During the month of November the Association’s websites received considerable attention.

The Friends of Coal website, www.Friendsofcoal.org, had more than 1500 visitors for the month with over 5000 individual page views. Eighty-one percent (81%) of the visits were first timers with over 61% of the visitors coming from search engines. Visitors also came from over 26 countries and territories across the world.

The Coal Association’s website, www.wvcoal.com, had more than 3600 visitors and over 8200 individual page views, with sixty-two percent (62%) percent of the visitors coming to the site for the first time.  Over 71% of the total visits came from search engines with visitors from over 77 countries and territories.

ARLINGTON, Va. - The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today released an updated list of public hearings on the proposed rule "Lowering Miners' Exposure to Respirable Coal Mine Dust, Including Continuous Personal Dust Monitors.” The amended notice is available in today's Federal Register, and a copy is available at http://www.msha.gov/REGS/FEDREG/PROPOSED/2010PROP/2010-30099.asp. This notice indicates changes to the dates of the Washington, Pa., and Arlington, Va., hearings, as well as the addition of a seventh location in Prestonsburg, Ky. 

The proposed rule was published Oct. 19 and is available at http://www.msha.gov/REGS/FEDREG/PROPOSED/2010Prop/2010-25249.pdf. 

Federal and state officials were on hand Friday in Welch to dedicate the new federal prison facility. Located on former surface mined land, the prison will employ an estimated 400 people when fully staffed. It is located in the McDowell County industrial park, which is also part of the same restored surface mined site.

The dedication of this facility comes just weeks after the groundbreaking for the Bechtel Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree facility in Fayette County, also on a restored mined lands.

These two developments are just a couple of the important uses former surface mines have been put to across West Virginia.  In fact, a study just released by the West Virginia Department of Commerce and the Office of Coalfields Development shows more than 13,000 jobs have been created across the state on former surface mine land.  See full-text of a recent story in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph below.

FOC license plate applications were sent out again yesterday, via e-mail, to all of Coal Bits recipients.  If you have already ordered your license plate, then please pass the application along to your friends and family.  Companies can submit multiple applications by completing a form for each vehicle and submitting one check with the $70 fee for each vehicle.

We must have at least 250 applications in order to begin production of the FOC plate, so the more we receive the faster the process will progress.

If you need additional applications or have any questions please give Sandi a call at 304.342.4153 or e-mail to:  sdavison@wvcoal.com

The Friends of Coal launched four new radio spots this past week on the statewide West Virginia Radio Corporation Network.  One of the spots congratulated Senator Joe Manchin and Governor Earl Ray Tomblin on their new positions. We also completed a spot which played over the Veteran’s Day Holiday thanking our veterans for their service and sacrifice. Another of the spots – a holiday message -- will play through New Year’s Day. The last spot is entitled “West Virginia Values – American Strength” which calls for West Virginia coal to play a role in restoring our nation’s economic vitality. These are in addition to the main Friends of Coal ad that has been playing on Metro News.

Links to the new spots are available on the Friends of Coal website at http://www.friendsofcoal.org.