The federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM) will hold six public hearings on what they’re calling the Stream Protection Rule (SPR), which is actually the Stream Buffer Zone Rule and is a complete “rewrite” of the surface mining act to the detriment of the mining industry and landowners across the country.  These hearings will be held during the month of September with the one in Charleston scheduled for Thursday, September 17^th at the Charleston Civic Center. We’re already hurting bad enough, without them “piling on” with more over-reaching regulations.  We need YOUR help!  Please RESERVE THE DATE in hopes you, your coworkers, family, suppliers and friends will “pitch in” to help us protect our coal miners’ jobs from this latest attack by Obama’s War on Coal!

• Thursday, September 17, 2015
  City: Charleston, WV
  Location: Charleston Civic Center
  200 Civic Center Dr., Charleston 25301
  Time: 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

If you can’t make it to the Charleston event, here are some other dates and sites in the region.

• Thursday, September 3, 2015
  City: Lexington, KY
  Location: Lexington Civic Center
  430 W Vine St., Lexington 40507
  Time: 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
• Thursday, September 10, 2015
  City: Pittsburgh, PA
  Location: Double Tree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh
  500 Mansfield Ave., Pittsburgh 15205
  Time: 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, September 15, 2015
  City: Big Stone Gap, VA
  Location: Mountain Empire Community College
  3441 Mt. Empire Rd., Big Stone Gap 24219
  Time: 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

At our recent Annual Meeting, the following individuals were elected to three-year terms on the Association’s Board of Directors (their representative companies shown in parenthesis): Ralph Ballard (WWMV, LLC), Gary Bennett (Arch Coal), Russell Bolyard (L&P Mineral), Pat Graney (Narcelle Logistics), Bobby Hypes (South Fork Coal), Greg Jessee (Met Resources), Tim McLean (Walker Machinery), Marty Petrunyak (Nelson Brothers) and Mike Zervos (United Energy). 

Also during their meeting, the Board of Directors elected the following officers and Executive Committee members for the next year:  Chairman of the Board---Jimmy Brock (Consol Energy); 1st Vice-Chairman---Mike Carey (Murray Energy); 2nd Vice-Chairman---Jimmy Bunn II (Coal River Energy);Secretary---Gary Bennett (Arch Coal); Treasurer---Andrew Jordon (Pritchard Mining); Assistant Treasurer---Ben Beakes (Alpha Natural Resources); Associate Division Chairman---Tim McLean (Walker Machinery); Members at Large --- Mike Day (Patriot Coal), Warren Hylton (Patience Coal), Kevin Craig (NRP); President---Bill Raney; Senior Vice-President---Chris Hamilton; and Vice-President---Jason Bostic. 

WHEELING - For better or for worse, depending on one's perspective, President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan will significantly change America by the year 2030 - if its goal of cutting 32 percent of CO2 emissions from electricity plants becomes reality.

To the dozens of coal industry officials, elected leaders, candidates and concerned members of the public gathered for a forum on the future of coal in the state at Oglebay Park on Tuesday, the effect of the plan will be decidedly negative, as they believe the state is set to lose thousands of jobs and see skyrocketing electricity rates. The Forum was hosted by the West Virginia Coal Forum, a joint labor-management organization based in Charleston.

The Association is pleased and proud to welcome the following new members who were approved at last week’s Board of Directors’ meeting:    Met Resources; Greenbrier Smokeless Coal Company; Narcelle Logistics; ESCO Corporation; URCO, Inc.;  and the Rogers Group.  We appreciate these new members’ confidence in the Association and we look forward to a long and active membership as we collectively address the issues confronting our industry. 

Announced as “breaking” news late last week, a group of 15 state attorneys general, including West Virginia’s Patrick Morrisey, took aim at the EPA’s Clean (Costly)Power Plan on Thursday, urging the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to issue an emergency stay of the controversial proposal’s deadlines while its legality is reviewed by the courts. 

The attorneys general argued that EPA lacks the legal authority to carry out the plan and said that a stay is appropriate so that States do not have to use taxpayer resources to comply with the rule before its formal publication.