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By William Yeatman

Just because coal is an inanimate object doesn't mean President Obama's war on coal avoids human casualties. I witnessed the collateral damage to coal-dependent communities on Tuesday at the Charleston Civic Center in West Virginia, where hundreds of people gathered to demand that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spare their livelihoods.

In Mr. Obama's war on coal, the most intensive front has been waged against a particular kind of mining, known as mountain-top removal (MTR). It involves blowing off the top of mountains to get at the underlying coal seams, and it is essential for the Appalachian coal industry's competitiveness vis-a-vis growing production west of the Mississippi. But it is anathema to environmentalists, a major constituency within the president's Democratic Party.

Read more: Yeatman: Pests over People - Humans are Collateral Damage in the War on Coal

Parent Category: News

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.

Read more: Logan Airport & National Guard: A Dream Come True for ERT

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LAURITA AND HOWARD NAMED TO WEST VIRGINIA COAL HALL OF FAME
Nicewonder joins to accept his 2009 award at annual meeting in Glade Springs
 
 
CHARLESTON – 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.”

Read more: WV Coal Hall of Fame Inductees 2010

Parent Category: News

Q: When and where is the Public Hearing for the Spruce No. 1 Surface Mine Proposed Determination?

A: EPA Region 3 will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at the Charleston Civic Center (South Hall) in Charleston, West Virginia.

Q: Where is the Civic Center located?

A: The Charleston Civic Center is located at 200 Civic Center Drive, Charleston, West Virginia. Their phone number is 304-345-1500.

Q: What is the purpose of the Public Hearing?

A: EPA is holding the public hearing to obtain public testimony or comment on EPA’s proposed 404(c) action on the Spruce No. 1 Mine project.

Q: Is the Public Hearing open to anyone?

A: Anyone may appear at the hearing and submit oral and/or written statements or data. On-site registration to speak will begin at 5 p.m.

Q: What about people who have special needs?

A: For those who have special needs and require auxiliary aids and/or services to fully participate in the public hearing, please call 215-814-2760.

Q: Are advanced sign-ups being accepted?

A: Yes. In anticipation of the large turnout for the hearing, advanced sign-up is recommended due to time and capacity limitations, especially for those planning to make oral comments.

Q: How do I sign up?

A: To sign up go to http://www.epa.gov/region3/mtntop/spruce1hearing.html and click on the link which reads “Registering ahead of time is recommended.” You may also sign-up by phone at 877-368-3552.

Q: How do I submit my comments?

A: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No EPA-R03-OW-2009-0985, by one of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal (recommended method of comment submission): http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Or, go directly to the comments page for this action.

E-mail: ow-docket@epamail.epa.gov. Include the docket number, EPA-R03-OW-2009-0985, in the subject line of the message.

Mail:

‘‘EPA-R03-OW-2009-0985, Spruce No. 1 Surface Mine’’
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA Docket Center Water Docket, Mail Code 28221T
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460

Hand Delivery or Courier:
Director, Office of Environmental Programs
Environmental Assessment and Innovation Division (3EA30)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Such deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office’s normal hours of operation, which are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding federal holidays.

Submit at the Public Hearing: Written comments may also be presented at the hearing.

Parent Category: News

• At full production the mine would employ 235 miners and create another 300 indirect and induced jobs in the area.
• The jobs created by the Spruce permit would be high-paying, long-term employment opportunities.  These jobs would pay approximately $70,000 annually with full benefits.
• Total economic impact of this operation is estimated at approximately $15 0 million annually.
• The Spruce operation is projected to produce approximately  …..
• The permit is the most scrutinized mining permit in history  in West Virginia or the Appalachian region.
• During the permit’s 10 year review, the original mine design and production levels were significantly reduced to address the concerns of the EPA -- for example, the final permitted acreage was reduced by 27 percent and the fill placement was reduced by 57 percent. Total recoverable reserves of coal were reduced by 10.6 million tons as a result.
• The Spruce mine permit was issued in June 1007. Coal production has commenced and the initial workforce has been hired and is working.
• EPA participated along with the other agencies every step of the way during the permit’s 10 year review and had previously praised the company’s efforts to redesign the application.
• If the EPA revokes the Spruce permit, it will be the first time such an action has been taken on a mining project and only the 14th time the EPA has exercised that option since the program was created in 1972.
• It is an unprecedented action to revoke a permit that has already been issued and production, employment and investment has been mobilized.
• A decision by the EPA to revoke an issued permit will forever cast doubt over the validity of any permit obtained anywhere in West Virginia for any industry -- not just coal mining!
• The EPA has continued to delay a decision on whether or not to revoke the permit ... It has had more than enough time to make its decision and should not delay any longer. Further delay on an official decision allows the EPA to pocket veto the permit by doing nothing.
• EPA’s concerns regarding the Spruce Mine have been addressed by the State of West Virginia through its environmental programs. The fact that EPA continues to disregard these conclusions is further evidence that the agency has no respect for the state’s environmental programs or the  sovereignty of the Legislature to promulgate environmental protection standards.