**Will Attend Field Hearing in West Virginia on Monday, May 24th**

Washington, D.C.—Senator Jay Rockefeller today outlined his next steps on mine safety, following the Upper Big Branch mine tragedy in West Virginia—including attending a field hearing in Beckley on May 24, at 9:00 a.m. Rockefeller, a longtime fighter for strong mine safety laws and one of the leading authors of the MINER Act of 2006, has been working with state, local and federal officials to uncover more details about the Upper Big Branch accident and determine what needs to be done for the future.

“The tragedy at Upper Big Branch mine was felt by our entire country, and we are still in pain. We cannot change what happened—but we can make changes going forward. Every worker deserves a safe workplace—and it is the job of elected representatives to make sure that all voices are heard and laws are improved.

Statement of Jason D. Bostic
Vice-President
West Virginia Coal Association
Concerning EPA’s Proposed Revocation of the Spruce Mine Permit
 
Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight and thank you for attentiveness to this issue.
Briefly touch on some technical aspects of the Spruce Mine and your agency’s actions to revoke a three year-old permit.
 
First, I think it is beyond argument that any action by EPA to revoke the Spruce Mine permit fails the statutory test and parameters of authority that are granted to your agency under Section 404(c) of the federal Clean Water Act.  EPA. Has in fact admitted as much when it confessed that over the 38 year course of its existence it has never sought to revoke an issued permit.
 
EPA’s action relative to the Spruce permit should have occurred when the Corps issued the permit… some three years ago.  But EPA did not take such actions, and in fact complimented the Corps and the Company on the actions is has taken to bring the permit to fruition.
 
So, what has changed in three years since the Spruce permit was issued?

The EPA has declared a war on Appalachian Coal. The agency’s apparent intent to rescind the already issued Spruce Mine permit is the first time the agency has ever taken such an action and shows a reckless disregard for the impact on our people, on future investment in our region and even for basic fairness.

This action threatens the very future of mining in our state and region… not just mountaintop mining operations or even surface mining … but all forms of mining and with it the futures of the 50,000 West Virginia and 80,000 Appalachian families whose livelihoods depend on coal. We call upon our Congressional representatives, our local and state elected officials and everyone concerned about the future of our state and our region to let the EPA and the Obama Administration know this effort to destroy the Eastern coal industry must come to a stop.

MELVILLE — Roger Ramey smiled as he stood on the landing strip at the Logan County Airport yesterday and watched the Hercules C-130 aircraft land.

Ramey, who retired after 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and is the senior board member on the Logan County Airport Authority, said watching the airplane land was a "dream come true."

"This is a lifelong dream," Ramey said. "When I was in the Air Force and stationed overseas in the 1970s, I heard through my parents that they were planning to build an airport here. I thought I'd spent enough time in the Air Force that I could come back to Logan and get a job at the airport. It didn't progress as big and as fast as I'd have liked and I spent 20 years in the Air Force and when I got out, we came back to Logan and I got a job with the railroad.

LAURITA AND HOWARD NAMED TO WEST VIRGINIA COAL HALL OF FAME
Nicewonder joins to accept his 2009 award at annual meeting in Glade Springs
 
The West Virginia Coal Association and the West Virginia Coal Mining Institute are proud to name Thomas W. Howard and James Lewis Laurita (Jim, Sr.) as the 2010 inductees to the West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame. Laurita and Howard were joined in accepting the award by Don Nicewonder, who received his 2009 induction. Nicewonder had been unable to attend this past year.
 
“This is the highest honor our industry can bestow,” said Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association. “This award is given to people who devote a lifetime of service to our industry and our state.  I am so proud to be able to say I know these three gentlemen and count them as friends. They are gentlemen in every sense of the word. They embody the very best of our industry. Their lives of hard work, commitment to excellence and commitment to the state and its people truly light the way for the rest of us to follow.”