall, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure and former head of the Natural Resources Committee, said the EPA has not been reasonable in their approach. While he has not always been in agreement with the EPA, Rahall said he thought he has long thought it would be possible to work with the EPA.
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SteelGuru
Gov Earl Ray Tomblin who urged EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to admit that they have gone too far said that "This is a huge victory for West Virginia and our coal miners.” He said that "Issue our permits so that we can put our people back to work and ...
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Beckley Register-Herald
“I think it would be cool to have a coal miners' car,” he said. “Throughout my career, I haven't seen any sponsorship with a coal miner (logo). I think it will be a good thing for the Miners and for West Virginia (NASCAR) fans and Virginia fans, ...
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Bluefield Daily Telegraph
“When there is a level of uncertainty like there has been during President Barack Obama's administration, coal companies are uncertain about investing in a coal mining operation. When a federal agency like the EPA can revoke a coal mining permit that ...
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The Spruce No. 1 coal mine case is a welcome crimp in federal power
In 2007, the Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit that authorized Mingo Logan Coal Co., a subsidiary of Arch Coal, to dump material from its Spruce No. 1 coal mine into nearby streams.
The company needed the permit to expand the mine.
The mine eventually would have led to the employment of 250 people and the production over 15 years of about 44 million tons of coal.
But when the Obama administration took office, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asserted the power to review such permits, and in 2011 revoked the Spruce No.1 permit.
This was unprecedented. Never before had the agency retroactively revoked a permit the Corps had granted.
The company sued and on Friday, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C., an Obama appointee, ruled the EPA had overstepped its bounds.
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