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1980-1989 margin by the UMWA. The agreement was reached January 30, 1988, one day before the expiration date of the old contract. The agreement contained a modest wage increase of $1.05/hour over three years. For the first time, the new contract allowed union miners to "panel" to bitu- minous mines or facilities not yet covered by the UMWA contract. Another provision requires that 100% of all job openings at a signatory employer's sub-contracted operations will go first to UMWA classified employee laid off from the signatory's operations. The new agreement opens the door for heightened UMWA benefits. During April 1989, UMWA pickets the Pittston Coal Group, after working without a contract for over one year. Pittston had opted out of the BCOA, and talks continue while miners remained on the job. More than 1,700 miners walk off the job. U.S. Secretary of Labor, Elizabeth Dole appoints Robert Usery as a "super-media- tor" to settle the bitter strike. Both sides eventually settle on an agreement in March 1990. After more than 40 years of separation, the UMWA rejoins the AFL-CIO. In mid- October 1989, Trumka and Lane Kirkland, president of the AFL-CIO, appeared together in Washington, D.C., to make the announcement. Regulations Increase The industry is wrestling with the 1977 SMCRA laws. The DoI, under Congressional pressure, yields power to the states. Even at the middle of the decade, eight years after enactment, the National Coal Council is still challenging the legalities of SMCRA and OSM. The Black Lung Trust Fund, set up under a 1977 federal law covering victims of coal miner's pneumoconiosis (black lunck), is $400 million in debt. Self-insured coal companies that re-insure themselves against too many black lung cases are hav- ing policies canceled in the face of a flood of black lung cases. The Black Lung Trust Fund is financed by royalties; $0.25/ton for surface mined coal and $0.50/ton for underground coal, not to exceed 2% of the selling price. Utilities are worried about complying with the New Source Performance Standard (NSPS). Scheduled to take effect in 1985, the revised NSPS established by the EPA in 1979 in accordance with the 1977 amended Clean Air Act, essentially place a priority on coal washing and scrubbers for power plants. The regula- tions regarding sulfur emissions are of the most concern: • SO2 emissions averaging 1.2 lb SO2 per million Btu averaged over a 30-day rolling period; • A 90% SO2 removal requirement for all coal down to a floor of 0.6 lb; • A 70% SO2 removal requirement for coal below the 0.6 lb per million Btu level; and • Calculations include a credit for sulfur removal by coal washing or catching of the sulfur in the fly or bottom ash. Coal Age devotes a whole section in the January 1981 edition debating coal char- acteristics nationally and the effectiveness of coal washing and scrubbing techniques. Reagan vetoes the $18 billion CWA, but it becomes law in 1987. In 1986, Henry Waxman (D-CA) pro- posed an acid rain bill that would reduce emissions by 5 million tons by 1993 and another 5 million tons by 1997. In September 1987, Congress is under considerable pressure to complete action on Clean Air Act amendments by the end of the year. If the deadline is not extended, the EPA must ban new con- struction of sources of acid rain and halt 146 www.coalage.com 100th Anniversary Special Issue August 2012