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Members and Friends,

Please read the foreword below from the Lexington Coal Exchange President, Joe Stearman and related emails that follow.  The PNC article that initiated this action can be found at the bottom of this email.  The action the Lexington Coal Exchange Board of Directors has taken is to move our checking account from PNC to another bank.  It is a small thing but it makes a statement.  Together we can make a difference.

Remember the Miners (RTM) is a public awareness campaign dedicated to honoring the legacy of all miners and the mining industry, bringing the human element to the forefront of the energy debate, and remembering the miners who have fallen. RTM also intends to raise awareness about the sacrifices that miners and their families make for our country. www.remembertheminers.org.

On Monday, November 8, 2020 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a decision concerning Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 402 (NPDES) permitting at reclamation bond forfeiture sites.  These sites are the responsibility of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s (WV DEP) Special Reclamation Fund (SRF).  The SRF is the state’s federally-approved Alternative Bonding System (ABS) under the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA).

The Appeals Court held that WV DEP has a responsibility under the CWA to obtain NPDES permit coverage for bond forfeiture sites.  The decision has serious financial implications as to the solvency of the SRF and its ability to qualify as an ABS under SMCRA.  Further, if the SRF no longer qualifies as an ABS, it can place the primacy of West Virginia’s state mining regulatory program at risk and subject certain parts or the entire program to a “takeover” by the federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM).

The Association is actively reviewing the decision as is WV DEP and we will advise the membership of further details are they are developed.

According to Paul Forward reporting on U.S. International Trade Commission data for January-September 2010, U.S. coal exports were up more than 46% y/y to 60.7 million tons. Metallurgical coal exports were up by more than 68% y/y and thermal coal exports were up more than 11% y/y through September. Coal imports through the same period were down 16% y/y to 14.4 million tons. YTD metallurgical coal exports to Asia was 9.9 million tons, or 23% of total met coal exports, vs. the year-ago level of 3.5 million tons, or 14% of total met coal exports for the same period.