The following statement is from Kentucky Coal Association President Bill Bissett in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement today that the Spruce Mine Permit in West Virginia has been vetoed.

LEXINGTON -- “Today’s action by Administrator Lisa Jackson and the EPA is not surprising, but it is unfair and unprecedented,” said Bissett. “By vetoing an existing federal water permit that was approved by the federal government previously, you have appointed bureaucrats literally throwing coal miners out of work. Hundreds of Kentucky coal operations and thousands of our miners depend on these same permits to go to work every day. Additionally, every other worker who depends on a federal permit for his or her livelihood - from agriculture to road construction - needs to pay attention to this veto. Today’s action by the EPA sends a clear message that following the law means nothing to this administration. It is our hope that our elected leaders in both Kentucky and Washington will hold these bureaucrats accountable for their actions and work to protect Kentucky jobs and our economy.”

MetroNews - January 13, 2011

Senator Joe Manchin issued the following statement on Thursday, after speaking with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, about the EPA's decision to pull the permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine:

Senator Joe Manchin today voiced his strong opposition to the unprecedented decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to retroactively veto a coal mining permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County, West Virginia.  The permit was already approved after an exhaustive, approximately 10-year regulatory process which included time for an extensive review by the EPA.

House Republicans are following through on their pledge to try and bring an end to the EPA’s assault on the American business community.

Three Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives -- Marsha Blackburn (TN), Shelley Moore Capito (WV) and Ted Poe (TX) each introduced separate bills aimed at blunting the EPA’s authority.

The three measures hamstring the agency's authority in different ways: Blackburn's would "amend the Clean Air Act to provide that greenhouse gases are not subject to the Act," even though the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that they are.  Capito's bill would delay EPA from regulating carbon dioxide and methane for two years; and Poe's would prohibit any agency funding "to be used to implement or enforce a cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gases."

"Time is of the essence," Capito said. "The Democrats failed to act in any way to stop the EPA from implementing new rules pertaining to greenhouse gas emissions on January 2, 2011.Without congressional action to say otherwise, the EPA will continue to dismantle energy and manufacturing industries through regulation."

Republicans aren't the only ones working to limit the agency's climate authority: Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has announced that he plans to reintroduce his bill that would impose a two-year delay on EPA's ability to limit greenhouse gases.  The Association supports a permanent moratorium on EPA’s authority.

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin promised to “aggressively pursue” the state’s lawsuit against the Obama Administration’s efforts to regulate the state’s mining industry out of business.

In his State of the State Address last week, Tomblin said he wants to nearly double the state Division of Energy's budget. He proposes increasing the agency’s budget by $200,000 from its current total operating budget of just $300,000.

The 2010 legislation aims to "make West Virginia a player in the national energy discussion" by raising the division's profile and expanding its range, said Sen. Brooks McCabe. The Kanawha County Democrat was the measure's lead sponsor.

Coal has a "short-term as well as an intermediate if not long-term role in the nation's energy policy," McCabe said. Besides reinforcing the importance of coal and natural gas, the measure encourages the division to promote the development of renewable energy sources from a rural state's perspective.

The eight-person Division of Energy receives federal funding to push renewable energy, but nothing for coal, gas and other fossil fuels, director Jeff Herholdt said. "There seems to be a different focus out of D.C."

Registration for the 38^th Annual WV Mining Symposium has been e-mailed to all Coal Bits recipients and is also included in this Coal Bits at bottom.  If you have not registered please complete the form and return to our offices, you will be invoiced for your participation in the Symposium.  A great program is being planned and an agenda will be sent by e-mail upon its completion.