According to the latest report from the Energy Information Agency (EIA) and the National Mining Association, coal production in the United States is down by slightly more than 1.5 million tons for the week ending March 7^th compared to the same time last year. Production for the week stood at 17.48 million tons compared to 18.99 million tons for the same week in 2014.  Cumulative production for the year- to-date is also down as of March 7^th to 174.17 million tons from 177.35 million tons last year.

Yesterday, March 12, 2015, was a historic day in that Governor Tomblin signed SB 357, one of the most extensive, comprehensive and substantive revisions of WV’s mine safety and environmental laws ever passed by a Legislature. While the Coal Jobs and Safety Act 2015 was passed in a strong bipartisan fashion in both the State Senate and the House of Delegates, it would not have been possible without the strong leadership in both houses of the Legislature.  SB 357 contains the mine safety issues (movement of equipment, drug testing changes, diesel commission repeal, track within 1,500 feet of face and sideboards on shuttle cars) and the environmental issues (permit as a shield, AL water quality standard rule, permit penalty conformance, inactive status, contemporaneous reclamation and impoundment standards) of our original legislative program.  The Governor’s approval was accompanied by a resolution that will be considered by both houses which calls for the WV Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety to review and consider changes to the movement of equipment regulations.  SB 357 will become effective on June 2, 2015.

Passage of SB 357, which began months before the Session started, was a true product of teamwork among all the members who helped and assisted with letters, drafting, phone calls, visits and everyday efforts at the Capitol.  Thanks to all and a detailed summary of SB 357 is below.

Are you a Friend of Coal? Now you can also have a Friends of Coal motorcycle license plate as well, letting the world know how important coal is to you and your family!  Are you one of the 63,000 West Virginia families whose livelihood depends on coal? Sign up for your Friends of Coal official regular or motorcycle license plate today.

The regular license plate, as well as the motorcycle plate, are 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.  These license plates are also of a new flat material and are highly reflective – all new State of West Virginia design.

The motorcycle plate will have a one-time fee of $56.00 with annual renewal fee of $31.00.

The new application is an all-in-one application, either regular or motorcycle plate.  Please read the second page of the downloadable application for complete instructions.

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.

If you need additional applications or have any questions please give Sandi a call at 304.342.4153 or e-mail to:sdavison@wvcoal.com

• Antarctic sea ice reached record high levels for late December 2014 and early January 2015, peaking around January 10 at more than 2.5 million square kilometers (965,000 square miles) above the 1981 to 2010 average, and 1.05 million square kilometers (580,000 square miles) above the previous record (2014) for that date.
• Coal and the River: Each year, approximately 120 million tons of coal travels by barge along the Ohio River. That is roughly the same as the recent annual coal production of West Virginia.

The State Wrestling Meet will be held next weekend at the Big Sandy Arena in Huntington.  Awards will begin around 6 p.m. on Saturday (28^th of February).