Rally supports energy jobs; opposes EPA regulations

Rahall: "You want to have a fight about coal, you come over to coal country"

Miners, energy workers, state government officials and coal supporters rallied Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C., supporting American energy jobs and opposing new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

These proposed EPA regulations, backed by President Barack Obama, limit emissions at newly constructed power plants. Some critics say it will be almost impossible for coal-fired plants to meet the regulations using current technologies.

Congressman Nick Rahall, who has spearheaded several initiatives in Congress to prevent the EPA from moving forward with the regulations, joined the rally to share his concerns.

“Where I come from, in the heart of West Virginia’s coal country, if you step across the line into someone else’s backyard and challenge them to a fight, you stick around and duke it out,” Rahall said. “And you fight by the rules. We believe in a fair fight. But not this EPA.”

He said to the EPA, “You need to know that this fight you picked is not just about coal. It is a war on jobs. A war on our way of life. A war on the dignity of working American families.”

Rahall noted that none of the public input “listening sessions” are scheduled to occur in coal communities.

“They won’t even come to coal country to hold their hearings. They won’t come down where we mine coal and burn coal and let us have a fair fight.”

He said instead, these sessions are happening in Atlanta, Boston and even San Francisco.

“You want to have a fight about beans, go to Boston. Want to fight about sour-dough bread, go to San Francisco. But you want to have a fight about coal, you come over to coal country. I say to the EPA, you come on over, and listen, and maybe you will learn a thing or two about what your policies and your politics are doing to real people.”

He said the fight for coal will not be easy, but he plans to continue supporting energy jobs in the state.

“We didn’t pick this fight, but we are in it. And we are in it to win it.”

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin also joined the rally, saying the EPA’s policies are “misguided” and will “devastate West Virginia and the Appalachian region.”

Tomblin said good-paying jobs for hard-working citizens will be eliminated and he is asking President Obama and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to help chart a plan for the state’s energy future — “one that includes coal.”

“Coal keeps the lights on and I will make sure it continues to keep the lights on for decades to come. West Virginia is a leader in our country for energy production and I will do everything I can to make sure we remain a leader because I believe we need to work together toward energy independence.”

Sen. Joe Manchin said the state is not just fighting for good-paying jobs, but for the coal heritage and the way of life West Virginians have known for decades.

“Coal miners are some the bravest and most patriotic men and women I have ever met in my life and it is always an honor to stand side by side with our hardworking miners, especially during today's coal rally at the steps of the U.S. Capitol,” Manchin said.

“As governor and now as senator, I have always fought for, and pledge to continue to fight for, coal.”

Atty. Gen. Patrick Morrisey said he has also made it a top priority to fight back against agency regulations “that violate the rule of law and usurp Congress’s role in our government.”

He said he applauded those who rallied in D.C. Tuesday, who spoke up for coal and the important role it plays in the economy and the nation’s energy footprint.

“West Virginians must stand together to fight federal overreach in every form, and every coal-producing state should be unified in messaging to our elected leaders that we will not tolerate job-killing regulations that threaten to confine us to a life of poverty,” Morrisey said.

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, co-chairman of the Congressional Coal Caucus, also agreed that “this is a war on American jobs.”

“Coal creates, coal powers, coal is America — but our coal mines are threatened,” Capito said. “More than 100 mines in the state of West Virginia have been closed. Three-thousand, 500-hundred miners have been laid off or furloughed. Make no mistake — this is a war on coal.”

She discussed the Ensure Affordable and Reliable American Energy Act, which she said would make America more competitive and lower energy costs.

“Our coal is good enough for China; it’s good enough for India; it’s good enough for Germany. Why can’t we burn it here in America? Because the administration says no: No to American energy, no to American energy jobs, and no to affordable American energy. I, for one, want to keep American energy in America. It’s time for the administration to listen,” Capito said.