Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has officially declared the fourth week of April (April 19 –April 25, 2105) Coal Education Week in the Mountain State. Tomblin made the announcement at a ceremony at the State Capitol Monday, April 13, 2015. CEDAR board members, WV Coal Association members and Burch Elementary second grade students were present for the ceremony.

The Proclamation recognizes the importance of coal in West Virginia from fuel that powered the transformation of the United States during the Industrial Revolution to present day through economic development and diversification resulting in new commercial, industrial, agricultural, public, residential and recreational facilities on land made available through coal mining.

By Eric Wolff (SNL)

The U.S. EPA's proposed carbon dioxide rule appears likely to survive its first court challenge, a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit indicated at oral arguments on April 16.

West Virginia and coal producer Murray Energy Corp. argued that even though the rule was still in the draft stage, it was such an unusual regulation that the court should rule. They may have found a willing ear in Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, but Judges Brett Kavanaugh and Thomas Griffith seemed concerned that wading into what they called a routine rulemaking process would open the court to a wave to future challenges.

Federal judges appeared unsure about whether the EPA has legal authority for its proposed greenhouse gas rule for existing power plants, but even more wary about expanding the court’s authority by judging a rule that is not yet final.

Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson, Thomas Griffith and Brett Kavanaugh heard more than two hours of oral arguments in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in a trio of cases over the EPA's proposed Clean Power Plan. The final rule is expected this summer.

Former DEP Secretary Jack Caffrey passed away earlier this week in Welch, his adopted hometown for many, many years.  Jack was prominent in many activities in McDowell County and was a long-serving engineer for U.S. Steel when they had a major presence in the county and the town of Gary.  Jack’s obituary is below. 

John (Jack) E. Caffrey, a prominent Businessman and civic leader, passed away on Tuesday, April 14, 2015.

The Obama Administration is escalating its attempt to stifle the American economy, backing an aggressive EPA proposal that will force a number of states – including West Virginia – to make radical, extraordinarily expensive changes in the way they produce electricity.  West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is on the front lines of this battle, leading fellow Attorneys General from several other states in a lawsuit opposing EPA’s illegal plan, which is nothing short of an overreaching, federal bureaucratic takeover of state authority.