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...

Government to seek stiff sentence for Massey security chief

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:00:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal prosecutors signaled Wednesday that they plan to seek a stiff prison sentence for a former Massey Energy security director convicted of lying to investigators following the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster. U.S. Attorney Booth...

Drug testing bill a distraction, McAteer says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:00:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gov. Earl Ray Tomblins proposal to require drug testing for West Virginias coal miners is "a distraction" from efforts to improve mine safety following the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, a leading safety advocate a...

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...

Im lowering my risk ... you can too.

katelong@wvgazette.com (Kate Long) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:00:00 -0500

Click here for stories and tips from 55 other West Virginians See a related story here

Ive added years onto my life

katelong@wvgazette.com (Kate Long) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 19:00:00 -0500

See a related story here. CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- When Connie Dooley, 60, climbs the hill behind her family house, she passes through her family cemetery and scrambles to the top ...

Despite lack of UBB link, Tomblin focused on miner drug testing

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:00:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Mandatory drug testing for coal miners is the cornerstone of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblins legislative response to the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, but drug use has not been found to have played a role in the April 2010 explosion that kil...

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. -- A tax break that Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin rushed through the Legislature to try to lure a natural gas "cracker" plant to West Vir...

Alpha contractor gets 6 months in jail

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:22:29 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- An Alpha Natural Resources contractor was sentenced Thursday to six months in prison after he admitted he lied to federal investigators about training practices at an Alpha mine in McDowell County. Raymond C. Dawson, 57, of Rays...

Tomblin rejects funding development plan with severance-tax hike

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:53:48 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said Thursday he would not take up a proposal to increase West Virginias coal and natural gas severance taxes to pump money into a trust that would fund long-term economic development, education and infrastruc...

MSHA officials: U.S. coal mine safety is improving

(Vicki Smith) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:22:12 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal regulators said Wednesday the nations coal mines have made huge strides in safety, pointing to a dramatic reduction in the number of accidents and injuries in the nations single ...

Lawyer urges industry caution in talking to MSHA

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:22:20 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Coal operators should be more cautious about talking to government mine safety investigators to avoid being ensnared in increased criminal prosecutions in the wake of the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, according to the law...

No settlement reached in Monsanto mediation

(Kate White) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:18:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Jury selection in the class-action lawsuit against Monsanto will begin next week after no settlement was reached during about eight hours of mediation T...

Ruling leaves dioxin cleanup out of Monsanto trial

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:45:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- As the trial begins in a major toxic pollution lawsuit against Monsanto Co., jurors wont be allowed to tackle a key issue: Should the company pay to clean up dioxin it allegedly spewed across the city of Nitro. Experts wont te...

Judge clarifies media rule for Monsanto trial

(Kate White) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:56:35 -0500

WINFIELD, W.Va. -- The judge in the huge class-action pollution trial against Monsanto issued an order clarifying permissible media coverage of the trial. Mercer Circuit Judge Derek Swope said he will allow cameras and audio equipment in the cour...

W.Va. urged to create extractive resources trust fund

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:57:02 -0500

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 ...

Are Marcellus Shale jobs booming.

(Megan Workman) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:45:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Danny Simms, a self-proclaimed oil and gas industry expert, recently joined a larger Charleston accounting firm because he said its time for him to "share the fun" of the industry. For nearly 30 years, Simms accounting...

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...

No industry backing for the word fracking

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:16:53 -0500

NEW YORK -- A different kind of F-word is stirring a linguistic and political debate as controversial as what it defines. The word is "fracking" -- as in hydraulic fracturing, a technique long used by the oil and gas industry to free oil and...

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....

C8 may make vaccines less effective, study says

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:04:02 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Researchers have found that children exposed to the toxic chemical C8 may experience reduced effectiveness of childhood vaccinations, according to a significant new study being published Wednesday in the Journal of the American M...

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...

State leaders to lobby in Houston for plant

(By Amanda Iacone and Lawrence Messina) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:07:34 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin will fly to Houston this week as part of West Virginias quest for a chemical plant that promises to deliver thousands of jobs, House Finance Chairman Ha...

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...

Lawmakers seeks edge in cracker plant competition

lmessina@ap.org (Lawrence Messina) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:28:09 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Legislature aims to send a major signal this week as West Virginia courts at least two major employers and competes with neighboring Ohio and Pennsylvania for a chemical plant expected to create thousands of jobs. The Hous...

DOE slashes gas estimate for Marcellus Shale

kward@wvgazette.com (Ken Ward Jr.) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:00:00 -0500

Links at top: Read the report: http://blogs.wvgazette.com/watchdog/CHARLESTON...

State still in mix for cracker

webmaster@ap.org ( The Associated Press) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:09:32 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia wont likely learn until mid- or late February where energy giant Shell will locate a huge new chemical plant tied to Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling, but the state remains in the running both for it and a sec...

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://...

Bill offers 25-year property-tax break for gas cracker

lmessina@ap.org (Lawrence Messina) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:05:32 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia would offer a 25-year break from property taxes to attract a new chemical plant fueled by the states emerging Marcellus natural gas industry, under a proposal from Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin that debuted in the L...

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