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Industry reps take up coal-friendly bills; Clean Water Rule stayed by 2 years

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Industry reps take up coal-friendly bills; Clean Water Rule stayed by 2 years

State legislatures take up variety of bills that could benefit coal industry

Extending tax credits, easing regulations on bonding and mine safety, and erasing utility requirements for renewable energy usage are among the coal industry's state legislative priorities this year.

Some state mining associations are working to build on the Trump administration's moves to bolster the industry, such as lifting the moratorium on new federal coal leases and a plan to roll back and replace the previous administration's Clean Power Plan, while others find themselves in defensive mode against legislation perceived as harmful to the industry.

EPA, Army Corps finalize delay of Clean Water Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have finalized a proposal to delay the implementation date of the Clean Water Rule by two years. In doing so, they clarified when the waters of the U.S. will be defined by the Obama-era rule, if that is to happen at all.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in a release issued Jan. 31 said the move is an effort to "reduce confusion and provide certainty to America's farmers and ranchers."

MSHA chief going after delinquent mine operators, pushing innovations

The new head of the nation's mine safety watchdog said he plans to go after operators who are chronically delinquent on paying fines issued by the agency and wants to push technological innovation to reduce deadly accidents.

David Zatezalo, assistant secretary of labor for the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration said while 75% to 80% of mine operators are paying their fines for mine safety violations, a small share of operators are "chronically delinquent" on payments.

"I want to let you know that we are potentially going to take a more aggressive posture in the future," Zatezalo said during his speech.

DOE officials outline fossil fuel, battery storage R&D priorities to lawmakers

Two U.S. Department of Energy undersecretaries in a Jan. 30 congressional hearing outlined how the agency is expanding its focus on fossil fuel energy technologies while continuing the prior administration's efforts to advance battery storage technologies.

"We have begun a reassessment of uses of fossil energy both pre-combustion, during combustion and post-combustion," said Energy Under Secretary Mark Menezes. That could include precombustion techniques to minimize coal-fired generation emissions or finding new uses for coal, he said.

Canadian judge rejects greens' bid to stop Vancouver coal export terminal

A Canadian court rejected a challenge to a planned terminal near Vancouver that would handle U.S. export coal, paving the way for the project to move forward.

Judge James O'Reilly of the Federal Court of Canada ruled that Port Metro Vancouver did not act improperly when it approved the Fraser Surrey Docks LP terminal, which will be capable of transferring Powder River Basin coal via BNSF Railway Co. trains for export, in 2014.