Coal Age

MAR 2018

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12 www.coalage.com March 2018 news continued "Battelle is proud to lead the MRCSP," said Neeraj Gupta, princi- pal investigator for the MRCSP. "This public-private partnership has allowed us to apply cutting edge science in practical real-world set- tings. This project is one of several that demonstrates that CCUS can be done safely, cost-effectively, and for the larger societal benefit." The MRCSP comprises a 10-state region that is home to more than 25% of the U.S. population and generates roughly $4.62 trillion in gross regional product. It produces almost 25% of all electricity generated in the country — more than half of that by burning coal. The MRCSP is one of seven Regional Carbon Se- questration Partnerships in the United States established by DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Judge Dismisses MEC Defamation Lawsuit Against HBO On February 21, Federal Court Judge Jeffrey Cramer threw out a defamation case filed by Murray Energy Corp. (MEC) against Home Box Office Inc. (HBO) and "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver" host John Oliver that stemmed from a broadcast that criticized the coal industry and MEC and its CEO Robert Murray specifically. In his ruling, Judge Cramer said he agreed with arguments made by the defendants that the plaintiff failed to state a claim. He said their arguments were "well-founded" and "appropriate." "The court adopts, with little exception, defendants' argu- ments in support of their motion regarding all issues addressed in the same," Cramer said. "This decision contains absolutely no legal reasoning, what- soever, and instead blindly adopts the defendants deeply flawed arguments," said Gary Broadbent, Murray Energy senior corpo- rate counsel and director of investor and media relations. "This is a flagrant disregard of the law, the facts, and the substantial dam- ages intentionally inflicted by the defendants." He said MEC will immediately appeal the decision and would prevail. In the lawsuit, MEC alleged defamation stemming from the June 18 broadcast of "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver." MEC claimed that Oliver implied Murray was a liar when he previously stated that an earthquake caused by the Crandall Canyon mine collapse, which took the lives of nine employees, and insinuated that Murray disregarded the well-being of his employees. Oliver also described Murray as looking like a geriatric Dr. Evil. Prior to the HBO broadcast, MEC said it sent HBO two let- ters, on June 12 and June 16, and had a lengthy conference call with their counsel on June 17 to correct what they knew of "their proposed false and destructive broadcast and present the facts to them." Time Warner and HBO, according to MEC, ignored the communications and aired the episode. DOI Gives Out $300 Million to Reclaim Abandoned Coal Mines On February 24, the Department of the Interior's Office of Sur- face Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) announced the availability of $300.7 million in Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Reclamation grants to 28 coal-producing states and tribes to re- claim abandoned coal mines. "Restoring the usability of abandoned mine lands is an ex- ample of the Department of the Interior's multiple-use mission of conservation in action," said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. "Interior will continue helping states and tribes responsi- bly develop America's energy resources and address legacy prob- lems related to 200 years of mining." The money will be used to fix highwalls, stabilize land above underground mines, and repair impaired waters, Secretary Zinke said. This is a $120 million increase from 2017 as a result of a phase- in period for states and tribes to receive funds that were withheld under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act between 2009 and 2011. Those states and tribes that have certified that they have com- pleted their abandoned mine land reclamation obligations will re- ceive $61 million dollars in FY 2018 and FY 2019, in addition to the certified in lieu funds those states and tribes otherwise receive each year from the U.S. Treasury, the DOI said. Uncertified states will also receive an increase of the same amount in those years. A small por- tion of the increase in AML funding is attributed to an upturn in U.S. coal production, according to the DOI. The total amount avail- able for distribution was reduced by the mandated sequestration amount of 6.6 percent that was applied across the board. OSMRE provides AML grants to states and tribes according to a congressionally mandated formula based on their past and current coal production. Each year, after the distribution is an- nounced, eligible states and tribes apply for annual reclamation grants to access money in their allocations. The 2018 AML Reclamation funding available to states and tribes is $5.27 million for Alabama; $2.8 million, Alaska; $2.8 mil- lion, Arkansas; $3.3 million, Colorado; $19 million, Illinois; $8.1 million, Indiana; $2.8 million, Iowa; $2.8, Kansas; $19 million, Ken- tucky; $210,633, Louisiana; $2.8 million, Maryland; $118,095, Mis- sissippi; $2.8 million, Missouri; $7.6 million, Montana; $2.8 million, New Mexico; $2.8, North Dakota; $10.8 million, Ohio; $2.8 million, Oklahoma; $55.7 million, Pennsylvania; Tennessee, $2.8 million; Texas, $2.8 million; Utah, $2.8 million; Virginia, $5.8 million; West Virginia, $36.3 million; Wyoming, $91.3 million; Crow Tribe, $1.2 million; Hopi Tribe, $551,961; and $3 million, Navajo Nation. c a l e n d a r o f e v e n t s April 23-25, 2018: Coal Processing Technology (CoalProTec 2018), Heritage Hall, Lexington, Kentucky. Contact: Mel Laurila, Tel: 859-797- 9118; Email: qcinc@aol.com; Web: www.coalprepsociety.org. May 6-9, 2018: Canadian Institute of Mining (CIM 2018), Vancouver Convention Center, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Contact: Web: www.cim.org. June 5-8, 2018: Ugol Rossii & Mining, Novokuznetsk, Russia. Contact: Web: www.ugol-rossii.com. September 10-14, 2018: Electra Mining Africa, Expo Centre Nasrec, Johannesburg, South Africa. Contact: Web: www.electramining.co.za. October 14-16, 2018: The World Coal Leaders Network 2018, Pullman Barcelona Skipper, Barcelona, Spain. Contact: Web: www.coaltrans.com/ world-coal-conference/details.html. November 6-8, 2018: MetCoke World Summit 2018, Pittsburgh, Penn- sylvania. Contact: Web: www.metcokemarkets.com/metcoke-summit. March 10-13, 2019: Haulage & Loading, Hilton El Conquistador Resort, Tucson, Arizona. Contact: Web: www.haulageandloading.com.

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