Talkline Host Hoppy Kercheval

In December,, 2009, U.S. Senator Robert Byrd delivered one of the most critical speeches of the latter part of his storied career. Byrd called for an “open and honest dialog about coal’s future.”
Byrd questioned the future of mountaintop removal mining, acknowledged the “mounting science of climate change,” called out the coal industry for “fear mongering” and “grandstanding” and called for the industry to “embrace the future” by working with Congress and regulatory agencies.

CHARLESTON -- The following statement is being issued by Bill Raney, President of the West Virginia Coal Association, in response to Senator Jay Rockefeller's vote on Wednesday to help defeat (46-53) a resolution (S.J. Res 37) that would have blocked implementation of EPA’s Utility MACT rule:

"West Virginia's coal mining community is extremely disappointed in Senator Rockefeller’s vote yesterday in the U.S. Senate against a resolution (SJR 37) that would have disapproved the EPA’s Utility MACT rule, the most expensive rule ever proposed by this agency.  It was a bad day for the industry, our people and consumers throughout West Virginia.  We are even more disappointed by Senator Rockefeller's speech on the floor of the Senate in which he questioned the coal industry's commitment to our people, their health and safety and the future of our state.  I can tell you, with confidence, that there is nothing more important to our members than the safety of their employees, their long term health and the wellness of their families.  To suggest otherwise is absolutely disingenuous. 

By Jim Angle
FoxNews.com

Federal regulations can be maddening, but none more so than a current one that demands oil refiners use millions of gallons of a substance, cellulosic ethanol, that does not exist.

"As ludicrous as that sounds, it's fact," says Charles Drevna, who represents refiners. "If it weren't so frustrating and infuriating, it would be comical."

And Tom Pyle of the Institute of Energy Research says, "the cellulosic biofuel program is the embodiment of government gone wild."

 

The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register

No wonder President Barack Obama and fellow radical environmentalists have been emboldened to open new fronts in their war against coal. When senators from states that rely directly or indirectly on coal can be counted upon to support the campaign, the White House has every reason to be confident.

And when party loyalty trumps concern for constituents among most Democrats in the U.S. Senate, Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency can feel perfectly secure.

CHARLESTON -- The following statement was issued by Bill Raney, President of the West Virginia Coal Association, in response to Senator Jay Rockefeller's vote on Wednesday to help defeat (46-53) a resolution (S.J. Res 37) that would have blocked implementation of EPA’s Utility MACT rule:

"West Virginia's coal mining community is extremely disappointed in Senator Rockefeller’s vote yesterday in the U.S. Senate against a resolution (SJR 37) that would have disapproved the EPA’s Utility MACT rule, the most expensive rule ever proposed by this agency.  It was a bad day for the industry, our people and consumers throughout West Virginia.  We are even more disappointed by Senator Rockefeller's speech on the floor of the Senate in which he questioned the coal industry's commitment to our people, their health and safety and the future of our state.  I can tell you, with confidence, that there is nothing more important to our members than the safety of their employees, their long term health and the wellness of their families.  To suggest otherwise is absolutely disingenuous.