The Charleston Gazette - Mining the Mountains

3 W.Va. plants latest to close under utility restructuring

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:40:27 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Three FirstEnergy power plants in West Virginia will close in September in the latest move by a utility to shutter decades-old units that cant meet new federal air quality standards that limit mercury and other toxic pollut...

Mineral trust boosted budget, ex-Wyoming governor says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:45:31 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A long-term trust fund fueled by mineral taxes like that proposed for West Virginia has allowed Wyoming to weather the boom-bust cycle of extractive industries, a former Wyoming governor said Tuesday. "It has provided a...

AEP chief: Coals elimination just not going to happen

(Megan Workman) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:37:57 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Although the amount of energy produced by coal will decrease in the nation -- from 45 percent today to 39 percent by 2020 -- a top electric utility company CEO said there is definitely a future for coal. "Coal is naturally g...

Coal conference ends with attacks on Obama

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:15:21 -0500

Read more: Read the report CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia should begin setting aside a portion of coal and natural gas severance taxes to create a trust fund that could help pay ...

EPA pushes to reduce Mingo mines impacts

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:15:44 -0500

Read more @ blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/ CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Obama administration has again questioned a huge mountaintop removal mine associated with the King Coal Highway...

DEP: No link between mining, well water complaints

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:00:00 -0500

A yearlong study of groundwater in some southern coalfield communities showed no evidence of widespread pollution related to mining, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection said Tuesday. After its own investigation failed to establish ...

Judge Chambers blocks health studies from mine permit case

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:45:08 -0500

Read the ruling online.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A federal judge has sided with Alpha Natural Resources in the companys effort to keep testimony about West Virginia University ...

DEP study overlooked lead violation in Prenter water

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:29:06 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State environmental regulators on Wednesday issued a clarification to their report on water quality in the Boone County community of Prenter, after a citizen pointed out they had overlooked a violation of pollution limits for lead....

DEP finds few problems in Prenter water

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:33:00 -0500

Read the report here.CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State regulators said Tuesday that a new review found only limited mining-related contamination of groundwater in the Boone County commu...

DOE report projects greater coal production drop

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:20:21 -0500

Read the report : http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Coal production in Central Appalachia may not decline as sharpl...

Patriot Coal agrees to major selenium cleanup

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:00:00 -0500

Read the deal at http://...

Prenter studies prove pollution, residents say

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:00:00 -0500

Read the reports: http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Residents...

AFL-CIO chief urges talks about the future of coal

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:59:27 -0500

Read the speech here CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Workers and environmental activists need to get together for serious discussions about the future of the coal industry, the president of t...

Tomblin bashes EPA, but praises pollution-control jobs

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:45:41 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- While Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin repeated his tough talk about opposing the Obama administrations "war on coal," the governor also touted a new West Virginia business that exists to help power plants meet to...

Reports: DEP mine cleanup program unfunded, mismanaged

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:19:29 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- As this years legislative session begins, a state advisory council is again urging lawmakers to increase a coal production tax that funds abandoned mine cleanups and a scathing new audit says mismanagement by the Departmen...

Alpha fights to block health studies from permit lawsuit

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:45:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Lawyers for Alpha Natural Resources are trying to keep testimony about West Virginia University studies linking mountaintop removal to birth defects and cancer among coalfield residents out of a legal challenge to one of the comp...

EPA rules to impact more than 60 power plants, study finds

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:35:35 -0500

WASHINGTON -- More than 32 mostly coal-fired power plants in a dozen states will be forced to shut down and an additional 36 might have to close because of new federal air pollution regulations, according to an Associated Press survey. Together, th...

Spending bill delays effort to end black lung

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 23:45:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A government spending package agreed to this week by the Obama administration and Congress contains language aimed at blocking -- or at least delaying -- new limits on coal dust aimed at ending deadly black lung disease. The measu...

Study confirms mountaintop removal stream damage

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:55:57 -0500

Read the study CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A new study in a major scientific journal confirms previous findings that link mountaintop removal coal mining to significant degradation of downstream...

Alpha to spend $50 million on selenium cleanups

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:12:30 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Alpha Natural Resources will have to clean up selenium pollution at three of the mountaintop removal mines it bought from Massey Energy, under a legal settlement with environmental groups announced Monday. The Sierra Club said...

CONSOL agrees to stream cleanup settlement

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:38:18 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- CONSOL Energy has signed on to a legal settlement that marks the first time a coal company has agreed to clean up conductivity pollution associated with a valley fill, an environmental group lawyer said Wednesday. Under the de...

Report outlines EPA permit review delays

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:46:59 -0500

Read the report: http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/ CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Obama administrations crackdown on mountaintop ...

Mine safety appeals thinned out a bit

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:20:54 -0500

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- A U.S. Department of Labor report says efforts to reduce the massive backlog of contested mine safety violations across the country have been relatively successful, but new ones continue to pour in. A report to Congress last week...

Coal jobs at 14-year high in Appalachia

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:45:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Despite complaints about the Obama administrations "war on coal," employment in the Appalachian mining industry is at a 14-year high, according to new government data and congressional testimony. Congressional allies of ...

Interior defends proposed OSM merger

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:26:28 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Obama administration officials on Thursday defended their proposal to merge the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement with the Bureau of Land Management.

C...

Board lifts stay on Arch coal permit

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:34:05 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The state Environmental Quality Board has lifted a stay on an Arch Coal mountaintop removal permit in Monongalia County. But the mining still cant move forward, and board members said the Sierra Club is likely to eventually win the...

EPA moving forward with emissions rules

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:30:13 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Obama administration this week quietly moved forward with plans to propose limits on greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials on Monday submitted a proposed ru...

EPA moving forward with emissions rules

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:35:16 -0500

Interior plans merger of OSM, lands agency

pjnyden@wvgazette.com (Paul J. Nyden) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:42:11 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Obama administration wants to merge the federal Office of Surface Mining, which enforces and oversees federal and state regulations on the coal industry, with another federal agency -- a move one West Virginia congressm...

House votes to strip EPA of authority over coal ash

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:14:09 -0400

Read more CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The House of Representatives on Friday passed legislation authored by Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., to block creation of tough new nationwid...

W.Va. pollution board begins rewrite of mine ruling

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Members of the state Environmental Quality Board on Friday began the process of rewriting a major decision that for the first time requires limits on conductivity pollution that scientists say is causing widespread water quality ...

Citing WVU health studies, groups challenge Alpha permit

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:55:17 -0400

Read more: http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/ CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Citizen groups th...

Rhino, Arch cited in two miner deaths

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:29:32 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State inspectors have cited the mine operators in two of West Virginias 2011 coal-mining deaths, members of the Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety learned Thursday. The West Virginia Office of Miners Health, Safety and Training cite...

Groups sue over Obama blocking smog rule

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 17:48:54 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Public health and environmental groups on Tuesday sued the Obama administration, challenging the presidents decision to block new air pollution rule recommended by the federal Environmental Protection Agencys top science advi...

Court ruling wont end mine permit crackdown

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 23:45:00 -0400

Read more here.CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Late last week, coalfield political leaders declared victory in their efforts to stop the Obama administrations Environmental Protection Agency crackdow...

WVU tries to distance itself from its facultys research

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 23:45:00 -0400

Read the policy here. CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia University on Friday asked the news media not to use the phrase "WVU study" to refer to research by university fac...

Judge rules in favor of coal in Obama mine crackdown

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:25:37 -0400

Read the ruling
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A federal judge dealt a blow Thursday to the Obama administrations crackdown on mountaintop removal coal mining, ruling that the U.S....

Study finds coal costly to U.S. economy

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Air pollution from coal-fired power plants costs the U.S. more in health damage than those plants contribute to the American economy, according to a new study in a respected economics journal.

Appalachia faces steep coal decline

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:59:24 -0400

GARRETT, Ky. -- When business screeched to a halt at Jerry Howards eastern Kentucky mine engineering company two years ago, he decided to call it quits after four decades in the coal industry. "We were sort of forced out, Howard says of the forme...

House subcommittee meets in Charleston; speakers slam coal regs

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:23:55 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- House Republicans brought their fight against Obama administration environmental regulations to West Virginia Monday, with a subcommittee hearing aimed at criticizing efforts to rewr...

Benefits of EPA air rules outweigh costs, report says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:38:58 -0400

Read the report.CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A series of air pollution rules from the Obama administration provide major public health benefits with dollar values far greater than their compl...

Obama blocks EPA smog rules

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:20:42 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Citing "the importance of reducing regulatory burdens," President Obama on Friday blocked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from finalizing a tougher smog standard a panel of EPA scientific advisers said is needed to p...

EPA rules wont cripple electricity grid, report says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 23:45:00 -0400

Read more here. CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Proposed federal regulations to curb toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants wont cripple the regions electricity grid, according to a new repo...

OSM wont overrule DEP on Brushy Fork slurry dam

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:22:41 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal regulators this week backed off any separate enforcement action at a huge Raleigh County coal slurry impoundment, but disputed West Virginias conclusion that the facility used "the most conservative design" and th...

Judges to review leak of Massey coal slurry deal

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:42:13 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A closed-door review of documents, prepared to inform nearly 600 West Virginia coalfield residents of a $35 million deal to settle their water pollution claims, may help identify who leaked settlement details to The Assoc...

Rep. Conyers draws heat for coal comments

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:02:05 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A leading House Democrat drew harsh responses Wednesday from the United Mine Workers and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., after he criticized the coal industry and called for a program to create alternative jobs in West Vi...

Congressional report finds no train wreck from EPA rules

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 23:45:00 -0400

Read the report

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Complaints from business leaders and their political suppor...