Are you a Friend of Coal? Are you one of the 63,000 West Virginia families whose livelihood depends on coal? Let the world know how important coal is to you and your family! Sign up for your Friends of Coal official license plate today.

The first issued by the State of West Virginia in any color other than white, the Friends of Coal license plate is black, with white lettering and a Friends of Coal logo prominently displayed on the left side of the plate.

If you have already ordered your license plate, then please pass the application along to your friends and family. Companies can submit multiple applications by completing a form for each vehicle and submitting one check with the $70 fee for each vehicle.

Additional applications may be downloaded fromwww.friendsofcoal.org or if you have any questions please give Sandi a call at 304.342.4153 or e-mail to:sdavison@wvcoal.com

An invitation has been extended to anyone interested in playing in the First Elsie Pruett Endowment Scholarship Golf Tournament on Friday, June 17, 2011 at the White Oak Country Club.

Former Marshall University and Current NFL players scheduled to attend are Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich and Doug Legursky.

For more information please contact Josh Jones at304.465.5639.

The Friends of Coal continue their outreach efforts with the following events:

June 13 — Muguyoh District Day Camp at Camp Arrowhead in Ona. Lunch time presentation. Noon to 1:00pm

June 14 — M-G-M District Day Camp at Point Pleasant — Lunch time presentation. Noon to 1:00pm.

Leadership West Virginia Energy Session, July 21-22

Additional events include: Boone County Coal Festival, the Hatfield-McCoy Days in Matewan and others.

Bill would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from undermining states' permitting programs.

By Pam Kasey

A bipartisan bill introduced May 27 in the U.S. House of Representatives addresses the erosion of states’ authority and partnership with the federal government under the Clean Water Act.
The “Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011,” H.R. 2018, was introduced by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John L. Mica, R-Fla., and by committee ranking member Nick Rahall, D-W.Va. Rep. Shelly Moore Capito, R-W.Va., was among the bill’s original cosponsors.

The bill amends the Clean Water Act, or CWA, to preserve the system of cooperative federalism established under the CWA in which the primary responsibilities for water pollution control are allocated to the states.

When visitors step into U.S. Rep. David McKinley's office in Washington, one of the first things they see is the picture at right. The version on McKinley's wall is hard to miss. It's life-sized, and it is not there for decoration. It's a reminder - one we think is sorely needed in Washington.