Coal Age

JAN 2013

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news EPA Administrator Jackson Resigns sites. PBS attributes the necessity for these layoffs to the continued depressed coal market conditions and increased pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has resulted in increased costs. "The decision to idle two mines and lay off 138 employees at this particular time was extremely difficult, but unavoidable," said Lynn Shanks, president and CEO. "International and domestic coal markets continue to remain soft. Additionally, the escalating costs and uncertainty generated by recently advanced EPA regulations and interpretations have created a challenging business climate for the entire coal industry." PBS Coals will produce 2 million tons of met coal from four deep mines and one surface mine in 2013. The company will now employ 600. It remains cautiously optimistic that the global market for met coal will improve in 2013. The focus now changes to Lisa Jackson's replacement. Dozer Slides into Robinson Run Impoundment U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced that she would resign in January. She thanked President Obama for the opportunity to serve. Jackson orchestrated a one-two punch that ultimately brought the coal industry to its knees in less than four years. The agency was able to stall the permitting process for surface mining in Appalachia, effectively driving small- and medium-sized coal operators out of business. Meanwhile, the EPA proposed new regulations for environmental compliance at power plants that essentially prevented coal from being considered for new plant construction. Under her watch, the EPA destroyed countless jobs in several industries, not just mining. The decision was not unexpected. What motivated the announcement remains unclear. Organized labor had approached the Obama administration in November regarding the impact the EPA's proposed rules were having on American jobs, not just coal mining jobs. President Obama may have gotten the message. While the coal industry experienced a collective sigh of relief with the announcement, the Obama administration will send a clear message to the industry as to where it stands with the next appointee. PBS Coals Idles Two More Mines PBS Coals and its affiliate, RoxCoal, will idle its Roytown and Hart mines in Somerset County and lay off 138 employees from various ± B R E A K I N G N E W S Alpha Idles Four Underground Mines in Kentucky During early January, Alpha Natural Resources announced it would idle four underground mines in Harlan and Letcher counties. 200 miners will be laid off and 60 others will be reassigned to other mines. In September, the company announced it would shed 1,200 jobs, streamline operations, and initiate some organizational changes to better support operations. The mines that will be idled are the Cloverlick Nos. 1 and 3 mines in Cumberland, the 4 www.coalage.com Dive and rescue teams have successfully recovered the body of a CONSOL Energy employee at the CONSOL Robinson Run mine in Harrison County, according to the company. CONSOL said the body of 58-year-old Markel J. Koon was found inside the cab of the bulldozer he was driving when an embankment collapsed. The bulldozer was swept into the Robinson Run prep plant impoundment, along with two pickups and other men who survived. "Dive and rescue teams successfully completed a pipe dive recovery effort that enabled them to safely access the cab of the submerged bulldozer in CONSOL Energy's Nolans Run slurry impoundment at its Robinson Run preparation plant," spokeswoman Lynn Seay wrote in an email update. "The diver was able to recover our employee from the cab of the bulldozer and bring him to the surface." According to The Associated Press, a preliminary accident report issued by MSHA said a massive failure of the upstream face of the saddle dam for the Nolans Run Slurry Impoundment happened at the Robinson Run mine. A section of the dam broke and slid into the impoundment. MSHA said four miners were working in the area where the failure happened and three of the miners and their equipment were swept into the impoundment. Two of the miners were standing near the face of the dam and began to run but were pulled into the water, said MSHA in the report. One of the miners swam to Panther mine near Cumberland and the North Fork No. 4 mine in Partridge. All of the mines produced thermal coal and were previously owned by Massey Energy. Alpha explained that there was no connection between the mines' past owner and the decision to idle the mines. Many coal companies are making similar decisions and Alpha said a combination of market conditions, lower demand for coal and new environmental regulations left the company little choice. January 2013

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