Last week, U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Water Resources Subcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio) reintroduced H.R. 896, the “Regulatory Certainty Act,” which would clarify the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) role under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA).

The bill clarifies that EPA does not have the authority to veto a Section 404 permit after the Army Corps of Engineers has issued the permit as the Agency did in the case of the Spruce Mine in West Virginia. 

Jim Justice announced February 17, that he has repurchased Bluestone, a mining facility in McDowell and Wyoming counties, from the Russian company he initially sold to in 2009, Mechel OAO and has plans to reopen a new company, Bluestone Resources, Inc.

The Justice family sold U.S. coal producer Bluestone Coal Corp. to Mechel in May 2009 for $436 million in cash and 83.3 million Mechel preferred shares. At the time, Mechel was Russia’s largest producer of steelmaking coal.

The Charleston Newspapers’ Metro Section ran their annual special section on coal this past weekend.

The section included information on production, employment and distribution of West Virginia coal as well as severance collections and distributions. In addition, the section included articles on the Summit Bechtel Reserve National Scout Jamboree Center in Mt. Hope as well as pieces by WVCA President Bill Raney and others.

We hope you received a copy. If you didn’t we have a few copies at the WVCA office. Quantities are extremely limited. 

According to the latest report from the Energy Information Agency (EIA), coal production in the United States rose by slightly more than 500,000 tons for the week ending February 14, compared to the same time last year. Production for the week stood at 19.18 million tons compared to 19.09 million tons for the last week in 2014.  For the 52-week period ending February 14, production was also up, to 997.77 million tons from 980.46 million tons last year.

By Chris Hamilton, senior vice president

West Virginia Coal Association

Albert Einstein once defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” and for the past 83 years, the West Virginia Legislature and the United Mine Workers have done just that.   Now, after our Central Appalachian coal production has declined by over 43 percent, numerous coal mines have closed, and thousands of jobs have been lost, Cecil Roberts is advocating for the West Virginia Legislature to just keep doing the same thing.  This is not just recklessness on part of Roberts and the United Mine Workers, it is insanity.