Association News
|
Washington, D.C., (February 15, 2017) — Members of the American Coal Council (ACC) and the Coal Trading Association (CTA) have approved the combination of the two organizations. The combined organization will operate under the existing American Coal Council name and organizational structure and be managed by CEO Betsy Monseu and current ACC staff members.
Two CTA Board Directors have been added to the ACC Board of Directors: Steve Watson, Director – Trading and Origination with Arch Energy Resources, and Ginny Farrow, Portfolio Director – Coal with NRG Energy. Coal trading matters will be addressed by a new ACC Coal Trading Committee, which Watson will chair.
Regarding the merger, ACC CEO Monseu said, "The missions, activities, and programs of the ACC and CTA fit well together, and the two organizations have had a longstanding relationship to co-host the annual Coal Trading Conference. I thank the Boards and members of both organizations for their support of this combination, and the recognition of the value proposition it provides. I appreciate the contributions of CTA Executive Director Bob McLean and wish him well as he retires."
CTA programs and events to be continued under ACC include:
The American Coal Council is a non-profit trade association representing the collective interests of the American coal sector, from the hole-in-the-ground to the plug-in-the-wall, in advocating for coal as an economic, abundant, and environmentally sound fuel source.
|
|
The three R's refers to the elements of a basic scholastic program – reading, writing, and arithmetic. The reference purportedly originated almost two hundred years ago. Since then, according to Wikipedia, the term has been used in various contexts to describe other trifecta.
In the aftermath of the historic election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States, the trifecta for coal is this: reset, re-balance and restore.
As the new pro-energy administration and the 115th Congress take up their posts, we invite you to join us at Spring Coal Forum as our speakers examine the drivers and strategies to reset, re-balance and restore coal in the context of policy, regulation, markets, and technology.
All this and much more is in store for Spring Coal Forum as we gather at the new Opal Sands Resort!
 For hotel information, click here
For sponsorship opportunities, click here.
|
 Have you checked out the ACC’s social media outlets lately?Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanCoal
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmericanCoal
Please be sure to follow @AmericanCoal. Tweet "shout outs" and links to @AmericanCoal, along with coal-related hashtags: #coal, #climate, #CCS, #CCT, etc.
Please be sure to like and share ACC’s page and posts with your company and personal accounts.
If your company has tech or social media savvy employees, or employees with graphic design capabilities who are willing to donate time to help prepare infographics, social media posts, write articles, etc., please let the ACC know – info@americancoalcouncil.org.
|
 Each year we publish a Membership Directory with contact information for each of our member companies.As a benefit of membership, we make this Directory available for ACC members to download (in PDF format). Click here or on the graphic below to download the 2016 Membership Directory.
As the Membership Directory is a membership benefit, we ask that you please refrain from sharing this file with anyone outside of your own organization.
|
 The ACC's 2015 Tomorrow's Leadership Council recently developed a "Coal Communications Kit" to help coal advocates educate, inform, build bridges, and counter misinformation about coal. This document provides ideas and information that coal industry employees and others can use to improve communications and relations with others in the public realm.Whether you're on an airplane, at a business or community event, or seeking to inform relatives and friends, coal advocates now have useful facts and information to assist them in communicating the importance, value, and benefits of coal in U.S. energy production.
The Coal Communications Kit describes
The Coal Communication Kit provides ready responses to commonly held negative notions about coal. It offers convenient "elevator speeches", Facebook posts, and Tweets, as well as more detailed information and resources.
We’re confident coal advocates will find this information useful and easy to share. Be sure to check out the Coal Communications Kit, use it in your discussions with friends, the media, elected officials, and others. Then, please be sure to share the Coal Communications Kit on your social media accounts. Spread the information around so everyone can access it!
|
|
Thank you to our Champion Sponsors!!
       Thank you to our Patron Sponsors!! You are invited to join an exclusive group of American Coal Council (ACC) member companies who have elevated their level of commitment to the ACC through their Annual Sponsorship support. In doing so, these companies have also gained recognition as industry leaders in supporting the ACC’s objective to advance the development and utilization of coal as an economic, abundant and environmentally sound fuel source. Click here to learn more about the benefits and opportunities associated with an annual ACC sponsorship.
|
Industry News
Washington Examiner (2/21/17) President Trump is planning to issue executive orders this week to begin rolling back the centerpiece of President Obama's climate change agenda with several other regulations. Trump is expected to soon issue the orders targeting regulations put into place by the Environmental Protection Agency, including the Clean Power Plan, which directs states to cut greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. The EPA climate plan was halted a year ago by the Supreme Court until the courts can rule on litigation by 28 state attorneys general, the coal industry and hundreds of individual companies and industry groups. The order is expected to direct the agency to redo the climate change rule, which would be different from asking the agency to rescind the regulation altogether. Ultimately, direction on what to do about the greenhouse gas rule will have to come from the courts. But Trump isn't planning on stopping there. The president also will issue a separate order targeting the EPA's Waters of the U.S. Rule, which greatly expanded the agency's jurisdiction over waterways to include everything from major waterways to drainage ponds on private lands. Both the Clean Power Plan and the Waters of the U.S. Rule have been long-time targets of the Republican Party. Reports also say to expect a third Trump action to end the Department of Interior's moratorium also say to expect a third Trump action to end the Department of Interior's moratorium on new coal mining leases put in place by the Obama administration. Visit http://www.coalblog.org/2017/02/23/trump-readies-slew-of-new-orders-targeting-epa/ to view the full article online.
|
.jpg)
By KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL NEW YORK -- (Feb. 17, 2017) Republican presidents tend to nominate one of two types of administrator to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. The first is the centrist—think Christie Todd Whitman (2001-03)—who might be equally at home in a Democratic administration. The other is the fierce conservative—think Anne Gorsuch (1981-83)—who views the agency in a hostile light. Scott Pruitt, whom the Senate confirmed Friday, 52-46, doesn’t fit either mold. His focus is neither expanding nor reducing regulation." There is no reason why EPA’s role should ebb or flow based on a particular administration, or a particular administrator," he says. "Agencies exist to administer the law. Congress passes statutes, and those statutes are very clear on the job EPA has to do. We’re going to do that job." You might call him an EPA originality. Visit http://www.coalblog.org/2017/02/23/scott-pruitts-back-to-basics-agenda-for-the-epa/ to view the full article online.
|
WAYNESBURG, Pa. — Two weeks after Derek Cisar's wife gave birth to their son, the 36-year-old coal miner had to tell her he'd lost his job. "It wasn't because there wasn't any work," he said, moments after emerging from the underground mine. "Things in the industry in our area had started looking pretty stable for the past few months. "It all came down to a ruling by a judge ... with pressure from two climate-change groups. They effectively upended my life, my family's life, and the lives of 202 other coal miners who were laid off because of his ruling." Visit http://www.coalblog.org/2017/02/23/where-coal-is-still-king/ to view the full article online.
|
California’s green energy mandates played a role in forcing the closure of the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in Arizona, potentially opening up the Golden State to a federal lawsuit, according to a former lawmaker. Under state law, California public utilities are basically prohibited from renewing contracts with coal-fired power plant. Utilities must instead use fuels that emit less carbon dioxide, like natural gas, solar and wind power. Visit http://dailycaller.com/2017/02/17/could-trump-take-california-to-court-to-save-a-navajo-coal-plant/#ixzz4ZCWzdRgl to view the full article online.
|
Sheridan County hasn’t experienced active coal mining since the last coal operation ceased in the 1980s, though it was once a booming coal community peppered with company towns.
That may soon change.
Cloud Peak Energy, which operates the Antelope and Cordero Rojo mines in Campbell County, recently applied for a federal permit to enhance roads and a rail spur between the non-operational Youngs Creek north of Ranchester and the bustling Spring Creek mine in Montana. The construction will facilitate the moving of equipment, coal and personnel between the two mines.
The Gillette-based company is also awaiting review of a major revision to its permit to mine at Youngs Creek from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.
Meanwhile, the proposed Brook Mine, owned by Lexington, Kentucky-based Ramaco, is just south of Young’s Creek. It would be the first new coal operation in Wyoming in about 50 years.
|
Wind-based generation is capable of replacing coal. FACT: The development of renewable energy helps to support a diverse and stable electrical generation portfolio and wind and other renewables do play an role in helping to provide the electricity that we rely on to run our daily lives. However, the current state and costs of wind-based energy generation make it technologically and economically infeasible for wind to replace coal-based generation, now or well into the future. Furthermore, given the current state of renewable and energy storage technologies, mandating the use of wind in place of coal can actually have the perverse outcome of increasing overall emissions. Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/ccw-membersupdate/articles/index.asp?aid=427233&issueID=52455 to view the full article online.
|
.jpg)
By Lauren Blair
Craig (January 20, 2017) — The Collom expansion at Colowyo Coal Mine received final approval from federal officials, according to a press release from Tri-State Generation & Transmission, Inc.
The expansion adds 28 acres to current federal coal leases and will give the mine access to another 79 million tons of federal coal. In turn, it helps secure Colowyo’s 220 jobs for at least another two decades.
"Given the shortfalls that the county is facing, anytime we get news like this, it may only be a portion of the pie, but it’s a huge portion," said Moffat County Commissioner and former Craig Mayor Ray Beck. "We know this won’t only impact our budget, but it will impact the local economy and local business."
|
Calendar of Events
American Coal Magazine
 The fall edition of the American Coal magazine, published by the American Coal Council is now available.
If you are interested in obtaining a free digital copy please click the on the link above. |
 The American Coal Council and Naylor Association Solutions have partnered together to provide the American coal industry with a wide variety of print, digital, and online advertising opportunities.Be sure to check out our Media Guide & Rate Card with all the information that you need to advertise in any of our publications.
Remember that ACC Members receive a 10 percent discount on all advertising rates listed in our Media Guide.
Please contact Betsy Monseu, ACC CEO at 202.756.4540 / bmonseu@americancoalcouncil.org or Anthony Land, Project Leader at Naylor Association Solutions 352.333.3454 / aland@naylor.com with any advertising questions.
|
Technology / R&D
