President Trump’s executive order signed Tuesday rolling back Obama-era policies probably won’t bring back coal industry jobs, but it could provide the industry some much-needed breathing room to continue working on ways to stay competitive in the ever-changing energy landscape. President Trump signed his “Energy Independence” executive order surrounded by coal miners, who heard the President say many times throughout his ...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia environmental regulators have ordered a company to stop mining permanently at a surface coal mine near Kanawha State Forest. Keystone Industries LLC signed the consent order with the Department of Environmental Protection last month to permanently halt Kanawha County mining operations near Marmet. The Kanawha Forest Coalition, which has fought the Keystone Development No. ...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Coal industry groups are concerned that the conviction of former coal executive Don Blankenship could expose other industry leaders to criminal conspiracy charges. Coal Associations from Illinois, Ohio and West Virginia shared concerns in a brief Tuesday with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considering Blankenship’s appeal. Blankenship is serving a one-year sentence ...

While the economy settles after Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, oil prices and the economy aren’t the only things on the minds of readers in the Marcellus shale area. News from the coal industry, still an important facet of Appalachian life, engaged readers this week. Plus…scandal! While news regarding fraud charges against Breitling Energy’s CEO, Chris Faulkner, got everyone’s ...

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The promise of good, blue-collar jobs in a depressed area is running headlong into environmental sensitivities as officials in Northern California consider a plan to build a marine terminal that would serve as a gateway for Utah-mined coal heading to Asia. The terminal is in West Oakland, a historically black neighborhood that’s among the poorest and ...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — With no agreement on specific tax hikes, budget cuts or swipes into reserves, West Virginia lawmakers returned Monday to negotiate a long-delayed budget hampered by the coal industry’s downfall and low natural gas prices. Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin called the Republican-led Legislature back for the first time in two months to rekindle talks about the ...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The Latest on the primary election in West Virginia, where voters have a full ballot including presidential contests, a Democratic showdown for governor and a winner-take-all state Supreme Court race (all times local): 4:30 p.m. Chris Wilder has worked for nine years as an electrician doing repair work at coal mines in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio ...

BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) — For decades, coal communities bustling with miners and their families filled the landscape of southern West Virginia. As the years have gone by, the industry has changed — machines replaced men, strikes, layoffs, closures, environmental and safety concerns hit hard — and today many of those communities exist in name only. But the feelings and emotions, ...

MADISON, W.Va. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a commodity that is hard to come by in coal country: hope. Hope that by blocking a new federal rule cutting power-plant emissions, the court has turned the tide after years of regulations and declining production. Hope that the jobs that once brought good wages to people who desperately needed ...

HILLSBORO, Ill. (AP) — The owner of a central Illinois coal mine where an underground fire has smoldered for nearly a year is asking state regulators to approve an expansion that some local residents fear could jeopardize public health and cause environmental damage. Foresight Energy ceased production at its Deer Run Mine in early January after what it calls a “combustion ...