Coal

April 16, 2008 -- HARRISBURG - Following two separate mine explosions, the owner of a Schuylkill County mine, the mine's foreman and a miner were each arrested yesterday on involuntary manslaughter and other charges by the Attorney General's Office.

Attorney General Tom Corbett identified the defendants as:

* David Zimmerman, 52, 79 Mollystown Road, Pine Grove (mine owner and operator)
* Steven Zimmerman, 32, 77 Mollystown Road, Pine Grove (mine foreman)
* Jeffrey Klinger, 42, 2A West Laurel St., Tremont (miner)

Schuylkill County coal mine defendants: David Zimmerman, Steven Zimmerman and Jeffrey Klinger (left to right)    » read more »

April 15, 2008 -- AUGUSTA – Maine Governor John E. Baldacci today ceremonially signed LD 2126, An Act To Minimize Carbon Dioxide Emissions from New Coal-Powered Industrial and Electrical Generating Facilities in the State. Bill sponsor Rep. W. Bruce MacDonald (D-Boothbay) was in the Governor’s Office for the ceremony, as were other co-sponsors and supporters of the legislation.

A coal-fired power plant: Photo by Steev Hise (CC)    » read more »

Governor proclaims April 15, 2008, Mine Safety Day in Illinois

April 15, 2008 -- SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich announced today that Illinois’ coal mine industry achieved a record fifth consecutive year without a fatality, a milestone never before achieved in Illinois.

Mine more coal sign, Pennsylvania: Photo by Mike Thomas (CC)

This achievement is a testament to increased safety measures over the last several years and the diligence of mine workers in Illinois to follow safety procedures. The Governor also proclaimed April 15, 2008, as Mine Safety Day in Illinois.    » read more »

March 11, 2008 -- Under a new bill introduced today by Representatives Henry Waxman and Edward Markey, only coal plants using state-of-the-art technology will be able to move forward. The bill would ensure that all new coal plants address global warming pollution by capturing and storing at least 85% of their carbon dioxide emissions. The bill would also ensure that any new coal plants that do not capture and store their carbon will not be given free pollution allowances under any future global warming legislation.    » read more »

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Calling the state’s effort to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for carbon capture and sequestration “groundbreaking,” Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal today signed House Bill 89 and 90 (HEA 18 and 25) in a formal signing in the Capitol Rotunda.

“We have surveyed through both the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, as well as other sources, and it is clear that these two pieces of legislation are the most comprehensive, most thorough pieces passed by any legislature in the country,” Freudenthal said.    » read more »

Alternative would be more costly and delay critical solutions on global climate change

March 3, 2008 -- CHICAGO – As the U.S Department of Energy (DOE) prepares to close the comment period on its proposal to restructure the FutureGen project, Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich is urging the department to stand by the original FutureGen project and proceed with plans to bring FutureGen to Mattoon, Illinois.    » read more »

MI, WY, IL, NV, OH, PA, TX, IA, KY, LA, GA, NM and NC Are States With Largest Number of At-Risk Dirty Power Plants; At Stake: Health of Hundreds of Thousands of U.S. Children.

WASHINGTON (February 28, 2008) -- The prospects for 32 coal-fired power plants in 13 states have been shaken up in the wake of a February 8, 2008 federal appeals court ruling that requires each new coal-fired power plant in the U.S. to adopt stringent toxic air pollution control measures meeting the most rigorous standards under the Clean Air Act, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).    » read more »

February 13, 2008 -- [WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and Representative Timothy V. Johnson, and the entire Illinois Congressional Delegation today appealed to President Bush to reconsider the Department of Energy’s decision to abandon FutureGen.    » read more »

BALTIMORE, MD (February 8, 2006) – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia today vacated two Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules that failed to follow the requirements of the Clean Air Act. Maryland, along with 18 states or state agencies and the City of Baltimore sued the EPA last year for illegally exempting power plants from Clean Air Act regulations that set strict standards for hazardous air pollutants, including mercury.    » read more »

February 11, 2008 -- “Today the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struck down Bush Administration regulations that exempted coal and oil fired power plants, including some of this country’s worst polluters, from their obligation to sharply decrease their mercury pollution. This ruling represents a significant victory for both the health of Maine people and our natural environment.    » read more »

February 8, 2008 - Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell announced today that the United States Appeals Court for the District of Columbia has struck down two rules enacted by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) applying unlawfully lenient standards for mercury emissions from power plants. A coalition of 16 states, including Vermont, and various environmental groups had challenged the rules because the rules would have improperly allowed for higher mercury emissions and would have perpetuated “hot spots” of local mercury deposition.    » read more »

New Mexico along with 17 other States and Entities Sued EPA Over Power Plant Emissions Policy

February 8, 2008 -- (Santa Fe, NM) A federal Court of Appeals upheld a lawsuit filed by New Mexico and 17 other states and entities that alleged a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule was harmful to citizens and the environment because it would have exempted power plants from strict mercury emissions limits. New Jersey led the lawsuit.    » read more »

AG King: Big Win for New Mexico

(ALBUQUERQUE)---The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office and more than a dozen other states claimed a big victory today in their legal fight against a federal policy that exempts power plants from mercury emissions regulations. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. dissolved the Environmental Protection Agency’s so-called cap-and-trade rule. The Court agreed with the states that the EPA had no authority to exempt power plants.    » read more »

February 08, 2008 -- BOSTON - Today, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office, as part of a coalition of 15 other state Attorneys General, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the City of Baltimore, MD, and several environmental organizations, were successful in an appeal before the United States Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., related to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2005 regulations pertaining to mercury emissions from electric power plants.    » read more »

February 8, 2008 -- Chicago - Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan today said a federal appeals court decision striking down two U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules that would have relaxed the standard for mercury emissions is a tremendous victory for clean air all across the country.    » read more »