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The City of Logan believes in the importance of coal to the nation’s economy and to keeping our country free and strong. That much was obvious this past weekend when the City of Logan made coal a central theme of its Freedom Festival.
Friends of Coal signs were posted on almost every utility pole and in every business window. Friends of Coal banners hung across the streets in the grandstand area along with the familiar “Coal Keeps the Lights On!” signs of Walker Machinery and the green-and-white signs of the Coalition for Mountaintop Mining.
Mayor Serafino Noletti said his city is proud of the coal industry and of its coal miners. Rupie Phillips, busy roasting corn at the Beni Kedem Shriners’ booth, said it isn’t a stretch to combine the themes of coal and the nation’s independence. “Coal has built this country,” Phillips said. “As so many have said, it is the foundation of this country’s economy, has helped win its wars and here in southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky it is our bridge to the future, through the use of these former surface mines as sites for so many economic and community development projects.
“The folks around here recognize the importance of coal. It puts food on our tables and pays our bills. It sends our kids to college and provides for our future. We just want everyone to know that West Virginia supports the coal miner.”
The Friends of Coal joined the Citizens for Coal at informational booths near the Logan County Courthouse. Friends of Coal filmed “man-on-the-street” interviews with several local residents. These videos will be posted to the West Virginia Coal Association and the Friends of Coal websites over the next few days.
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The Association is scheduled to meet with representatives from the Government Accountability Office next week to discuss the review process for mining-related Clean Water Act Section 404 permits in the wake of the June 1, 2009 federal Memorandum of Understanding that established new review and comment processes for EPA in the Corps’ permitting processes. For more information, contact
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West Virginia Coal Association Senior Vice President Chris Hamilton led a delegation of the Mine Safety Committee to meet with members of the U.S. House and Senate and their respective staffs July 8-9 regarding mine safety proposals recently outlined by Congress. We hope to have a more complete report on the meetings in the next issue of Coal Bits.
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Last week Chris Hamilton and Jason Bostic gave separate presentations to the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Inspectors General regarding the agency’s regulation of coal mining operations in Appalachia. Chris and Jason were part of a discussion panel that also included West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) Secretary Randy Huffman and Cindy Rank of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. Copies of the presentations given by Chris and Jason are available from
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Funeral arrangements are incomplete at the time. We will keep you posted.
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Cost Families $1,042 per Year, Wealthiest Americans to Benefit
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham may no longer claim allegiance to the climate bill currently being debated in the Senate, but according to a new independent analysis released this week, the cap-and-trade proposal being advanced by Senators Kerry and Lieberman does no better by the American consumer than previous iterations of the bill that bore his name.
In an effort to better understand the broad consequences of the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act on the U.S. economy, the Institute for Energy Research commissioned Chamberlain Economics, L.L.C to perform an economic and distributional analysis of cap-and-trade portion of the proposal.
The following represent some of the study’s major findings:
- The American Power Act would reduce U.S. employment by roughly 522,000 jobs in 2015, rising to over 5.1 million jobs by 2050.
- Households would face a gross annual burden of $125.9 billion per year or $1,042 per household, with costs disproportionately borne by low-income households.
- On a net basis, the top income quintile will benefit financially, redistributing to these households roughly $12.3 billion per year from the bottom 80 percent of earners.
- Households over age 75 bear the largest burden at 2.3 percent of income, followed by households aged 65-74 and under age 25 at 2.1 percent. By contrast, the nation’s highest-earning households between age 45 and 54 years would bear the smallest percentage burden of just 1.5 percent.
- Contrary to the legislation’s stated goal of reducing price volatility by excluding petroleum refiners from quarterly auctions, the Kerry-Lieberman bill is likely to significantly increase allowance price volatility from quarter to quarter, compared to an ordinary auction in which all covered industries bid for allowances.
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Hole Sponsorships and golf registration can be obtained by the web site: http://www.kvmi.org/Registration.html
This is the primary means for the KVMI to continue to sponsor its scholarship program for deserving students and is the most important reason for sponsorship of this golfing event.
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The 7th Annual Friends of Coal Auto Fair is set for July 16 – 18 at the YMCA Paul Cline Memorial Youth Sports Complex in Beckley, WV. Friday, July 16 will begin the Fair with the Cruise-In to uptown Beckley for the Renaissance Car Show and live entertainment by former American Idol contestant and Beckley native, Robbie Carrico.
Saturday will have the Live in Concert by The Charlie Daniels Band and Taylor Made, with special appearances by The Gold Knights Army Parachute Team and FOC spokesmen Coach Nehlen, Coach Pruett and Bass Master Jeremy Starks. Tickets ($15.00 advance & $20.00 day of show) for the Concert will go on sale May 1st at select WV & VA Marquee Cinemas and the Beckley-Raleigh County YMCA.
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Representatives of the West Virginia Coal Association and the Friends of Coal continue their summer outreach program through the month of July. The following are some of the events currently scheduled. More are being added each day.
· (July 9) West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney will speak to the Martinsburg Chamber of Commerce.
· (July 17) The Friends of Coal Auto Fair in Beckley and the Mark Plants’ Football Camp in Charleston.
· (August 13-20) We are finalizing our participation schedule for this year’s State Fair of West Virginia in Lewisburg.
If you would like to schedule a representative of the Friends of Coal or the West Virginia Coal Association for your event, please contact us at 304.342.4153. Our schedules are filling fast and we very much want to meet with your group to provide an accurate portrait of our state’s coal industry.
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The West Virginia Coal Association has been the voice of the coal industry for over 100 years, advocating for safe, responsible mining practices and supporting the communities that depend on coal.
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