Late last month, West Virginia Coal joined with the coal associations in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia and the National Mining Association in a letter to our respective congressional delegations asking them to assist in “fixing a regulatory system that is frustrating rather than promoting job creation, economic development and energy independence” by EPA’s institution of a re-review of more than 200 permits that are “caught in a regulatory black hole.” The letter noted that while EPA has made assurances over the last several weeks that 42 permits would be issued, “we have seen no evidence of any change.” In effect, the de facto moratorium on permits that commenced on March 4 continues without any meaningful progress. The letter was asking for congressional “assistance in fixing a regulatory system that will only continue to crush the investments, jobs and opportunities for the coal community.”
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