West Virginian's 2024 Legislation Session came to a quiet end Saturday night with a total of 2,575 individual pieces of legislation introduced and 280 passing both houses.
It was not a particularly great session for our industry as both priority legislative measures -- HB 4722 and HB 5522 -- failed to make it across the finish line. These two items carried substantial fiscal notes which were held in obeyance with about every other bill with fiscal consequences until a potential $465 million potential “claw back” of federal COVID education funds can be assessed. See the attached news article regarding the claw back confronting the state https://wvmetronews.com/2024/03/02/465-million-problem-is-whether-west-virginia-made-spending-on-education-enough-of-a-priority/
The legislature is planning a special session following the May Primary Election to deal with select legislative matters that carry a substantial cost to state coffers.
In addition to our priority legislation, WVCA also had an interest in and were involved with myriad legislative topics and a host of administrative rules requiring legislative approval delineated below.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please reply to this message, or give one of us a call.
Other legislation impacting coal:
SB 2 (passed) WV DEP Administrative Rules Bill / Legislative Rulemaking Review
This bill is the consolidated WV DEP rule package with 12 separate rules under series 45 CSR 1, related to the state’s Clean Air Act programs. The changes in all 12 rules were intended to address EPA’s April 2023 disapproval of West Virginia’s 2017 State Implementation Plan and its provisions regarding alternative emission limits during start up, shutdown and malfunction periods. The EPA-mandated changes were necessary to maintain state primacy over the affected programs. Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is legally challenging EPA’s disapproval of the SIP on behalf of WV DEP, and during the public comment period on the proposed rules WV DEP added “savings clause” language to each of the 12 separate rule changes that would invalidate the EPA-mandated revisions and return the state rules to original language and meaning should the federal disapproval be overturned in litigation. SB 2 has passed the Senate and is pending in the House Judiciary Committee. Copies of the rule changes are available on the Secretary of State’s website under the various rule sections. The changes to 45 CSR 1 (all 11 of the changes are virtually identical) can be viewed at https://apps.sos.wv.gov/adlaw/csr/readfile.aspx?DocId=56685&Format=PDF
SB 2 completed legislative action on Friday and is awaiting the Governor’s signature.
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Anthracite Coal Mining Industry Going Strong as Demand Rises
As historic sites and museums celebrated Pennsylvania’s birthday, Justin W. Emershaw, a mining engineer with Hazleton-based Atlantic Carbon Group, provided a current look at one of the state’s oldest traditions: coal mining.
During his presentation Sunday at the Anthracite Heritage Museum, which offered free admission for Charter Day, Emershaw provided perspective on the industry.
Anthracite coal — once used to power locomotives and generate electricity — is now used to strengthen steel and purify water, he said.
While many view coal mining as an outdated process, Emershaw noted the operation is still going strong in Luzerne County as Atlantic Carbon Group sold 360,000 tons of coal in 2023.
“Pennsylvania anthracite has seen a massive spike in the commodity price within the last two years because of the Russia-Ukraine war,” he said. “Before, the bulk of anthracite getting imported into America was coming from Russia or Ukraine. Two years ago, we were probably selling it industrially for about $115 to $120 a ton. We’re quoting customers in excess of $300 a ton today.”
He added workers can’t extract the coal quickly enough to satisfy the growing need.
“The demand is there and unfortunately, today, you really can’t produce enough,” Emershaw said. “I started working in the industry in 2015 and back then, you’d go to coal companies and there would be big mountains of coal. You don’t see that today. As fast as we put 1,000 tons of product on the ground, the next day it’s going into rail cars.”
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Ramaco Resources Aims to Double Met Coal Production
In a recent earnings call, Ramaco Resources (NASDAQ:METC) reported a strong finish to the year with record quarterly earnings and ambitious plans for expansion. The company announced intentions to double its met coal production from the current 3.5 million tons and delve into the rare earth business.
Despite a challenging pricing environment, Ramaco achieved a record EBITDA of $182 million and substantial free cash flow. Looking ahead, the company plans to retire all debt in 2024 and has made significant strides in increasing its market cap, which now stands around $1 billion.
Key Takeaways
- Ramaco Resources reported record EBITDA of $182 million and net income of $30 million for Q4 2023.
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Hershiel Hayden, Respected Mining Leader, Passes
Respected mining manager, Hershiel Hollis Hayden, Sr., 82, passed away on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Hospice Care at CAMC Memorial Hospital in Charleston, W. Va.
Hershiel was born in Paonia, Colo., he lived in Big Stone Gap for eight years, then Knoxville, Tn. for several years and had lived in Kincaid, WV since 2011. He served in the U. S. Marine Corps and attended the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. He worked in the coal mining industry for 50 years. He was an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
Hershiel was well-known and respected in coal mining circles and spent many years as Divisional Superintendent of Westmoreland Coal Company in Big Stone Gap, VA. During that time, he pioneered longwall mining in thin seams and was the first to produce excellent production figures from a 42- inch thick low seam longwall. He was appointed President of Westmorland’s Eastern Operations in Virginia and West Virginia and later took leadership positions with Blue Diamond and Arch Coal (now Arch Resources).
Hershiel Hollis Hayden
“Hershiel worked his way through the ranks of Westmoreland Coal in Colorado, eventually becoming President of their Eastern Operations,” said Jim Marianski, retired President of Dosco Corporation. “He was innovative, productive and personable. We had a forty-year friendship and I will miss him forever!”
“Once in a while in life one meets a great character with an individual personality that you never forget and Hershiel was one of those,” added Bill Reid, former President of American Longwall and Managing Editor of CoalZoom. “He will always be remembered for his drive, ambition and great sense of humor. He will be missed.”
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Mr. President: Listen to Americans on Energy Policy
With the State of the Union address now here and energy policy likely to have a significant role in the President’s agenda, it’s valuable to understand what Americans actually want from the nation’s energy policy. As new national polling released from the National Mining Association (NMA) and conducted by Maru Public Opinion makes clear, Americans are increasingly concerned with how the energy transition is being managed.
Americans remain strongly in favor of an all-of-above energy strategy that includes coal and are concerned that the rush to transition to renewable energy is going to sacrifice our ability to keep the lights on. That mounting concern is a likely reflection of growing experience with grid emergencies and ever-louder warnings from the nation’s grid operators, utilities and reliability regulators that the nation is facing a reliability crisis.
The polling shows:
- 78 percent of Americans support an all of the above energy strategy that includes coal (just 10 percent do not support and 12 percent don’t know).
- 72 percent of Americans are concerned about the speed of the transition’s impacts on reliability (18 percent are not concerned and 11 percent don’t know). This number is up from 52 percent in May 2023, the last time the NMA polled on this question.
- 65 percent believe we should pause closures of existing, well-operating power plants until replacement generating capacity is in place and operational (17 percent disagree and 17 percent don’t know). This is up from 56 percent in May 2023, the last time the NMA polled on this question.
Responding to the polling, Rich Nolan, NMA president and CEO, said, “The EPA is working to hijack our nation’s energy policy through irrational and unattainable compliance measures that are forcing well-operating power plants into premature retirement. Without reliable generation and enabling transmission infrastructure to replace it, experts are warning of energy rationing and blackouts, and this polling shows more and more Americans are aware of those risks, are concerned and want the administration to change course.”
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