Coal Age

AUG 2012

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1980-1989 In December 1986, J. Davitt McAteer director of the Occupational Safety and Health Law Center, a private group, wrote to Labor Secretary William E. Brock proposing an advisory committee review upcoming regulations. Brock ordered MSHA Chief Alan McMillan to take whatever actions necessary. Following congressional hearings on Wilberg, MSHA continues to take heat from all sides. Politics An illustrated cover depicts online analysis and coal blending. *Coal AgeJune 1987 MSHA was under fire for what critics contend is the agency's inability to protect the lives of miners both in the field and through regulations. David Zegeer resigns as MSHA chief, a position he served since November 1983. UMWA welcomes the change. The affable Zegeer, according to Coal Age, had focused on working with mining companies where possible, trying to convert MSHA's role from adversary to counselor. In a nationwide energy address July 15, 1979, President Jimmy Carter proposed legislation that would require power plants to halve their oil and natural gas consumption by 1990 and force utilities to burn more coal. The legislation to be introduced as an amendment to the Power Plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978, is designed to reduce utility oil consumption by at least 750,000 barrels a day by 1990 and more in 1995. Even though there were stark differ- ences between President Carter and his opponent, presidential candidate Ronald Reagan, voters didn't see much of a dif- ference when it came to energy matters. Ronald Reagan, like President Carter, believed the eventual deregulation of oil and natural gas prices would encourage domestic production. Similarly, the two also agreed the country would benefit from the increased use of coal and the safe use of nuclear power. The big differ- ence was that Reagan believed the Carter administration had gone too far with environmental regulations. The UMWA joined forces with the NCA, BCOA and AMC offering the country a well-reasoned program aimed at increasing the use of coal to solve the national energy problems. While they claim they are working together, Wilkinson questions how long it will last. "The strike of 1977-78 certainly served lit- tle in the cause of using coal to resolve the energy crisis," Wilkinson wrote. "That strike and the rash of wildcat strikes that preceded it did much to demonstrate that coal could not be counted on, and that the leaders of the operators and unions were not businesslike or effective." Reagan was elected and the coal indus- try was looking forward to him undoing a thicket of environmental regulations. The Clean Air Act, which was coming up for revision in 1981, would probably be weak- ened by Reagan. Reagan took office in 1981. The Reagan administration faced many decisions affecting the coal industry following some last minute activity by the Carter adminis- tration regulators in a number of contro- versial areas. The EPA proposed new wastewater discharge regulations for exist- ing and future coal mines and prep plants. The new regulations, mandated under the CWA, would strengthen discharge limits for solid material, iron and manganese. A report to the new president by his Energy Department transition team urged him to repeal the 1978 Power Plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act, accelerate the rate of oil and natural gas price decontrol, and trim the Energy Department budget. Whether or not Reagan will make good on his campaign pledge to kill the Energy Department is called a "policy decision." After years of bureaucratic bickering between the DoE and DoI over the pace of energy development on federal lands, President Regan is viewed as a leader capable of assembling a team to carry out a pro-production policy. A Democratic victory in the 1986 mid- term elections gives them a solid majority in the Senate. Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) became the Senate majority leader. Byrd promotes clean coal technology and fights against acid rain legislation. Byrd urges low- and high-sulfur coal producers to remain united, opposing the acid rain issue. *Coal AgeFebruary 1988 148 www.coalage.com 100th Anniversary Special Issue Status quo best describes the outcome of the 1988 presidential elections. Coal August 2012

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