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The previously published rules, PPL P15-IV-01 “Examination of Working Places 30 C.F.R. §§56/57.18002”, have been withdrawn with a republished and availability at a later date. This short notice was received by WVCA on July 15 with no further explanation.
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The West Virginia Coal Forum – an organization representing both labor and management in the coal industry – in conjunction with the Greater Bluefield Chamber of Commerce, will host a forum to highlight the challenges and opportunities facing the coal industry from 9 a.m. to noon July 23rd at the Quality Hotel & Conference Center in Bluefield.
Media are encouraged to attend and there is no cost to attend the event.
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Congressman David B. McKinley, P.E., (WV-1) was named chairman at the inaugural meeting of the Congressional Coal Caucus for the 114th Congress. As the incoming chairman of the bipartisan group, Rep. McKinley will ensure Congress is aware of the impact federal regulations are having on coal miners, their families, and their communities.
“The American families who rely on coal for affordable, reliable energy and good-paying jobs deserve to have their voice heard in Washington. The bipartisan Congressional Coal Caucus will be that voice. We will re-energize the debate about our energy future and stand up for those families devastated by President Obama’s War on Coal,” said McKinley.
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The federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM) published a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on its proposed revisions to the federal stream buffer zone rule, referred to now as the “stream protection rule” (SPR). A copy of the 1,267-page draft EIS is available at http://www.osmre.gov/programs/RCM/docs/sprDEIS.pdf
The official Federal Register notification of the draft EIS follows the pre-publication release of the proposed SPR by OSM and the Department of the Interior. While the actual proposed regulatory changes have not yet been published in the Federal Register, an agency copy of the 1,238-page SPR proposal is available at http://www.osmre.gov/programs/RCM/docs/SPRProposedRule.pdf
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The West Virginia Coal Association issued the following statement regarding yesterday’s (7/16/15) release by the federal Office of Surface Mining of the revised Stream Buffer Zone Rule.
“The unrelenting assault on coal by the Obama Administration continued today, with the issuance by the federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM) of new revisions to the existing Stream Buffer Zone (SBZ) rule,” said Jason Bostic, vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association. “The OSM claims this new rule provides ‘regulatory certainty.’ How can a 1200-page rule that blurs different statutes offer clarity or certainty?”
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The Greenbrier has reached maximum capacity for WVCA’s Annual Meeting on August 6 – 8, 2015. If you’ve not already done so, we ask those who have rooms reserved for the meeting to please return your event registration forms, which are attached, to Sandi at the Association office as soon as possible so we can insure good counts for each of our events. The Saturday Brunch will be featuring a very special surprise guest so you want to incorporate that event into your family’s attendance plans. In addition to the fun-filled, family- focused three days we will have informative programs and special recognitions for our 100th Anniversary, including our very own photographers being available for photos during the whole weekend. Please call Sandi at the Association, 304-342-4153.
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Support Changes to WV’s Water Quality Standards that will Help Stabilize the Coal Industry
WHEN: July 21, 2015, from 6 to 8 p.m.
WHERE: Coopers Rock Training Room at DEP headquarters in Kanawha City, Charleston.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has FINALLY proposed revisions to the state’s water quality standard for SELENIUM.
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CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Coal Association issues the following statement regarding today’s release by the federal Office of Surface Mining of the revised Stream Buffer Zone Rule.
“The unrelenting assault on coal by the Obama Administration continued today, with the issuance by the federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM) of new revisions to the existing Stream Buffer Zone (SBZ) rule,” said Jason Bostic, vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association. “The OSM claims this new rule provides ‘regulatory certainty.’ How can a 1200-page rule that blurs different statutes offer clarity or certainty?”
“And most egregious of all is the charade of a robust public comment process put forward by OSM in the crafting of this rule,” Bostic said. “The OSM performed a regulatory sleight of hand by requesting input from the states, then essentially slamming the door to that input while they moved to rewrite the law itself. In fact, nine out of ten states that were requested to provide input formally pulled out of the process as it moved forward without them.
“At its core, this appears to be an insidious attempt by OSM to blur the Surface Mining Act with the Clean Water Act to accomplish what EPA has previously failed to do – trample the responsibility of the states to develop their water quality standards.”
“It is also clear that the OSM’s estimate that ‘only’ 200 mining jobs would be lost due to the implementation of this plan has about as much validity a carnival sideshow palm reading. Several recent studies have shown the huge discrepancies between Obama Administration estimates of economic impact and the reality once these policies are implemented. “
“OSM arrogantly made the statement that the rule is ‘intended to protect the people of the coalfields.’ To that, we call on our congressional and state elected leaders to protect our coal miners from a runaway federal agency that is trying to replace a statute with a regulation developed in secret and wrapped in bureaucratic intrigue.”
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|
Commodity Region/Fuel |
Avg. BTU |
SO2 |
Price |
Price/mmBTU |
|
Central Appalachia |
12,500 |
1.2 |
$54.80 |
$2.19 |
|
Northern Appalachia |
13,000 |
3 |
$58.05 |
$2.23 |
|
Illinois Basin |
11,800 |
5 |
$40.55 |
$1.73 |
|
Powder River Basin |
8,800 |
0.8 |
$12.10 |
$0.69 |
|
Uinta Basin |
11,700 |
0.8 |
$39.35 |
$1.68 |
|
Natural Gas (Henry Hub) |
n/z |
0.01 |
n/a |
$2.79 |
Coal production in the U.S. fell sharply for the week ending July 4. And the decline from last year steepened, with production off 16.6% from last year’s levels according to the latest report from the Energy Information Agency (EIA) for the week.
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