The modernization project of the Beckley Exhibition Mine was dedicated on Monday, September 26^th.  The project was coordinated by the Friends of Coal Ladies’ Auxiliary and thanks to several of our member companies and the Friends of Coal, the Exhibition Mine tour will now include professional videos of modern mining equipment and techniques.  In addition to making the mantrip tours more comfortable and user-friendly, this modernization project has substantially expanded the educational significance of the mine tours.  (see full Register-Herald article “Renovated Beckley Depot Dedicated”)

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 2401, the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act (TRAIN Act), this past Friday on a vote of 249 to 169.  Importantly, a total of 19 Democrats supported final passage of the legislation.  Only four Republicans voted “No” on final passage of the bill.  And also Friday, the House adopted an amendment to the bill sponsored by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) that would impose additional delays on the ability of the EPA to implement the Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) and the proposed Utility MACT rule.  The Whitfield amendment passed on a vote of 234 to 188, with 15 Republicans voting NO and 13 Democrats voting YES.

Arch Coal, Inc. announced recently it is donating $300,000 to West Virginia University to fund Mine Health and Safety Research.

The funds, which will be managed by the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources’ Mining and Industrial Extension Department, will be used to conduct mine health and safety research with an emphasis on mine-level application.

“We greatly appreciate the important work that WVU is doing to educate a new generation of talented engineers, particularly in the mining and industrial arenas,” said Steven F. Leer, chairman and chief executive officer of Arch Coal, Inc. “We applaud the University’s efforts to develop a world-class applied coal mine health and safety research center.”

WVU’s Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies, located in the Mining and Industrial Extension unit, trained nearly 10,000 miners in 2010. The Academy offers a variety of courses, including certification courses for new miners and mine foremen, along with training in mine rescue, mine fire safety, and emergency preparedness.

Southern States Energy Board will host its 51st annual meeting in Richmond, Virginia from October 15-17, 2011. The meeting will be held at the Marriott - 500 Broad Street, Richmond, VA.  The SSEB’s chairman, Governor Bob McDonnell will preside over this meeting.

Also, Governor McDonnell’s 2nd annual Virginia Governor’s Energy Summit will be held from October 17-19 at the Richmond Marriott.  During lunch on Wednesday, the 19th SSEB’s meeting will close and the Governor’s Energy Summit will begin.

For more information contact Kimberly Sams @ SSEB  sams@sseb.org or call  1-770.242.7712 or Karen Surmacewicz @ the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) has announced that the House will be advancing a jobs agenda this fall. As part of the House Republican effort to protect and create American jobs, Cantor said in a memo that Rep. David McKinley’s (WV) jobs legislation on coal ash, H.R. 2273, will hit the floor this coming October or November. “These anti-infrastructure regulations, commonly referred to as the ‘coal ash’ rules, will cost hundreds of billions of dollars, affecting everything from concrete production to building products like wall board,” Cantor’s memo states. “The result is an estimated loss of well over 100,000 jobs.  H.R. 2273, the Coals Residuals Reuse and Management Act, would create an enforceable minimum standard for the regulation of coal ash by the states, allowing their use in a safe manner that protects jobs.”

In a response letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, President Obama acknowledged that his EPA’s proposal to regulate coal ash as a hazardous material is one of the seven most costly regulations his entire administration has proposed. According to a June 2011 Veritas economic report the President’s estimate that the coal ash rule would cost the economy up to $1.5 billion annually is grossly underestimated. The report stated that the EPA’s hazardous designation would cost up to $110 billion over 20 years with estimated job losses ranging from 184,000 to 316,000.