We have an urgent national priority: moving forward with the development and demonstration of energy-efficient technologies that would enable America to burn fossil fuels more cleanly and cheaply.

With the outlook dimming for nuclear power and renewable energy sources, there are growing concerns that efforts to maintain air quality and combat global warming will fail as energy production increases in the years ahead.

Governor Tomblin this week moved to join West Virginia with twenty-one other states in challenging President Obama's EPA and its latest attack on jobs and our nation’s coal industry.

Governor Tomblin has directed West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw to join a Petition for Review in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging the EPA's MACT Rule. This rule has already caused electric utilities to announce plans to shut down coal-fired power plants in West Virginia.

The State Board of Coal Mine Health & Safety has (re)filed for public comment the following five (5) sets of administrative rules, including four (4) of which, that have been held in abeyance for nearly two years.

Ø -- Title 36 Series 49 Barometer

Ø -- Title 36 Series 50 Belt Conveyor Safety

Ø -- Title 36 Series 51 Escapeway Maps and Drills

Ø -- Title 36 Series 52 Notification of Fires

Ø -- Title 36 Series 53 Hoisting and Elevators

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its proposed rule last week setting New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the Federal Register (77 Fed. Reg. 22,392). The 60-day comment period commenced on Friday, and comments on the proposal are due on Tuesday, June 12, 2012.

The public can view comment submissions atregulations.gov under the docket ID no. EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0660. A link to the online federal register site, as well as the PDF federal register version of the proposal, can be found on NMA’s website.

We will file comments.

The West Virginia Coal Association will be taking part in a panel discussion at this year’s Nemacolin Energy Institute National Coal Conference April 24-25 in Farmington, PA. The event will be held at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and will feature speakers from ACCCE, the NMA and CONSOL Energy.

WVCA President Bill Raney will represent the Association in a panel discussion along with Bill Bissett, president of the Kentucky Coal Association; Mike Carey, president of the Ohio Coal Association and George Ellis, president of the Pennsylvania Coal Association.

For more information or to register, visit the event website at www.nationalcoalconference.com.