Oklahoma produced 1.4 million tons of coal in 2008 -- less than 1 percent of the total that West Virginia produced that same year. But Sen. James M. Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, has become a good friend of West Virginia coal.
Inhofe is ranking member of the U.S. Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, which issued a report last week criticizing how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has handled coal mining permits in Appalachia since President Barack Obama took office early last year. The Senate committee oversees the EPA and other agencies that regulate mining.
Inhofe's committee focused on Arch Coal's Mingo Logan Spruce No. 1 Mine and relied heavily on the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for information about mining in the state.
The report said DEP chief Randy Huffman reported that EPA failed to make its decision in a transparent manner, moved forward without input or consultation from state officials and presented no new information or analysis to justify its change in position.
"This approach is both odd and troubling, considering that the Spruce permit was issued in 2007 after a 10-year process, which culminated in a detailed environmental impact statement," the Senate minority staff report said.
"The permit ultimately reduced the overall mine acreage by 835 acres and reduced permanent impacts to stream channels by over 15,000 feet. Moreover, EPA either ignored or dismissed the fact that the project would bring jobs and economic growth to the Appalachian region."
The report said the Spruce mine was projected to provide 253 mining jobs and 298 indirect jobs; coal from the mine would generate electricity for 74,500 homes for each year the mine is working.
Matt Hite, counsel for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said Inhofe has been a consistently strong advocate for strengthening the nation's energy profile, and the Oklahoma senator sees Appalachian coal as an important element in the U.S. energy mix.
Hite said Inhofe quickly became aware that the new leadership in Washington and in the EPA had launched a war on coal on multiple fronts -- how it is mined, how it is burned and how utilities deal with coal ash.
Hite said the EPA has held up 190 mining permits for ongoing review. Companies that have made substantial investments in coal development are unable to move ahead with their projects. The Jan. 14 committee report raises questions about the propriety of the EPA's actions.
The most egregious bureaucratic assault, Hite said, was the EPA's decision to pull the plug on the Spruce permit. It was a decision that understandably has created uncertainty for mining companies at a time when the nation could realize greater energy independence.
Inhofe and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, released a Congressional Research Service report in October that said the United States' "combined recoverable natural gas, oil and coal endowment is the largest on Earth."
Hite said Inhofe wants to see Americans have the freedom to develop all of the nation's energy resources. And the Oklahoma senator made his views clear about the way the government regulates energy production after he and Murkowski released the findings on energy.
"Whether through decree or purposeful inaction, government policies that unnecessarily restrict or prevent our ability to responsibly produce these domestic resources are threatening, and could eventually undermine, our nation's economic and national security," Inhofe said.
"We should pursue an all-of-the-above strategy that advances new energy technologies but also prioritizes developing the resources we have today."
I'm sure many in the anti-coal camp will see the Republican Inhofe's comments as political rhetoric. That's unfortunate. This topic is too important for that oversimplified assessment.
The Oklahoma senator, whose state does not depend on coal, clearly believes this nation should respect the laws that allow companies to invest in developing energy that powers this nation. Many here in West Virginia will agree with the senator from the Sooner State.
