The 2011 Pennsylvania Bituminous Coal Queen Victoria Buchtan, from Carmichael, Pennylvania has West Virginia ties. Her mom, Vanessa, was the 1983 Pennsylvania Coal Queen. Vanessa works in the West Virginia University Neurosciences Clinic. Victoria comes from a long line of coal miners. Her great grandfather, grandfather were miners and her other grandfather made longwall equipment. Victoria is a senior at Carmichael High School in Carmichael, PA.

By Ben Geman - 09/27/11 01:44 PM ET

GOP White House hopeful Rick Perry is asking President Obama to scuttle new air pollution rules that require cuts in power plant emissions that blow across state lines and worsen smog and particulate pollution.
The Texas governor, in a letter to Obama on Monday, takes aim at the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently finalized Cross-State Air Pollution Rule.

The letter says the rule “will have an immediate and devastating effect on Texas jobs, our economy, and our ability to supply the electricity our citizens, schools and employers need.”

The letter, which was first obtained by The Associated Press, alleges the rules have an “impossible” timeline and lessen the reliability of the state’s power grid.
“I urge you to use your executive authority to stop or delay the implementation of this and all other destructive rules, and to work with Congress to pass legislation that will prevent EPA from unilaterally establishing rules that kill jobs and increase electricity prices,” it states.

By Nick Brockman
Register-Herald Reporter

— New digital monitors and programming will bring the history of coal into the modern age at the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine.

The mine and Friends of Coal Ladies’ Auxiliary celebrated the completion of the Friends of Coal Depot during a dedication ceremony Monday afternoon. The additions aim to teach the site’s 50,000 annual visitors about the modern methods of coal mining.

“They will show a program with modern mining, how they mine coal today with the big machinery like the long-wall,” said Renda Morris, director of the mine.

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 2401, the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act (TRAIN Act), this afternoon on a vote of 249 to 169.  Importantly, a total of 19 Democrats supported final passage of the legislation. To see how your Member of Congress voted, click here.

Earlier today, the House also 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.

The TRAIN Act and the Whitfield amendment are key legislative priorities for NMA.  We engaged in an aggressive and comprehensive advocacy campaign to ensure passage of both the Whitfield amendment and the underlying bill, including direct lobbying, grassroots advocacy, coalition efforts with allied organizations, media engagement and advertising.  The legislation will now be sent to the Senate, where our efforts will continue to advance it, either as a stand-alone bill, or in the context of other must-pass legislati

Anyone who questions whether the regulatory state has anything to do with why the American economy is dying should consider one tiny part of the regulatory adventure businesses face.

In January 2010, with the country reeling from recession, President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency proposed tighter air quality standards.