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Press Releases — 2010
Current | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005September 2
EPA Uses "Bad Science" and Ignores Own Methodology Criteria in Reports and Standards for Appalachian Coal Mining, Says NMAThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has relied on inaccurate and unreliable data to set inappropriate and unlawful water quality standards in violation of the agency’s methodology criteria and numerous federal laws, according to technical analyses prepared for the National Mining Association (NMA). ...
August 12
NMA Welcomes CCS Task Force’s Findings; Encourages Continued DialogueNational Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn made the following statement in response to today’s release of the administration’s Report of the Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage:...
August 6
NMA, Bruce Watzman Honored by HHS for Personal Dust MonitorHealth and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Aug. 4 that the National Mining Association (NMA) and NMA’s Senior Vice President for Regulatory Affairs Bruce Watzman were among award winners selected by the department in its inaugural HHSinnovates program. The recognition went to NMA, Watzman and a team of government, labor and others that "developed a personal monitor to measure a miner’s cumulative exposure to dust and enabling reduced disease."...
July 20
NMA Files Suit Against EPA and Army Corps over Moratorium on Appalachian Coal PermitsWashington, D.C. - The National Mining Association (NMA) today filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) for unlawfully obstructing permitting of coal mining operations in the Central Appalachian coal region and beyond jeopardizing thousands of jobs and a vital supply of fuel to meet the nation’s electric power needs....
July 14
NMA Applauds Bipartisan Measure to Accelerate Development and Early Deployment of CCS TechnologyNational Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn released the following statement in support of the “Carbon Capture and Sequestration Act of 2010” introduced today by Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio). The measure would help the private sector accelerate development and early deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in the United States by providing a wires charge-funded $20 billion over 10 years, expanding the Department of Energy’s loan program and establishing a regulatory framework to monitor and govern geological storage of CO2....
July 13
NMA Outlines Mine Safety Principles; Expresses Concern with Fundamental Weaknesses in Resource AllocationNational Mining Association (NMA) Senior Vice President Bruce Watzman outlined the association’s principles for mine safety legislation in testimony today before the House Education and Labor Committee on H.R. 5663, “The Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010,” and pointed to basic weaknesses in resource allocation of the government’s mine safety and health programs. Noting that 87 percent of all U.S. mines operated in 2009 without a single lost time accident, Watzman advised, “There should be a clear-eyed assessment of whether fundamental components of the existing law are being properly and fully executed,” before we make sweeping changes in the Mine Act....
June 22
"Restart" Act Provides Needed Blueprint for Meeting Nation’s Technology NeedsThe following statement was released today by National Mining Association President & CEO Hal Quinn in response to the introduction of the Rare Earth Supply Technology and Resources Transformation (RESTART) Act by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska):...
June 17
NMA Concerned with Jobs and Energy Security Impact of NWP 21 Permit SuspensionNational Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn released the following statement in response to the announcement today by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that it is suspending Nationwide Permit 21 for coal mining operations in six states in Appalachia:...
June 10
Senate Vote Demonstrates Bi-Partisan Concern with EPA Approach to GHG RegulationNational Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn issued the following statement in response to today’s vote by 47 senators in support of the bi-partisan SJ Res. 26 by Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Blanche Lincoln (D- Ark.) that would have denied the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act:...
June 7
EPA’s Unprecedented Permit Policy Puts Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs at RiskMultiple Industries Protest EPA’s Authority to Revoke Existing Permits...
May 25
NMA’s Hal Quinn Describes Economic Contributions of Coal as "Real Deal" at Caucus EventNational Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn began a roundtable discussion, "The Economics of Coal," at the kickoff event of the Congressional Coal Caucus this morning in the Longworth House Office Building. Quinn emphasized coal’s significant contribution to jobs creation, the economic future of local communities and to the nation’s economic and energy security....
May 21
Jobs Throughout Appalachia Threatened by EPA Permit Delays, Says Senate ReportThe following statement was released today by National Mining Association (NMA) President & CEO Hal Quinn in response to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s analysis of employment impacts of the Environmental Protection Agency’s virtual moratorium on coal mining permits throughout Appalachia:...
May 19
Analysis Finds "Factual Discrepancies and Methodological Flaws" in Hendryx Studies of Health in Appalachian Coal Mining CommunitiesThe following statement was released today by National Mining Association (NMA) Senior Vice President for Regulatory Affairs Bruce Watzman regarding a critique of studies co-authored by Michael Hendryx, West Virginia University, concerning the relationship between human health and coal mining in Appalachian communities:...
April 27
NMA Says Safety Is Mining’s Highest Obligation, Suggests Additional Actions That Can Be Taken NowWashington, D.C. - U.S. mining pledged its full resources and commitment to better protect the nation’s miners at a hearing today before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Bruce Watzman, senior vice president for regulatory affairs at the National Mining Association (NMA), emphasized in his testimony, "That is the responsibility American mining owes all who work in our mines, and it is the debt we owe those who perished at the Upper Big Branch Mine."...
April 6
Our Prayers are With the Miners' FamiliesThe following statement was released this morning by National Mining Association (NMA) President & CEO Hal Quinn:...
April 5
Mining Community is Deeply Saddened; Remains Committed to Mine SafetyThe following statement was released this evening by the National Mining Association (NMA) upon reports of a mining tragedy in West Virginia: ...
April 1
EPA Guidance for Coal Mining Permits Impacts Jobs and Economic Activity Throughout AppalachiaThe following statement was released today by National Mining Association (NMA) Senior Vice President for Regulatory Affairs Bruce Watzman upon announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of policy directed at permitting of coal mining operations in Appalachia:...
March 26
NMA Deeply Disappointed by Unprecedented EPA Action on Mine PermitNational Mining Association (NMA) Senior Vice President for Regulatory Affairs Bruce Watzman issued the following statement today upon announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its proposed veto of the existing permit for the Spruce No. 1 mine in West Virginia:...
March 18
U.S. Policymakers Take Needed First Steps on Rare Earth MineralsThe following statement was released today by National Mining Association President and CEO Hal Quinn upon this week’s announcement by the Department of Energy (DOE) that it would work with the Department of Defense on a rare earths minerals policy and the introduction yesterday by Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) of the "Rare Earths Supply-Chain Technology and Resources Transformation Act of 2010":...
March 3
NMA Launches SafetyShare.Org, New Safety Initiative for U.S. Mining OperationsWashington, D.C. – National Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn announced today the launch of a new NMA initiative to foster continued improvement in U.S. mine safety and health performance....
February 23
NMA Highlights Record Safety Performance; Offers Suggestions to Reduce Citation BacklogWashington, D.C. "Better risk management by operators, advances in technology and greater emphasis on safety awareness in company and industry-side programs have contributed to two consecutive years of record safety performance in U.S. mines," National Mining Association Senior Vice President for Regulatory Affairs Bruce Watzman told the House Education and Labor Committee at a hearing today. Watzman emphasized that based on Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) data, 86 percent of all domestic mines operated in 2009 without a single lost-time accident, and U.S. mining had fewer fatalities than were recorded in 2008, the previous record-setting year....
February 22
Coal for Natural Gas Switch Is Bad Public Policy; Undermines Administration’s ObjectivesThe following statement was released today by National Mining Association (NMA) President & CEO Hal Quinn in response to press reports that the Obama administration is considering market enticements to switch coal for natural gas in U.S. electricity generation as part of the administration’s efforts to secure sufficient votes for climate legislation:...
February 17
NMA Challenges EPA’s Endangerment Finding, Sees Blow to Economic RecoveryNational Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn issued the following statement after the association filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit a petition for review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Dec. 15 endangerment finding:...
February 3
NMA Welcomes New White House Task Force on Clean Coal TechnologyThe following statement was released today by National Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn after the White House announced the creation of a federal inter-agency task force on carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. The task force will be led by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and will include the Environmental Protection Agency:...
February 2
Mining Works with MSHA on Safety FocusThe following statement was released today by National Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn in conjunction with the launch of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) program to improve the prevention of fatalities in mining:...
February 1
President’s Budget Proposals Obstruct Jobs Creation Says NMAThe following statement was issued by National Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn upon release of President Obama’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011:...
January 27
Mining Jobs Critical to U.S. Economic RecoveryThe following statement was issued by National Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn on the eve of President Obama’s State of the Union Address:...
January 25
NMA Thanks Inaugural Members of Bi-Partisan Coal CaucusThe following statement was released today by National Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn in response to formation of a bi-partisan coal caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives:...
January 5
U.S. Mines Complete Safest Year EverAmerican Coal and Mineral Mines Close 2009 with Fewest Annual Fatalities...
