ASHLAND — Legislators and supporters of the coal industry spoke out against what they said were attacks on the industry by the Environmental Protection Agency at a press conference on Wednesday.
Under the Obama administration, the EPA has passed regulations that changes the way mining permits are distributed and places limits on carbon emissions.
Speakers at the press conference were adamant these regulations threaten the economy and thousands of jobs in Appalachia.
The regulations have caused mining permits to stall, meaning thousands of miners in the region have lost their jobs, said Kentucky House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook.
“That’s not a statistic to me — that’s people,” he said.
The EPA’s regulation limiting carbon emissions would mean higher energy costs across the nation, because 45 percent of the nation’s electricity is provided by coal, said Jim Purgerson, president of the Ashland Alliance.
American Electric Power recently announced its energy rates would increase by 20 percent to 40 percent to comply with the energy standards, and 600 of its employees would be laid off, Adkins said.
Coal provides for 94 percent of energy used in Kentucky, and the state produces 40 percent of the nation’s aluminum and 30 percent of its steel, said Phil Osborne, executive director for FACES of Coal.
Gray Tomblyn, a worker for AK Steel, said coal is vital for the production of steel.
If coal becomes more expensive, the United States becomes less competitive in manufacturing industries, because other countries like China and India don’t have energy standards, Tomblyn said.
He wants the EPA and its supporters to know their ideas have consequences, he said.
“They’re putting down the industry that gives them their luxuries,” he said.
His message to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is to tell her “to remove her foot from our necks,” he said. In creating these regulations, the EPA is choosing winners and losers, and the losers are blue-collar workers like him who are trying to make an honest living, he said.
“I want to make steel, not ask for a government handout,” he said.
Tomblyn said this is a bipartisan issue.
“This issue transcends politics,” he said. “It’s not a red/blue issue, but a red, white and blue issue.”
The press conference was organized by FACES, which stands for the Federation for American Coal, Energy and Security. The group was created in 2009 to promote and protect the coal industry through educating lawmakers and the public about the importance of coal, Osborne said.
The press conference was at Maxxim Rebuild in Ashland because it refurbishes mining equipment and delivers it to mines, said Bill Bissett, president of the Kentucky Coal Association. And Maxxim Rebuild’s facility was built on the site of a reclaimed surface mine, Osborne said.
“Surface mining is not a demon — it’s an opportunity,” he said.
Laws are supposed to apply to the entire nation, but the EPA regulations mostly affect the Appalachian region, Adkins said.
Adkins said the EPA was “out of control, out of touch and out of bounds” with its regulations. The EPA is breaking the law and going against the Constitution, he said.
“The job of the EPA is to enforce the law,” he said. “Their job is not to make the law.”
Kentucky has joined a lawsuit against EPA mining permit regulations and the General Assembly has passed resolutions trying to get the attention of the federal government, Adkins said.
“All we’re asking for is common-sense regulations that don’t destroy the economy,” he said.
The EPA has faceless bureaucrats who don’t answer to voters, so they feel like they can arbitrarily set standards, said U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Hebron.
“I’m not opposed to regulation,” he said. “I’m opposed to unilateral actions that don’t have the consent of the people.”
Environmentalists who use climate change as an argument for regulation are overreacting, he said.
“The climate is always changing, even from the time of the Vikings,” he said.
The real issue is to follow the money, he said.
“All roads in the economy lead back to energy,” he said. If the U.S. loses its ability to have competitive energy prices, its industries will no longer be competitive either and it can’t remain the world’s superpower, he said.
He urged Kentuckians to join as a team to make sure that doesn’t happen.
“Over time and with patience, we can get our country back,” Davis said.
LAUREL WILSON can be reached at lwilson@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2657.
Under the Obama administration, the EPA has passed regulations that changes the way mining permits are distributed and places limits on carbon emissions.
Speakers at the press conference were adamant these regulations threaten the economy and thousands of jobs in Appalachia.
The regulations have caused mining permits to stall, meaning thousands of miners in the region have lost their jobs, said Kentucky House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook.
“That’s not a statistic to me — that’s people,” he said.
The EPA’s regulation limiting carbon emissions would mean higher energy costs across the nation, because 45 percent of the nation’s electricity is provided by coal, said Jim Purgerson, president of the Ashland Alliance.
American Electric Power recently announced its energy rates would increase by 20 percent to 40 percent to comply with the energy standards, and 600 of its employees would be laid off, Adkins said.
Coal provides for 94 percent of energy used in Kentucky, and the state produces 40 percent of the nation’s aluminum and 30 percent of its steel, said Phil Osborne, executive director for FACES of Coal.
Gray Tomblyn, a worker for AK Steel, said coal is vital for the production of steel.
If coal becomes more expensive, the United States becomes less competitive in manufacturing industries, because other countries like China and India don’t have energy standards, Tomblyn said.
He wants the EPA and its supporters to know their ideas have consequences, he said.
“They’re putting down the industry that gives them their luxuries,” he said.
His message to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is to tell her “to remove her foot from our necks,” he said. In creating these regulations, the EPA is choosing winners and losers, and the losers are blue-collar workers like him who are trying to make an honest living, he said.
“I want to make steel, not ask for a government handout,” he said.
Tomblyn said this is a bipartisan issue.
“This issue transcends politics,” he said. “It’s not a red/blue issue, but a red, white and blue issue.”
The press conference was organized by FACES, which stands for the Federation for American Coal, Energy and Security. The group was created in 2009 to promote and protect the coal industry through educating lawmakers and the public about the importance of coal, Osborne said.
The press conference was at Maxxim Rebuild in Ashland because it refurbishes mining equipment and delivers it to mines, said Bill Bissett, president of the Kentucky Coal Association. And Maxxim Rebuild’s facility was built on the site of a reclaimed surface mine, Osborne said.
“Surface mining is not a demon — it’s an opportunity,” he said.
Laws are supposed to apply to the entire nation, but the EPA regulations mostly affect the Appalachian region, Adkins said.
Adkins said the EPA was “out of control, out of touch and out of bounds” with its regulations. The EPA is breaking the law and going against the Constitution, he said.
“The job of the EPA is to enforce the law,” he said. “Their job is not to make the law.”
Kentucky has joined a lawsuit against EPA mining permit regulations and the General Assembly has passed resolutions trying to get the attention of the federal government, Adkins said.
“All we’re asking for is common-sense regulations that don’t destroy the economy,” he said.
The EPA has faceless bureaucrats who don’t answer to voters, so they feel like they can arbitrarily set standards, said U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Hebron.
“I’m not opposed to regulation,” he said. “I’m opposed to unilateral actions that don’t have the consent of the people.”
Environmentalists who use climate change as an argument for regulation are overreacting, he said.
“The climate is always changing, even from the time of the Vikings,” he said.
The real issue is to follow the money, he said.
“All roads in the economy lead back to energy,” he said. If the U.S. loses its ability to have competitive energy prices, its industries will no longer be competitive either and it can’t remain the world’s superpower, he said.
He urged Kentuckians to join as a team to make sure that doesn’t happen.
“Over time and with patience, we can get our country back,” Davis said.
LAUREL WILSON can be reached at lwilson@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2657.
