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Thursday’s announcement by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of its decision to suspend the use of Nationwide Permit 21 (NWP 21) in the Appalachian region of six states is discriminatory and threatens the economy of the region.
In a June 17 announcement, the Corps said they will immediately suspend the issuance of mining permits under the NWP 21 standards for the mining industry in West Virginia as well as Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia.
The Corps said in a release that the suspension “will remain in effect until the Corps takes further action on NWP 21 or until the program expires on March 18, 2012.”
NWP 21 is used to authorize valley fills for mining operations.
“This decision by the Corps is driven by the arrogance of the Obama Administration and the EPA,” said Chris Hamilton, co-chair of the Coalition for Mountaintop Mining. “It is part of a broader attack on the coal industry – particularly the coal industry in Appalachia.
“Why should the coal miners of West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and Appalachia bear the burden of an unfair and unjust environmental policy – one that clearly discriminates against them and threatens the economy of our region? The Obama Administration and the EPA talk about ‘environmental justice’ but this is neither fair not just. It is discrimination pure and simple.”
“Today’s decision will slow job creation, add further uncertainty to the permitting process and undermine our ability to utilize the nation’s most abundant domestic energy resource—coal,” Hal Quinn, president of the National Mining Association said. “America’s coal mining operations are dedicated to meeting the environmental expectations of the communities in which we operate. The hardworking people of Appalachia have shown their support for NWP 21 and other policies that have provided greater economic certainty for their families and their communities. We are disappointed they have been let down.”
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The Friends of Coal staffed booths at the Hatfield-McCoy Festival in Williamson Saturday, June 12 and also attended the Freedom Festival Picnic at Chief Logan State Park, sponsored by the West Virginia Coalfields Tea Party on the same day. Both events were plagued by rain, but turnout was excellent nonetheless. The Friends of Coal joined the Citizens for Coal at both events.
The Friends of Coal and Citizens for Coal also joined together to staff a booth at the Boone County Coal Festival this week. Outreach at the Coal Festival included getting Friends of Coal signage posted in businesses throughout the town and providing yard signs, stickers and license plates to the folks who attended the event.
WVCA President Bill Raney spoke to the Wells Fargo Federal Black Lung Seminar in Charleston on June 15 and several Association members met with First Congressional District candidates, Mike Oliverio and David McKinley in Morgantown on June 16.
In addition, representatives of the Association met with Gov. Manchin this week regarding the Obama Administration’s continuing assault on eastern and Appalachian coal states.
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The West Virginia Coal Association and the Friends of Coal were asked to deliver the lunch address at the annual Coal Miner's Celebration Thursday at the Resort at Glade Springs in Raleigh County.
WVCA President Bill Raney told the crowd, estimated at about 200, that coal remains a vital part of the nation’s energy mix and will continue to be into to the foreseeable future “if the Obama Administration ever gets straightened out.”
Raney talked about the EPA’s apparent war on Appalachian coal and that Congress and the Administration must be made to realize the importance it has on the economy of the state, region and nation.
Gov. Joe Manchin was also on hand for the celebration and he pointed out that the Obama Administration was wrong to discriminate against eastern coal states.
"Coal mining is a good job and what you haven't accounted for is the patriotic sense of duty that our miners have. Not only do they provide a good living, they provide a way of life for this country and there is pride in that," says Governor Joe Manchin, during his speech at the celebration.
The crowd also had the opportunity to see and hear about some of the latest equipment and technologies available for the industry.
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Stephen G. Young, long-time vice president of government affairs at Consol Energy, died Tuesday in Pittsburgh.
Young was a native of Buckhannon and earned a bachelor's degree from Duke University in 1958 and a law degree from West Virginia University in 1964. He also served for three years in the U.S. Navy.
In 1974, Young joined Consolidation Coal Co., a Consol Energy subsidiary, as director of state government relations after serving for six years as president of the West Virginia Coal Association.
Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, said, "Steve was one of the most exquisite minds in the industry over the years. He was a mentor of mine. He clearly was a shining light in terms of public policy and how to deal with Congress and the Legislature. I learned so much from him.
"He was a great American, a patriot, a Navy SEAL. He was devoted to the industry and the people who work in it and wanted to see it progress, particularly the industry in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, where Consol had such a presence.
"He's one of those persons whose credibility and integrity was always unquestioned," Raney said. "He was a dear friend."
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Destroying Thousands of West Virginia Jobs
SB-696, otherwise known as the Alexander/Cardin or the “Mountaintop Mining” Bill, is on the move in the U.S. Senate. The bill would essentially ban surface mining in West Virginia and threatens thousands of mining jobs across the state and Appalachia.
Co-sponsored by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), the bill currently sits in committee. It is our understanding that the bill will likely be “marked up” during the next two weeks, a process which precedes a committee vote in which it will likely pass.
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Huntington WV 25701
Rebecca Woddard
President, American Rivers
Rebecca:
Your research in naming the Gauley River one of the ten most endangered rivers because of mountaintop removal surface mining was next to nothing.
The Gauley River watershed lies in parts of Nicholas, Clay, Webster, Fayette, Greenbrier, and Pocahontas Counties WV.
There is only one MTR mining operation in the entire watershed, the one on Twentymile Creek watershed , not Peters Creek.. It is located in Clay and Nicholas Counties and is tiny in terms of production and acreage disturbed compared to the total in five counties: Boone, Kanawha, Logan, Mingo, and Raleigh Counties WV. The operation is not a true MTR, its life is very limited, and it poses no significant threat to the Gauley. Moreover, Twentymile empties into a stream that empties a few miles downstream into the Gauley at Belva which is several miles downstream from the segment of the Gauley where whitewater rafting is so popular. Belva is only some 8 miles from the mouth of the Gauley at Gauley Bridge.
There are comparatively very little coal reserves in the Gauley watershed which can feasibly be mined by the MTR or any other surface mining method. This is because the geology is very different than that found within the latter group of counties and three adjacent ones that together are commonly called the Southern WV Coalfield. The Kanawha Formation outcrops widely in these five counties and contains all the coal seams in its upper section that are MTR mined in that coalfield. The coal seams MTR mined are thick, numerous, and lie relatively close to each other vertically, as opposed to different coal seams widely occurring in the Gauley watershed which are thin, few, and do not lie relatively close to each other vertically.
This combination of natural occurrences plus the low sulfur content of the coal seams are the main reasons why MTR mining is economical in the Southern WV Coal Field. It is absent within the Gauley watershed except in the immediate vicinity of the Twentymile mine.
The comments I have made on geology and MTR mining can be verified by contacting the West Virginia Geological Survey and WV DEP.
If Gauley River ranks among the ten most endangered in your opinion, the rivers in this country are in much better shape than I had supposed.
I'm sorry to say you are guilty of irresponsible journalism and badly misleading the public, especially the supporters of American Rivers which include me.
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David Morrison June 2, 2010
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The West Virginia Coal Association (WVCA) hereby submits the following comments and observations regarding the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to revoke the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to Mingo-Logan Coal Company for its Spruce No. 1 Mine (Spruce) in West Virginia.
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The EPA permitting halt will hit West Virginia and Kentucky especially hard.
From: The State Journal by Dan Page
The minority staff of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee produced a report last month that says in plain English what many people in Appalachia believe:
"Our investigation found that the Obama Administration is using the Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting process to dismantle the coal industry in the Appalachian region."
A government report cannot be clearer. It said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, by bringing the issuing of Clean Water Act 404 permits to a virtual halt, is signing the death certificate for a significant portion of the Appalachian coal industry. Coal companies must have water quality permits to operate both surface and deep mines. The May 21 report said the agency is holding up 190 permits.
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