The WV Office of Miners Health Safety & Training has withdrawn the proposed amendments to Title 56, Series 3 Rules Governing the Safety of Those Employed in and Around Surface Mines in West Virginia.  The rules were proposed in June and a public hearing was held in July. The agency intends on establishing an ad-hoc work group to review the proposed rules before they are (re)submitted to the Legislature for approval.

The WV Business & Industry Council (BIC) had four well attended legislative events this week.  On Tuesday, Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin was the featured guest speaker, along with many of the State Senators and Delegates from Kanawha and Putnam counties.  Later Tuesday evening, most of the Senators and Delegates from Cabell and Wayne counties met with BIC members in Ceredo.  The other two meetings, on Thursday, were held in Beckley for Raleigh and Fayette county representatives and at Chief Logan State Park with House Finance Chairman Harry Keith White and Delegates from Lincoln, Logan and Mingo counties attending.  The Coal Association is a charter member of BIC.

Doctors Jim and John Brick of WVU’s Medical School joined with the leaders of Marshall’s Medical School and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine to break ground on the Larry Joe Harless Community Health Center in Gilbert on Thursday.  The clinic was started in the Larry Joe Harless Community Center more than three years ago by WVU and is expanding into a new 12,000 square foot space being renovated in the Center.  It will provide primary care five days a week to the citizens of Gilbert and the surrounding area.  Throughout the groundbreaking ceremony it was mentioned that the Clinic would never have been realized had it not been for the vision and tremendous support of “Buck” Harless. 

The Pocahontas Coal Association will meet Tuesday, December 7^th, 2010 at 6:00 PM at the Princeton Elks Club.  As is tradition at the December meeting, the Pocahontas Coal Association and the Bluefield Daily Telegraph will be presenting the High School Football Player of the Week awards, as well as the Player of the Year award.  For more information contact Jason Fannin at 276-623-2914 or 276-698-5317 or by email at jfannin@alphanr.com.

A U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released two weeks ago faulted the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) enhanced review of 79 surface coal mining-related Section 404 permits.  The report found that the agency:

·  Has been ineffective in enhancing coordination or streamlining the permitting process;

·  Hinders coordination by failing to send decision-makers to monthly meetings of regulators and stakeholders;

·  Requests substantive changes in processes that have already been approved and begun, resulting in additional delay and cost;

·  Encroaches on state authority by insisting on how mines are to be designed;

·  Fails to communicate to state officials all pertinent information required for state permit consideration and approval; and

·  Adds to the uncertainty by preventing permit applicants from sharing information from past reviews.

GAO concluded that only six permits have been issued since EPA began its enhanced review in early 2009; 36 permits are still waiting to be in the enhanced review; and only one permit is currently under enhanced review. The GAO report was requested by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall.   This report should be strong information for the investigations that have been promised by new House leaders.  Overall, the report questions the legality of some of EPA’s review practices and its attempts to usurp the authority of the Corps of Engineers over the Section 404 program and of the states on related water quality matters. A copy of the report is available upon request.