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Friends in the White House Come to Coal's Aid By CHRISTOPHER DREW and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
On a rainy day in August 2000, with polls showing that he had a chance to carry West Virginia, Mr. Bush stopped in Charleston to rally support. Just before he left, he paused on the airport tarmac for a brief meeting that helped lay the seeds for the changes in environmental rules that favor the Appalachian coal industry.
In a roped-off area behind the rental cars, Bill Raney, the president of the West Virginia Coal Association, an industry group, and Dick Kimbler, who headed a local chapter of the mine workers union, told Mr. Bush about layoffs at mountaintop mines. They said they also complained that a growing emphasis on environmental protection was delaying the approval of mining permits and eliminating jobs.
Mr. Bush replied that the problems underscored the need to develop a national energy policy, the other men said. Less than two hours later, Donald L. Evans, then Mr. Bush's campaign chairman and now the commerce secretary, called Mr. Raney, who said they talked about making the permitting process less cumbersome.
Mr. Raney and Mr. Kimbler then created the Balanced Energy Coalition, an industry group that persuaded many coal miners to back Mr. Bush. They also worked with the state's most prolific Republican fund-raiser, James H. Harless, a coal operator who collected $275,000 for Mr. Bush, five times what Mr. Gore raised in the entire state.
President Addresses West Virginia Coal Association Story by Ann Ali
Coal Association President Bill Raney warmed the crowd for Bush's 30-minute speech, sharing how he told Bush's advance team that West Virginians try to do four things when someone they like comes to visit -- "We pray, we say the pledge, we like to eat, and we give them a ballcap."
Raney said the meeting was the proudest moment in the Association's 93-year history, and West Virginia coal should enjoy its moment in the spotlight.
"We've got natural advantages," Raney said after Bush's remarks. "Topographic proximity, it's very convenient, and it's a great responsibility.
"We should be proud. A coal miner in Sophia has a great bearing on someone's way of life in Boston."
Raney said coal was making progress in the struggle of public perception, but each day presented a new challenge.
[snip]
After Bush's address, Peter Lilly, president of the coal group for CONSOL Energy, spoke to West Virginia Media President and CEO Bray Cary about coal's cleanup and possible technologies to provide the world.
"Our plan with this, to ultimately capture and sequester carbon dioxide, is not quite set," Lilly said. "But America has such a vast amount of coal reserves, and we are so dependent on foreign sources for other forms of energy, it makes absolute sense to move in this direction carefully and do it right."
Lilly said virtually all of the country's coal-fired plants now are scrubbed or will be in a few years, and the definition of pollution has changed.
"It used to be acid rain, the impact on the ozone layer, then the mercury," he said. "We've cleaned all those things as attention has been focused, and now we have climate change, and it's debatable, that's for sure."
West Virginia coal operators have started seeking water pollution settlements with the state Department of Environmental Protection to avoid federal enforcement actions or citizen lawsuits, officials said Thursday.
[snip]
Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, said he wouldn't be surprised to see more such deals coming soon.
A $20 million fine Massey Energy paid to settle a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act suit stunned industry officials, Raney said. Companies are also concerned about new citizen suits such as those filed by the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment over selenium violations at several state mines.
"There's a good bit of concern about all of that," Raney said Thursday.
"Every coal miner in the state is under attack by EPA," West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney told the crowd, which gathered for the noontime rally at the coal miner statue on the Capitol grounds.
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