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Most recent coal mining news items

Gov: Otter Creek coal could be boon for education – ABCMontana

Story Published: Sep 22, 2010 at 11:00 AM MDT
BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) â€” Gov. Brian Schweitzer says Montana could gain $7 billion over the next three decades from the mining of Otter Creek coal near Ashland, and he wants the Legislature to consider earmarking some of that money for college students in the state and energy research.
Schweitzer told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle this week a portion of the revenue should go toward an energy and science education system that is “second to none.” He says about $1 billion could be used to offer free or reduced tuition to Montana high school graduates who go to Montana colleges to study math, science, medicine or engineering. Another $1 billion could be used to create a technology institute.

Hiring more DEQ staff is best option for Wyoming – Casper Star-Tribune Online

Star-Tribune Editorial Board – Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The state of Wyoming has no time to waste in addressing its backlog of permit requests from the minerals industries. Too much tax revenue that could be potentially generated from approved projects is at stake to allow the permitting process to continue at its current slow rate.

Industry has consistently criticized state regulators for years over the backlog, which has gotten bigger as mineral production has significantly increased. Natural gas production in the Rocky Mountain region doubled to 8 billion cubic feet per day from 2002 to 2009, with Wyoming the top producer. During the same period, the state’s annual coal production increased by more than 15 percent to nearly 430 million tons.

US lawmakers urge Salazar to fight challenges to Wyoming coal leases

Washington (Platts)–22Sep2010

Thirty-six members of the US Congress from coal mining states are urging
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to defend the agency’s coal-leasing program
against lawsuits filed recently by environmental groups seeking more stringent
reviews of the air quality and climate change impacts from massive surface
mines in Wyoming.

In a Wednesday letter to the secretary, the lawmakers criticized recent
legal actions taken by WildEarth Guardians against the Bureau of Land
Management and emphasized the importance of more than 5.8 billion short tons
in pending federal coal sales “to the economy and energy security of this
nation.”

US lawmakers urge Salazar to fight challenges to Wyoming coal leases – Platts

Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Department of the Interior, has received a letter from 36 members of Congress asking him to vigorously defend the current coal mine leasing practices from the legal challenges being mounted by WildEarth Guardians against the Bureau of Land Management. The letter called the leasing mechanism crucial for the economy and characterized the lawsuit as trying to shut down coal mining. A spokesperson for WildEarth Guardians denied that claim.

UW, GE: Lack of laws hurts coal development – Billings Gazette

DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER – Casper Star-Tribune – September 21, 2010

JACKSON â€” If the U.S. Senate hadnâ€™t failed to pass energy and climate legislation that came out of the U.S. House of Representatives this year, Wyoming might have seen utilities move forward with â€œadvanced coalâ€ facilities that cut emissions of carbon dioxide.

If the U.S. Senate hadnâ€™t failed to pass energy and climate legislation, Wyomingâ€™s oil industry might have seen plans to capture carbon dioxide at local coal-fired power plants so it can be used to squeeze more oil out of the ground.

Judge Rejects Massey Evidence Role In Mine Probe

by HOWARD BERKES – September 21, 2010

A federal administrative court judge has firmly rejected Massey Energy’s demand that it gather its own evidence underground in the investigation of the April coal mine explosion that killed 29 mine workers.

Massey, which owns the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia, wanted to have its own photographers and mapping crews involved in the investigation underground. The company also wanted to take its own dust samples. But the Mine Safety and Health Administration said the additional people underground and the time needed for their work are safety hazards.

No more Centralias

Beaver County Times – September 15, 2010

…

Centralia provides a stark reminder of the long-term, often unforeseen consequences of underground extraction, in this case coal instead of natural gas.

Centralia is the Columbia County town that has been burned out of existence by a fire in an abandoned anthracite coal mine beneath it. After this mine was closed, the community burned garbage in the pit, which is how the fire started in 1962.

New York Times: ‘Miners die, Congress Dawdles’

EDITORIAL – New York Times – Published: September 19, 2010

Despite the Senate Republicansâ€™ campaign agenda of nay-saying and filibuster, you would think taxpayers have a right to expect passage of a life-and-death measure to protect the nationâ€™s coal miners. And yet decisive action on even this issue may be shunted aside until after the November elections.

This is intolerable. The case for far stronger safety laws was tragically made last April when 29 miners were killed in an explosion down in the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. The shoddy safety record of the mine owner, Massey Energy, soon became clear â€” along with the need to plug gaping flaws in regulations and enforcement biased toward owners over miners who take all the risks.

Coal-state lawmakers go after EPA policy

By: James R. Carroll – September 18, 2010

There may be wide swaths of the American population who could not tell you the name of the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

But in coal country, nearly everyone knows it’s Lisa Jackson.

Comment period open until Sept. 24 for Chuitna exploration permits

By Laine Welch – September 17, 2010 – The Alaska Journal

A call is out for public comments on a request to extend exploration permits for what would be Alaska’s largest coal mine. The Chuitna coal strip mine (so called because it removes the wetlands and land overlay) is being developed on the west side of Upper Cook Inlet by Delaware-based PacRim Coal LP.

The extension request is routine as the permits must be updated every two years, according to project director Dan Graham. He said comments should be sent to the state Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land and Water, by Sept. 24.