Last Friday, October 12th, a grand opening ceremony was held at the new Mingo County Air Transportation Park (a.k.a. Appalachian Regional Airport) with Congressman Nick Joe Rahall as the keynote speaker.  The Mingo County Airport Authority and the Mingo County Redevelopment Authority hosted the grand opening and celebrated the fruition of one of Mingo County’s greatest public/private partnerships to date, one that the late Mike Whitt and so many others worked tirelessly and passionately to make a reality.

Elizabeth S. Power, most recently with Patriot Coal and wife of Dinsmore & Shohl’s Kip Power has joined Steptoe & Johnson PLLC as Of Counsel and will focus her practice in the area of energy law.

“Elizabeth brings a wealth of experience and skill to our energy law practice, said Energy Team Leader Sharon Flanery.  “Her in-house experience as an Assistant General Counsel at the Fortune 500 energy company adds new depth to our energy practice and added value to our clients.”

Please remember, the following deadlines for the upcoming general election:

Voter Registration Deadline Oct 16 – THIS COMING TUESDAY

Early Voting Begins Oct. 24

General Election November 6th

We have never faced an election more vital to the future of our industry, our state and our nation.  As you well know, this election is most important as the future of coal and our industry hangs in the balance.

As we have said many times, the major challenges and issues facing the industry today are political in nature being driven by political agendas that require political solutions.  Please make every effort possible to mobilize your friends and family to assist in getting out the vote.

Tomorrow the Association will file comments with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WV DEP) on the agency’s “triennial review” of the state’s water quality standards program.  Under the Clean Water Act, WV DEP is required to evaluate the water quality standards of the state every three years.  WV DEP will begin this process next year with any formal revisions to the program being proposed in 2014 for public comment and review by the West Virginia Legislature.  The Association’s comments will focus on the classification of streams as drinking water supplies and trout waters, the need for comprehensive tools to measure compliance with the state’s narrative water quality standards and the specific, numeric standards for aluminum, beryllium and selenium.    For a copy of the comments contact jbostic@wvcoal.com

Today the West Virginia Rail Authority convened the first meeting of the State Rail Plan Steering Committee. The Committee will advise the Rail Authority and its contractor on issues related to railroad service (Class One, short line, industrial trackage and passenger/commuter service) as the state updates its federally-required Rail Investment and Improvement Plan for 2013.  The Committee will meet regularly over the next several months as the plan is developed.  The Association’s VP Jason Bostic was appointed to serve on the Committee and we will be contacting the membership for comments and recommendations on any suggestions offered for inclusion in the rail plan.  Contact jbostic@wvcoal.com for more information.