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June 2016 www.coalage.com 35 news continued on the financial statements of either Southern Co. or Mississippi Power." Kemper stands to be the country's first large-scale coal gas- ification plant that also utilizes carbon capture. It is currently running with natural gas, but CEO Tom Fanning told Bloomberg recently that it should be switching over to lignite coal by the sum- mer. At the same time, the company said it had added another $61 million to the project's costs due to expense charges for equip- ment repairs and other issues tied to the delays. Individual Charged in Sampling Scheme A second employee at a West Virginia sampling firm has reportedly been charged for his role in a scheme to falsify water samples. Accord- ing to the Associated Press, Appalachian Labs manager John Brewer has been indicted by a federal grand jury on a total of seven counts, including conspiracy to violate the Clean Water Act, making false state- ments and mail fraud. Former staffer John Shelton is already serving his federal prison sentence of 21 months for his role in the scheme. Appalachian Labs is based in Daniels, Raleigh County. Legislators Introduce Certainty for States and Tribes Act A group of U.S. senators and representatives from Wyoming and Montana have introduced new legislation that would give states and tribes a louder voice in future changes to federal policies for coal, oil and gas. The legislation formally known as the Certainty for States and Tribes Act was introduced May 19. It is co-spon- sored by U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Mike Enzi of Wyoming and U.S. Reps. Cynthia Lummis of Alabama, David McKinley of West Virginia, Scott Tipton of Colorado, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, and Bill Johnson of Ohio. It has been designed, according to the group, to provide the flex- ibility needed to keep mines running and protect thousands of min- ers' jobs. Specifically, it will reinstate the Royalty Policy Committee, an advisory board that has been comprised of state governors, ap- pointees and Indian tribes that produce federal minerals. The group is tasked with informing the secretary of the interior regarding the establishment of mineral and energy policies and regulations. The legislation would also place a "firm and reasonable time- line" of three years on the government's current review of the fed- eral coal leasing program. "It is important to reinstate the Royalty Policy Committee so that states and tribes most impacted by feder- al coal leasing, the real experts on this program, have a meaningful say," Sen. Enzi said. "The Certainty for States and Tribes Act would help provide the states this opportunity. It would also put a critical check on interior's review of the federal coal program so that it can't drag on for years on end without a time limit or accountability." From the operations side, one early supporter of the Act has been Cloud Peak Energy. "Cloud Peak Energy believes that it is crit- ical for transparency in the setting of royalty and leasing policies for minerals on federal lands that the Royalty Policy Committee, which the secretary of interior effectively dismissed before com- mencing changes to such policies, be reestablished and strongly supports the goal of this legislation to do so," Colin Marshall, pres- ident and CEO, said. The Certainty for States and Tribes Act is also known as SB 2938 and HB 5259. On- belt Real Time Coal Analysers Saving you coal blending, sorting and monitoring headaches! Ash, Specific Energy, Sulphur Moisture Over 1,000 installations worldwide Accurate and reliable results Low maintenance, remote support Serviced by local engineers Guaranteed performance +61 7 3710 8400 sales@scantech.com.au www.scantech.com.au Making your process control easy News Continued from Page 20