CHARLESTON -- Governor Tomblin has named the week of April 18-22 as Coal Education Week in West Virginia.  As part of the observance of Coal Education Week, the West Virginia Coal Association is launching a new section of its website dedicated to Coal Education. You can access the sites at HERE. In addition, you can access more resources for educators at the CEDAR of Southern West Virginia website HERE.

OHIO COUNTY, W.Va. -- Alliance Coal made visible changes in Ohio County before starting up production at the Tunnel Ridge Mine last year. West Virginia's acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin got a firsthand look at those investments on Tuesday.

After a quick mine surface tour, Tomblin’s visit continued at Oglebay, where Alliance Coal officials touted the jobs and $295 million in investments they said the company’s made in the county

Source: http://www.wtov9.com/news/27522414/detail.html

While the EPA’s April 2010 Guidance Memorandum regarding coal-mining permits is already subject to a lawsuit brought by the State of West Virginia and the National Mining Association (NMA), other states are chiming in against EPA’s use of such interim guidance.ˇ

The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) has approved nine resolutions drafted by various state environmental secretaries protesting EPA’s use of guidance. These state officials claim that such guidance frustrates the states abilities to navigate their respective rulemaking processes and, quite simply, obey the law.

According to the news accounts, EPA has delayed or abandoned a change to the definition of fill materialˇ which would have further eroded the ability of the Corps of Engineers to issue permits under 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA).  This is good news for the coal industry, which needs 404 permits for: excess spoil and refuse fills; pond construction; and surface mines which mine through streams.  To read more, click here.

ABINGDON, Va. — Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: ANR), a leading supplier and exporter of coal, has appointed Paul Vining to the newly created position of Chief Commercial Officer.

Vining will bring 30 years of proven executive experience within the coal industry when he joins Alpha in early May. From 2008 to 2010 he was President and Chief Operating Officer of St. Louis-based Patriot Coal Corp. (NYSE: PCX), a major U.S. producer of metallurgical and steam coal. Prior to that Vining was Chief Executive Officer of Magnum Coal Co. and Trout Coal Holdings, two privately held Central Appalachian coal producers. He has held the top executive sales and trading positions for both Arch Coal and Peabody Energy, the two largest coal producers in the United States, and had key sales and marketing roles at Island Creek Coal Co. and A.T. Massey Coal Co.