Highmark Stadium

July 30, 2014

Thank you for the opportunity to address this distinguished gathering of coal, energy and industrial workers...Workers who have collectively built this region, and for that matter, our country, into the greatest place on earth to call home.

I speak today as Chairman of the West Virginia Business & Industry Council which is comprised of more than 60 West Virginia trade associations and businesses.

Since the official launch of our online tool to have comments submitted against EPA’s proposed existing source performance standards this past week, more than 4,700 people have signed the petition. The tool has already almost doubled the total number of signatures collected during the month we used it to collect comments for the new plant source performance standards. With almost two months to go during the comment period, we hope to collect 10,000 signatures.

The August edition of The Coal Seam television show is now on the air. This edition features a conversation with WV Coal Association President Bill Raney and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Cabinet Secretary Randy Huffman.

Raney provides a brief outline of the current state of the industry in terms of production, employment and severance tax as well as a preview of the July 30 Coal Rally in Pittsburgh. The show was taped prior to the rally.

The 2014 edition of Coal Facts is now available. Published as an insert in this week’s edition of The State Journal, Coal Facts 2014 features final production, employment, severance and other data for calendar year 2013 as well as commentary from West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney, Senior VP Chris Hamilton and VP Jason Bostic.

We urge you to pick up a copy of this week’s State Journal. Limited copies are also available at the Association offices in Charleston.  A digital copy will be made available for download on our www.wvcoal.com website within the next week.

On August 1, 2014, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced that his office filed a new lawsuit on behalf of West Virginia and 11 other states against the federal Environmental Protection Agency challenging the agency’s decision to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal fired power plants.  The new suit challenges the legality of the 2011 settlement agreement signed by EPA where it committed to regulate existing power plants under Section 111(d) of the federal Clean Air Act.  Underlying the lawsuit is EPA’s regulation of coal fired power plants under a different section of the law and the federal CAA prohibits “double regulation” using two separate sections of the statute.  A copy of the suit is available from jbostic@wvcoal.com