The U.S. House Energy & Mineral Resources Subcommittee of the Natural Resources Committee held a field hearing Monday, September 26 here in Charleston, West Virginia. The hearing focused on the Obama Administration’s attempts to rewrite the Stream Buffer Zone rule and potential damage this would cause to the nation’s coal industry. 

Jason Bostic, vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association, testified at the hearing, which was held at the Kanawha County Courthouse.  Bostic told committee members that the OSM and federal EPA are engaged in an assault on coal that usurps the lawmaking powers of the Congress and upsets the Constitutional balance between the three branches of government.

Governor Tomblin also spoke to the Committee. "All told, more than 63,000 West Virginians work in jobs provided by the coal industry. That is 63,000 families," Governor Tomblin said. "Think about it for a moment -that means approximately 250,000 people in a state with less than two million citizens are supported, in one way or another, by the mining of coal."

The modernization project of the Beckley Exhibition Mine was dedicated on Monday, September 26^th.  The project was coordinated by the Friends of Coal Ladies’ Auxiliary and thanks to several of our member companies and the Friends of Coal, the Exhibition Mine tour will now include professional videos of modern mining equipment and techniques.  In addition to making the mantrip tours more comfortable and user-friendly, this modernization project has substantially expanded the educational significance of the mine tours.  (see full Register-Herald article “Renovated Beckley Depot Dedicated”)

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 2401, the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act (TRAIN Act), this past Friday on a vote of 249 to 169.  Importantly, a total of 19 Democrats supported final passage of the legislation.  Only four Republicans voted “No” on final passage of the bill.  And also Friday, the House adopted an amendment to the bill sponsored by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) that would impose additional delays on the ability of the EPA to implement the Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) and the proposed Utility MACT rule.  The Whitfield amendment passed on a vote of 234 to 188, with 15 Republicans voting NO and 13 Democrats voting YES.

Arch Coal, Inc. announced recently it is donating $300,000 to West Virginia University to fund Mine Health and Safety Research.

The funds, which will be managed by the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources’ Mining and Industrial Extension Department, will be used to conduct mine health and safety research with an emphasis on mine-level application.

“We greatly appreciate the important work that WVU is doing to educate a new generation of talented engineers, particularly in the mining and industrial arenas,” said Steven F. Leer, chairman and chief executive officer of Arch Coal, Inc. “We applaud the University’s efforts to develop a world-class applied coal mine health and safety research center.”

WVU’s Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies, located in the Mining and Industrial Extension unit, trained nearly 10,000 miners in 2010. The Academy offers a variety of courses, including certification courses for new miners and mine foremen, along with training in mine rescue, mine fire safety, and emergency preparedness.