February 7, 2011

A request to restore competitive bidding to coal reserves in the Powder River Basin has been denied by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Since 1990 the PRB was decertified as a coal producing region, and shortly afterwards the rules for awarding coal leases were changed to include input from the mining companies to determine which parcels of land would come up for lease at any given time. A 2009 letter from WildEarth Guardians and the Sierra Club asked the BLM to revert its policy so that the BLM alone set lease boundaries claiming, among other things, that the policy had resulted in uncompetitive lease auctions.

BLM Director Bob Abbey says the existing process provides an “optimum” public return. He also says limiting coal mining in one area would not affect worldwide coal use or climate change.

Read article at http://wvgazette.com/ap/ApTopStories/201102071386. Read the letter from the BLM at http://www.wildearthguardians.org/site/DocServer/BLM_Director_response_Jan_28_2011.pdf?docID=1625&AddInterest=1229. Read the press release by WildEarth Guardians at http://www.wildearthguardians.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6547&news_iv_ctrl=1194

February 4, 2011

Critics of a proposed export facility in SE Washington state say that the decision to open the facility must take into consideration effects that will occur far from the port itself. Approved initially by the Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners, the facility must next be approved by the state’s Shoreline Hearings Board. A long list of organizations have lined up to oppose the terminal at that hearing including a coalition of environmental groups including Climate Solutions, Earthjustice, the Sierra Club and the Washington Environmental Council, as well as the Washington state Department of Ecology and the office of the Washington state Attorney General. They point out that the approval of the port will cause large amounts of pollution to enter the atmosphere when the coal is burned in China, as well as large environmental impacts that will occur when the coal itself is mined in Wyoming and Montana and transported by rail to the port.

Millenium, the owner of the port, has filed opposition saying that the groups don’t have standing to intervene in the matter. The Shoreline Hearings Board will hold its hearing on April 11.

Read article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703399204576108640399166816.html

February 2, 2011

Ken Ward Jr., veteran reporter on coal mining, has done a detailed analysis of the controversial OSMRE study about the economic and environmental impacts of proposed rule changes for coal mining. After obtaining the entire draft documents in question through a Freedom of Information Act, he analyzes them and compares the document itself with statements about it in the recent press.

Read analysis at http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2011/02/02/coal-tattoo-exclusive-about-that-osmre-study/

February 2, 2011

A leaked working copy of a Department of Interior study of possible restrictions on coal mining includes estimates on job losses, production shifts and environmental benefits that could result of the proposed restrictions were enforced. Obtained from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Ken Ward, Jr. at the Charleston Gazette, the document shows that Appalachian mining would be the most impacted with a 13% reduction in production over the next decade, but also a 20% in impacts to streams and land.

It also shows that nationwide production would actually go up slightly as a result of the changes, but 7000 jobs would be lost nationwide, mostly in the Appalachian coalfields. The document, first leaked in portions last week, has government agencies trying to distance themselves from it. A spokesman for the Office of Surface Mining said “The current draft of the EIS isn’t OSM’s and doesn’t reflect our input or reviews. The document is a very early working draft. We have not adopted the numbers that are in the draft or any other aspects of the draft.” Calls to the director of the OSM went unanswered.

Read article at http://wvgazette.com/News/201102021154

February 1, 2011

A new report has been released showing that hexavalent chromium, a particularly carcinogenic form of chromium, has been found leaking from coal ash disposal sites in the 17 states and has the potential to leak from hundreds of unlined disposal facilities throughout the United States. Published by Earthjustice, Physicians for Social Responsibility and Environmental Integrity Project, the report further claims that the US Department of Energy has known of these leaks and risks for years and the Environmental Protection Agency has failed to consider hexavalent chromium in its analysis of whether coal ash should be regulated as toxic waste.

Read article at http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2011/02/01/new-report-ties-coal-ash-to-hexavalent-chromium/ and read the report itself at http://wvgazette.com/static/coal%20tattoo/ChromReport.pdf

February 1, 2011

A collection of environmental groups has filed a lawsuit against the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) alleging that the federal government has failed to protect the San Juan River region from coal mining and the disposal of coal combustion waste.

The coalition, made up of the Center for Biological Diversity, Dine Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment and the San Juan Citizens Alliance alleges that OSMRE did not follow proper procedures in renewing the operating permit for the Navajo Coal Mine because they didn’t properly consult with the US Fish and Wildlife service about potential impacts the mining would have on threatened and endangered populations in the area.

Read article at http://wvgazette.com/ap/ApTopStories/201102010999

January 31, 2011

The US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is moving forward with proposed major changes to its 20 year old “Pattern of Violation” (POV) rules that it projects will help reduce miner injuries by about 150 per year. The POV rule was originally intended to increase penalties for mines that repeatedly violated mining safety rules but has come under increased scrutiny since the explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine that killed 29 miners in April 2010. In that case, the Upper Big Branch mine had numerous safety violations but had avoided being placed on the POV list through a technicality that said that violations under appeal could not be considered for POV status.

The new rules, the first revision to the law since its creation, would block mine owners from using appeals as a way to avoid POV status, and would stop the process of warning letters where MSHA warns a mine that they are in violation of safety standards but doesn’t issue a citation. The rule also requires MSHA investigators to check violation databases more frequently to detect when a mine’s safety standards are slipping. However, that tracking system has not even been designed and is not directly mentioned in the rule itself, leading to questions on how MSHA proposes to comply in the short term with its own rule.

Read the article at http://wvgazette.com/News/201101311393

January 29, 2011

Chevron Corporation, has announced that it is divesting of all of its coal mining interests, stating that it fears that new technologies for burning coal in a clean fashion are just too far off to justify staying in coal. Chevron is seeking a buyer for its Kemmerer Mine in Wyoming and is close to selling its North River underground mine to Florida-based Walter Energy. Plans are less certain for the currently idle McKinley Mine in New Mexico, although the company is exploring selling the reclaimed land.

Read article at http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CHEVRON_COAL and http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chevron-leaving-us-coal-industry-2011-01-29

January 29, 2011

Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. has agreed to purchase Massey Coal for $7.1B. Massey, the fourth largest coal producer in the country with 19 mines in Appalachia, had been seeking a buyer in the face of the April 5th explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine, as well as large losses on the balance sheet in recent quarters. Alpha will gain Massey’s reserves of 2.9B tons including 1.3B tons of highly valuable metallurgical coal that can sell for upwards of $200/ton.

Alpha hopes to use the sale to solidify its position as the top metallurgical coal producer in the country and believes that efficiencies from the merger will reduce Massey’s operating costs by $150M/year.

Read more at http://www.wvgazette.com/ap/ApTopStories/201101291150

January 27, 2011

MSHA has announced the results of its targeted inspections conducted in December 2010 in coal and other mines. Mines on the list had been targeted for heightened levels of scrutiny, and for the thirteen coal mines inspected, a total of 186 citations were issued of which 53% were S&S violations. However, unlike previous impact inspections, several mines (N&L Slope operate by Bear Gap Coal, and Road Fork #51 and Marsh Fork Mine both owned by Massey) actually came through the inspections with no violations. The rest of the mines faired far worse, averaging more than 18 violations each.

Read press release at http://www.msha.gov/MEDIA/PRESS/2011/NR110127.asp or see enforcement summary document at /documents/master-inspection-list-targeted-enforcement-dec-2010