Arch Coal, Inc. and its operating subsidiary Mingo Logan Coal Company were recognized by the U.S. Department of Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement) for demonstrating exemplary interaction, communication and involvement with the surrounding communities.
The 2015 Good Neighbor Award was presented to the Mountain Laurel complex for its ongoing community service efforts that included outdoor education and stewardship programs which provided outdoor experiences for community members who otherwise may not have had the opportunity, an annual Earth Day celebration with a local elementary school, the donation of Rockhouse Lake Recreation Area to the Logan County Commission, and the ongoing participation in the Spruce River Community Advisory Panel - a long-time partnership that works to improve the greater Sharples, W.Va. community. Moreover, employees continued their tradition of giving back to the community by donating volunteer time and more than $35,000 to the annual Christmas Giving Program. The donations allowed the mine to brighten the holiday season for students at eight schools in five counties, a local nursing facility and a number of underprivileged families in the area.
Congratulations to the new officers for 2016 of The National Mining Association (NMA), who were elected at its late October Board of Directors meeting in Washington.
· Chairman – Kevin Crutchfield, Chairman and CEO, Alpha Natural Resources, LLC
· Vice Chairman – Phillips Baker, President and CEO, Hecla Mining Company
· President – Hal Quinn, President and CEO of NMA
· Secretary – Bruce Watzman, NMA Senior Vice President for Regulatory Affairs
· Treasurer – Roger Roberts, NMA Senior Vice President for Administration
· Asst. Secretary – Katie Sweeney, Senior Vice President and General Counsel
“Energy policy needs to ensure all Americans have affordable and reliable electricity to meet everyday challenges and to help build a strong foundation of economic success. Regardless of where you stand politically, this plan fails to meet that threshold.”
Washington, D.C. – New analysis from NERA Economic Consulting shows the Environmental Protection Agency’s power plan comes with a hefty price tag that could approach $300 billion and raise electricity prices in each of the 47 states subject to the new regulation. Despite these enormous costs, the rule does nothing to prevent global climate change.
West Virginia’s attorney general is once again leading a coalition of states against the U.S. EPA’s carbon agenda — this time against the Clean Power Plan’s new power plant component, the New Source Performance Standards.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey on Nov. 3 released an unofficial version of his petition for review of the EPA’s new source rule, which will be submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. While he provided few details of his challenge, Morrisey pledged to show that the rule exceeds the EPA’s statutory authority and is otherwise arbitrary and capricious. Those seeking to challenge an agency action must indicate their intent to do so within 60 days of a rule’s publication in the Federal Register, although they do not have to lay out their arguments in that filing.
The fallout from the Obama Administration's eight year War on Coal continues to play havoc with the state's budget as the monthly coal severance collections took another tumble in October. According to the latest information from the state Department of Tax and Revenue, October revenues were $23.8 million below estimates, with fiscal -year-to-date collections $91.6 million below projections.
