November 12, 2010

Ron Patrick, President of Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, has announced that they will be closing the Moss #3 mine on November 30, 2010. Citing a significant decrease in production in the last 12-18 months, Patrick said that the mine is no longer economical to operate. Thirty-eight people will be laid off as a result of the closure.

Dickenson-Russell is an affiliate of Alpha Natural Resources, a major coal producer in Northern and Central Appalachia, as well as the Powder River Basin.

Read article at http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dickenson-russell-coal-company-to-idle-coal-preparation-plant-107562043.html

December 2010 Atlantic Magazine

While environmentalists remain staunchly opposed to the burning of coal because of its large greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts, coal will necessarily remain an important fuel for the near future. Instead environmentalists must embrace new technologies that reduce the environmental impacts of burning coal and encourage further research and development of these technologies instead of letting China expand their dominant position in this area.

Read article at http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/12/dirty-coal-clean-future/8307/

November 10, 2010

MSHA has announced its new coal mine dust rule (see summary presentation here), along with releasing a schedule of six hearings in coal mining regions around the country to allow the public to comment on the rule before it is adopted.

Read article at http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/MSHA/MSHA20101576.htm

November 10, 2010

The EPA has issued guidelines to industry on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to help them with GHG cuts that go into effect next year. The guidelines target major emitters like coal-fired power plants and steel mills to help them remain in compliance when the new stricter regulations go into effect on January 2, 2011.

Read article at http://www.grist.org/article/2010-11-10-epa-issues-guidelines-for-cutting-greenhouse-gas-emissions

November 9, 2010

The long battle of Hugh M. Caperton against Don Blankenship and Massey Energy has entered a new phase. Originally a breach of contract case that resulted in a $6 million award and a separate action of tortious interference that resulted in a $50 million award, the cases have acquired more significance and attention as they worked their ways through the WV court system and to the United States Supreme Court raising issues of judicial conflict-of-interest at every step along the way. In April the West Virginia Supreme Court again ruled against Caperton saying that he should have sued in Virginia. On November 9th, Caperton followed that advice and refiled the case in Virginia.

Read article at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/business/energy-environment/10coal.html

November 9, 2010

Big Coal has not only survived the attempts on increased environmental legislation of the previous congressional term, it has emerged stronger and more influential than ever. In spite of industry’s claims that the Obama administration had “declared war on coal”, the amount of coal mined, the amount of coal burned has increased during the Obama administration, and new coal-fired power plants are still being built across the world, each with a likely 40 year operational life.

Read article at http://e360.yale.edu/feature/after_a_strong_counterattack_big_coal_makes_a_comeback__/2337/

November 9, 2010

The end of the election season has brought with it a massive rise in a large number of coal-related stocks of all kinds, including very traditional “dirty” operations as well as with companies working on “clean coal” technologies, presumably being driven by the weakened status of environmentally-minded Democrats on key congressional committees. Companies riding the wave include Massey, Arch, Peabody, Cloud Peak, Consol and Walter.

Read article at http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/top-stocks/blog.aspx?post=c4b609d4-92e1-44de-9b71-78cedd42adc7

November 8, 2010

A federal appeals court has upheld a finding that the state of West Virginia must obtain water pollution permits for the mines that they are in the process of reclaiming. The state had previously maintained that since they didn’t create the mines themselves and were just trying to clean up, they didn’t need to get permits for what they considered to be others’ pollution. In requiring permits, the court is forcing the state to make sure that water discharged during the reclamation process met the same standards placed on modern mines.

Read article at http://wvgazette.com/News/201011081101

November 08, 2010

As the political jockeying begins in front of the new legislative session former Governor and Senator-elect Joe Manchin of West Virginia is being lured by Republicans to switch parties in return for a seat on a committee of his choice (likely Energy and Natural Resources) and funding for a coal-to-liquids project that has stalled under the Democratic Senate.

Read article at http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/11/08/todays-power-play-gop-sweetens-its-offer-manchin

Chris Cline, owner of the Shay Coal Mine, discusses the history of his mines, the gambles he made that his coal would dramatically increase in value, and the future of the coal industry.

Read article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-12/cline-talking-clean-as-coal-mines-supply-most-energy-since-1970.html