MSHA held an open industry briefing this week and revealed the following three initiatives of the agency:

Reference was made to MSHA pursuing a “global” HazCom standard, patterned after the one in use under OSHA law.  A program Policy Letter will be forthcoming on Monday, August 12 that will explain the differences between the two standards and how MSHA intends on reconciling the two programs along with the changes coal operators will have to undertake to meet compliance expectations going forward.

In 2008, the year President Obama was elected, West Virginia produced 165 million tons of coal and more than 27,000 West Virginians were directly employed in the state’s coal mines. Current projections by the State Tax Office for 2013 show production of only 115 million tons and according to the Office of Miners Health, Safety and Training, direct employment is down to just 19,320 active miners. This represents a drop in production over the past four and a half years of 31 percent and a drop in employment of 29 percent.

CHARLESTON – Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has announced that for the third consecutive year West Virginia exports reached a record level. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Commerce show the state’s exports grew from $9 billion in 2011 to $11.3 billion in 2012. West Virginia companies exported to136 countries in 2012.

MEPCO’s Jim Laurita to continue as board chairman

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Members of the West Virginia Coal Association re-elected MEPCO’s Jim Laurita as chairman of the board of directors at the Association’s annual meeting in White Sulphur Springs this past week.

MEPCO is headquartered in Morgantown, West Virginia.

In comments to the organization, Laurita said stiff challenges remain ahead for the industry, both in West Virginia and the nation, but he remains confident that coal will continue to play the central role in meeting our nation’s energy needs.

“There is no question, we are faced with some difficult challenges,” Laurita said. “But our coal and the people who mine it are the best in the world. The rest of the world knows the value of coal – and of West Virginia coal specifically – and I firmly believe our future is what we make it.”

Read more: West Virginia Coal Association Selects New Officers

World Bank cuts developing nations' access to loans for coal plants

By Joselyn King
The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

WHEELING - The "war on coal" now has an international front after the World Bank announced it will limit funding of coal-fired power plants in developing countries, Rep. David B. McKinley said.