Published: November 20, 2009 10:55 pm      

Senator seeks pressure in mine permit battle

CHARLESTON — Gov. Joe Manchin’s proposed makeover of the new energy portfolio gained legislative approval Friday, although many lawmakers admittedly don’t understand its implications and say it begs for a deeper study.

Republican lawmakers in the House of Delegates denounced it as “a mini cap-and-trade” bill and warned it would lead to higher electric bills for West Virginia consumers.

Senate Majority Leader Truman Chafin, D-Mingo, used the vote to blast the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for holding up 23 mining permits in the state and called on his colleagues to pressure the state’s congressional delegation to step up the fight against the delay.

“I used to think mountaintop removal might not be too good a project,” he said in a floor speech.

“You tear up a lot of things and do a lot of blasting. If you go and see the end result when it’s reclaimed and see the beautiful things that are built, the houses, it can be really done very well.”

Coal operators are working on a 24-month cycle to get the green light for new operations, considering all the environmental hoops they must jump through, he said.

Now that Barack Obama is president, and a new EPA director is in power, he said, the administration is “telling people that jobs and economic impact has nothing to do with how they issue permits.”

The EPA is reviewing some 79 permits in all to see if there exists any conflict with the federal Clean Water Act.

Chafin said surface mining is the trigger for economic development since post-mine land use leads to airports, schools, golf courses and shopping outlets.

One firm, Alpha Resources, has invested millions of its resources to help build four-lane roads, he said.

Other senators joined him in criticizing foes of the industry.

“Turn the lights off for 48 hours and watch the nation scream to turn them back on,” Judiciary Chairman Jeffrey Kessler, D-Marshall, said in reference to coal feeding 51 percent of the nation’s energy needs.

The energy portfolio would alter carbon compliance standards with new definitions in Manchin’s push to bring more alternate sources of energy on board, such as wind power, hydro and solar.

Senate Minority Leader Don Caruth, R-Mercer, voted for the bill but acknowledged he had some “suspicions” and a host of questions that demand answers.

Caruth said lawmakers should have spent more time poring over the legislation so all questions could be answered. And he indicated the issue likely would come under further study when the 2010 session opens.

House Republicans blasted the measure as unfriendly to coal, suggesting the chamber was being hypocritical by passing a resolution a day earlier in support of the industry.

“It’s nothing but a mini cap-and-trade bill,” Delegate Daryl Cowles, R-Morgan, scoffed.

Delegate Jonathan Miller, R-Berkeley, said it was designed to “appease the enemies of coal.”

Chafin, however, said the industry supported the portfolio, then urged his colleagues to apply pressure on Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., to block federal cap-and-trade legislation.

Sen. Frank Deem, R-Wood, said a trade-off could be orchestrated — a vote by Rockefeller for Obama’s proposed health care plan in exchange for the president’s opposition to the EPA delay.

Chafin pointed out both Rockefeller and Rep. Nick Rahall, also D-W.Va., backed Obama “early on” for president.

“And I reminded them of that,” he said. “I told them that the chicken has come home to roost.”

Deem welcomed the rare occasion that he and Chafin were on the “same political page” with regard to coal.

“Energy is making strange bedfellows,” he added.