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Continuing its War on Coal and showing its complete disregard for our hard working miners and managers, the EPA announced it will appeal a March ruling issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that overturned the EPA’s decision to void (veto) Arch Coal’s existing Clean Water Act Section 404 permit for Mingo-Logan Coal Co.’s Spruce Mine No. 1 in Logan County. EPA’s retroactive veto of this permit, which was originally issued in 2007 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was challenged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the company. In her very strongly worded decision, District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that EPA had overstepped its authority and she described EPA's defense of its veto as “magical thinking” and the agency's interpretation of its authority under the Clean Water Act as being “illogical and impractical.” We’ll keep you posted.
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MARTINS FERRY, Ohio - While the crowd of nearly 450 people turned out in support of Vice President Biden, close to 200 protesters showed up in full force, as well.
They were dressed in coal miner's hats, jail uniforms and t-shirts, holding signs and chanting.
Protesters filled the street less than a block from where Vice President Biden gave his speech Thursday in Martins Ferry. Many are upset with the current administration's policy on coal.
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The Charleston Gazette
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Mine safety is the top priority of three West Virginia Army National Guardsmen who are in Mongolia to share their knowledge of mining with coal mining officials in the Mongolian government.
First Lt. Joshua Poling of Morgantown, 1st Lt. John Sinsel of Grafton and Staff Sgt. Tommy Wolford of South Williamson, Ky., are full-time coal miners, as well as soldiers in the West Virginia Army National Guard.
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Less than two weeks remain to submit stories and idea or reserve ad space in the upcoming annual West Virginia Coal Association/Friends of Coal State Journal insert. If you would like to submit story ideas, photos or complete stories for the section, you can do so by contacting the Association at 304.342.4153 or emailing us at
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A little more than one month is left before the end of the comment period on the EPA’s proposed GHG New Source Performance Standards Rule. The EPA published its proposed rule last month in the Federal Register, setting New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for greenhouse gases. The 60-day comment period ends June 12. The public can view comment submissions at regulations.gov under the docket ID no. EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0660.
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Show Your Support for Kentucky Coal
Save the Dates: June 5 in Frankfort and June 7 in Pikeville
Background:
At the request of the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, the United States EPA will conduct hearings in Frankfort on June 5 and in Pikeville on June 7, regarding EPA’s specific objections to 36 individual KPDES permits that would authorize discharges from new or expanded surface coal mining activities in eastern Kentucky.
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The West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame inducted two new members, Charles Holland and Paul Morton, during ceremonies May 4 at the Stonewall Resort in Roanoke, WV as part of the 18th Annual Joint Meeting of the Association and the West Virginia Coal Mining Institute. Current WVCA Chairman Gary White with International Resources and James River Coal and past WVCA Board member Ben Statler were also selected to receive this honor but were unable to attend and will be inducted at next year’s Joint Meeting of the Association and Institutes. Charles T. "Charlie" Holland and Paul Morton were inducted posthumously.
The Coal Hall of Fame was established by the West Virginia Coal Association, the West Virginia Coal Mining Institute and the West Virginia Mining and Reclamation Association in 1998. The Hall resides in the Mineral Resources Building of the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University, in Morgantown.
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Today the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WV DEP) published its draft listing of impaired streams that fail to meet state water quality standards and fail to meet their Clean Water Act (CWA) designated use. Referred to as the 303(d) list, streams indentified on the list will ultimately require the development of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) to adjust pollutant loadings (and NPDES permit effluent limits) allowing them to achieve their designated use. Attached is the “narrative” section of the new 303(d) list document. The entire impaired water listing and supporting information can be found at http://www.dep.wv.gov/WWE/
The 303(d) list is open for public comment until June 11, 2012. Since NPDES permits located on streams identified as impaired can ultimately be subject to NPDES permit effluent limitation reductions through the TMDL process, PLEASE review the list in detail and consider submitting comments / data to the agency on any stream listings that may impact your operations.
Additionally, based on a cursory review of the list, it appears that several streams previously removed have been RE-ADDED to the list for the same parameters.
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The West Virginia Coal Forum will host three forums acrossWest Virginia featuring Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, Congressman Nick Joe Rahall, Congressman David McKinley, UMWA President Cecil Roberts and others to discuss EPA’s War on Coal and, specifically, the agency’s greenhouse gas and Utility MACT proposed rules.
The meetings will be held per the following:
May 22 – Charleston’s Embassy Suites Hotel – 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. featuring Congresswoman Capito and UMWA President Roberts
May 23 – Wheeling’s Oglebay Resort – 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. featuring Congressman McKinley
May 24 – Beckley’s Country Inn & Suites/Mountaineer ConferenceCenter – 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. featuring Congressman Rahall.
Senator Manchin will have a representative at each meeting.
Please confirm your attendance at one or all of the events by e-mailing your name, title, organization and the event you plan to attend to
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