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October 29, 2009

EPA Delays 79 Mining Permits

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it’s going to hold up 79 applications for surface coal mine permits in four states (West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee) for further “enhanced” review. All 79 permits were on a preliminary list released September 11 (See additional coverage in Appalachian Profile, p. 32). The EPA says it will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which issues the permits, and applicants to reduce water quality damage. The action is the latest attempt by the EPA to rein in mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. The highly efficient, but evasive mining practice has been targeted by the Obama administration’s EPA.

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Posted by djones at 08:00 PM | | Comments (0)

Arch Coal Completes Jacobs Ranch Acquisition

Arch Coal announced that it has completed the acquisition of Rio Tinto’s Jacobs Ranch mine for a purchase price of approximately $764 million, which is about $3 million more than the initial announcement and includes an estimate for working capital adjustments. In 2008, Jacobs Ranch produced 42.1 million tons of high-quality sub-bituminous coal.

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Posted by djones at 07:59 PM | | Comments (0)

Coal Mine Makes Lasting Impression on Labor Chief

A visit by U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis with workers of Patriot Coal’s Federal No. 2 mine near Morgantown, W.Va., apparently made a lasting impression on the labor chief who told the media the visit left her in awe. “I wanted to see for myself how these men and women who toil below the earth’s surface go about their daily work,” Solis said of the August visit. “What I learned is that modern mining is a complex and technologically advanced process, staffed by some of the hardest working and most professional individuals in the world. It also opened my eyes to what our inspectors go through at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration. The experience was more than educational, it was inspiring.”

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Posted by djones at 07:58 PM | | Comments (0)

NRP Acquires Coal Reserves for Deer Run in Illinois

Natural Resource Partners (NRP) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire approximately 200 million tons of coal reserves related to the Deer Run mine in Illinois from Colt LLC, an affiliate of the Cline Group, through eight separate transactions for a total purchase price of $255 million. Upon closing of the first transaction, NRP paid $10 million and acquired approximately 3.3 million tons of reserves associated with the initial production from the mine. Future closings anticipated in 2010, 2011, and 2012 will be associated with the completion of certain milestones relating to the new mine’s construction.

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Posted by djones at 07:57 PM | | Comments (0)

Coal Trains: The History of Railroading and Coal in the United States

From the very beginning, U.S. railroads have carried coal from mines to docks, steel mills, and power plants across the country. In this authoritative book spanning the whole of that history, from the mid-nineteenth century to present, noted rail author Brian Solomon explores the railroads and hardware that have transported the fossil fuels that made America work. Brilliant period and contemporary photographs convey the drama of the enterprise: the very long—and very heavy—trains powering up mountain grades and thundering across barren prairies. At sites from the eastern and western U.S., past and present, readers see giant double-headed Norfolk and Western steam locomotives moving Appalachian coal in Virginia; modern CSX diesels dragging unit coal trains over the well-groomed former Chesapeake & Ohio main line; BNSF’s SD70MACs with more than 100 hoppers in tow; Rio Grande locomotives snaking through the Rocky Mountains; and coal trains working full-throttle up Colorado’s Tennessee Pass, cresting the Continental Divide at 10,000 ft above sea level. Taking up topics ranging from the colorful but now-defunct “anthracite roads” of eastern Pennsylvania to today’s AC-traction diesels that work Wyoming’s thriving Powder River Basin, Solomon reveals how for 150 years the unique demands of coal—and America’s demand for coal—have prompted new railroad technologies.

Voyageur Press (www.voyageurpress.com)

Posted by djones at 07:19 PM | | Comments (0)

CONSOL to Resume Production at West Virginia Mine


CONSOL Energy has resumed longwall mining at its Blacksville No. 2 mine in northern West Virginia with the aim of going full speed, according to Senior Vice President Tom Hoffman. The operation was halted at Blacksville in June because of weak demand for coal, he said. No workers were laid off during the period, but many took vacations and extra time off. The situation at Blacksville and other mines remains tentative because of the economy.

Posted by djones at 07:18 PM | | Comments (0)

MSHA Increases Funding for State Health and Safety Training Grants

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced it has allocated more than $8.3 million in health and safety training grants for fiscal year 2009, up from $8.2 million last year.
“Comprehensive education and training for miners is a sound investment,” said Dr. Gregory R. Wagner, MSHA’s deputy assistant secretary for policy. “At the Department of Labor, our mantra is ‘good jobs for everyone.’ A good job is a safe job, and these grants will enable participating states to work toward a goal that we all share—ensuring every miner returns home safely at the end of every working shift.”

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Posted by djones at 07:17 PM | | Comments (0)

Virginia Tech Research Studies Impacts of Coal Mining on Water Resources

The Virginia Water Resources Research Center at Virginia Tech has embarked on two new research projects in headwater streams affected by coal mining in southwestern Virginia. As the federal government announces new plans to protect water resources, these research efforts are aimed to provide objective scientific information to policy makers and to those involved in the debate surrounding mountaintop removal and other forms of coal mining.

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Posted by djones at 07:16 PM | | Comments (0)

Salazar Announces Guidelines to Protect Endangered Indiana Bat

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the availability of coal mining guidelines developed to conserve and protect the endangered Indiana bat. The bat’s habitat stretches from the eastern United States through the Midwest, including 13 states with coal mining operations.

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Posted by djones at 07:15 PM | | Comments (0)

Maryland Issues Permit for New Underground Mine

According to The Associated Press, the Maryland Department of Environment has issued a permit for a new underground coal mine that would tunnel beneath the Casselman River in Garrett County. Jay Apperson, spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Environment, said that the permit has been issued to Maryland Energy Resources LLC, a company controlled by the Joseph Peles Coal Co. of Indiana. He said that Joseph Peles Coal must post a bond of $25,000 for each drinking water well it approaches. That's in addition to a $205,000 general performance bond. The mine would extract an estimated 360,000 tons of coal annually for 20 years from deposits beneath about 3,000 acres south of Grantsville. It would be Maryland’s largest working deep mine.

Posted by djones at 07:14 PM | | Comments (0)

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