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July 02, 2013

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin today announced Jason Pizatella will serve as his Deputy Chief of Staff effective immediately.

Prior to this appointment, Pizatella was most recently serving as Acting Cabinet Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Revenue. In addition, the Fairmont native has been the Director of Legislative Affairs in the Governor’s Office since January 2011. Prior to joining the Tomblin Administration, he served as Deputy State Tax Commissioner and as counsel to the State Senate Committee on Government Organization and Committee on Finance. Before beginning his service in state government, Pizatella practiced law at Spilman, Thomas and Battle, PLLC in Charleston.

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July 02, 2013

The WV Board of Coal Mine Health & Safety promulgated an "Emergency Rule" designed to close a major loop hole in the State's mandatory drug testing program.

The “Emergency Rule" promulgated by the Board of Coal Mine Health & Safety took effect July 1, extends the reporting and de-certification requirements in current state law to all individuals who fail a drug or alcohol test prescribed under state law.  Heretofore, only cases involving a positive drug test that resulted in discharge, will be reported to the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety & Training for disciplinary action and suspension of mining certification privileges.

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July 02, 2013

According to information released by the West Virginia Division of Commerce in February, West Virginia coal exports grew by 40 percent last year, increasing from $5.3 billion in 2011 to $7.4 billion in 2012.  West Virginia coal accounted for 49 percent of U.S. coal exports in 2012. 

The West Virginia Coal Forum – an organization representing both labor and management in the coal industry – will host a meeting to discuss the significance of coal exports to our state and national economies at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 11 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Charleston.   

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July 02, 2013

Be on the lookout for a petition to the White House asking for a change in direction from the Obama administration’s treatment of America’s coal industry.  We are joining together with other state and national associations, Friends of Coal everywhere and citizens concerned about the actions recently taken by the Obama administration relative to the continued use of coal to generate electricity in the United States to initiate a petition under the White House’s “We the People” webpage.  This effort will require “all hands on deck” to participate and sign the petition because we must obtain a minimum number of signatures in order to require a response from the White House.  Details are being finalized and the step-by-step information will be forthcoming in the next few days.  Once received we will need to mobilize all our employees, families, friends and colleagues to sign the petition and insure we reach the threshold.

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June 25, 2013

Coal in crosshairs

By CHARLES OWENS
Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — Far-reaching climate change regulations proposed Tuesday by President Barack Obama could have a crippling impact upon southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia, industry officials and area lawmakers warned.

Obama, in a speech at Georgetown University, announced he was issuing a presidential memorandum — and thus bypassing congressional action — in launching the first-ever federal regulations on carbon dioxide emitted by existing coal-fired power plants. The Obama administration blames fossil fuels such as coal on global warming.

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