Last week the WV Tax Department of Revenue filed the Tentative Natural Resource Valuation Variables for tax year 2015 for public comment.  The variables are used to appraise coal, oil, gas, managed timberland and other natural resource properties for property tax purposes.  These proposed variables will be open for comments until August 1, 2014, with the final variables to be filed on September 1, 2014. Copies are available upon request from the Association office.

WVCA member Jackson Kelly PLLC announced, effective July 1st, the Evansville, Indiana law firm of Rudolph, Fine, Porter and Johnson, LLP, had elected to merge its 20 person practice with them.   Rudolph, Fine, Porter and Johnson LLP was founded in Evansville in 1987 and serves clients in the Indiana-Kentucky-Illinois region in the areas of litigation, mediation, estate planning and administration, corporate, health care, banking, employment and real estate law. Jackson Kelly had opened an office in Evansville with three attorneys in 2011. The office is located in downtown Evansville, at 221 NW Fifth Street, Evansville, Indiana 47706-1507.

During the past week, the West Virginia Friends of Coal social media group moved past 77,000 total fans, adding 2,300 new fans and chalking up 1.3 million total impressions (eyeballs on a page) in just the past 15 days.

The Friends of Coal (National) page led the way adding 1,300 new fans over the past 15 days and chalking up almost ½ million impressions. Friends of Coal West Virginia followed closely with 1,000 new fans and just short of another ½ million impressions over the period. The Friends of Coal (National) page is now at almost 31,000 fans while the Friends of Coal West Virginia page is 25,000 total fans.

The West Virginia Coal Association will be re-launching it’s EPA Contact Tool to gather public comments on the agency’s proposed existing source standards for coal-fired power plants. We expect the tool to be re-launched early next week and it will provide a place for the public to send comments to the EPA regarding the job-destroying rule.

Look for an announcement on the re-launch in your email next week along with a link to the tool.

The EPA’s proposed standards for existing coal-fired power plants threatens hundreds of thousands of jobs across the county and will drive up electric prices by as much as 50-100 percent in some places.
 
Public groups from across the political spectrum, from labor unions to utilities, from citizens groups to coal companies have decried the rule as harmful to both the nation and to individual people – particularly those on fixed incomes and the poor.

The West Virginia Coal Association and the Friends of Coal will be taking part in a pro-coal rally July 30th in Pittsburgh. Dubbed “Operation No Surrender,” the event will take place to coincide with the EPA’s Public Hearing on its Existing Source Performance Standards for coal-fired power plants that will be held on July 31st in Pittsburgh – the closest location to the West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio coalfields.

Transportation to the event will be provided at several bus pickup points around the region. Those interested in attending will be asked to pre-register. More details should be available early next week. Check your emails and our Facebook pages for more information.

To comply with the new respirable dust sampling requirements of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s 2014 Final Dust Rule, a training class to certify persons in respirable dust sampling will be offered at the Coal Mine Safety and Health District 3 office at 9 a.m. on July 18, 2014.  A written and hands-on examination will be administered following the training. 

Only notes taken during the training class are permitted to be used during the written examination.  Reservations are recommended as the class size is limited to 40 persons, and reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.  For reservations and other information contact the District 3 Health Section at (304) 225-6826.