EPA action is reckless and arbitrary, shows disregard of impact on people and the economy

CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Coal Association supports today’s decision by Mingo Logan Coal Company to file suit against the federal Environmental Protection Agency over its announcement of intent to revoke the permit for the company’s Spruce #1 surface mine in Logan County.

“This decision by EPA is reckless and arbitrary,” said West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney. “It establishes a very dangerous precedent in that it reneges on an already approved permit, something that has never been done previously. In doing so it brings into question the reliability of the entire permitting process and shows an arrogant disregard for the impacts this will have on the state’s economy and its people. We fully support Mingo Logan’s actions to compel EPA to respect the law and follow its own regulations.”

statejournal.com

The federal government is considering whether to take away Arch Coal’s right to produce coal at its Spruce site in Logan County.
By Dan Page

This is an era of government overreach.

We see it almost every day. Government tells us what we can and cannot do with our property and lives. Perhaps no agency has sought to expand its power more zealously than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, especially during the presidency of Barack Obama.

The goal of this project is to put a human face on the energy issue by creating a collection of life-size photographs of American coal miners, suitable for museum exhibition. These monumental portraits reveal the human essence of the coal industry and their exhibition will celebrate and honor these men and women as contemporary American heroes.

These photographs are life-size portraits from the tops of the miners helmets to the tips of their boots. Between 30 and 40 photos are taken in a grid, life-size on 8 x 10 inch film covering the entire person. Those negatives are then contact printed and assembled to create a full size person. The quality is extraordinary, as this is ultimate photographic quality the contact print. Every hair and every thread is as clear as in real life. Most of the portraits are shot in black & white and mounted on 16 gauge hot rolled steel sheets. The final pieces are almost 7 feet tall.

Source:  Thorney Lieberman

The Friends of Coal and the West Virginia Coal Association played host to another group tour by Wheeling Jesuit University this past Tuesday. This time the students were from Nebraska and were interested in getting a complete picture of the practice of mining, its economic impact on the state and the role it can play in building a new future for the people of the coalfields region.