WHEELING - More than 10,000 people stopped

in or passed by the Friends of Coal exhibit at

the Wheeling Cabelas store June 26-29 and an-
other 8000 or more visited the Cabelas South
Charleston location August 31st as part of Ca-
belas Hometown Heroes Celebration recogniz-
ing the contributions of coal miners, energy
workers and active/retired military.
Chris Hamilton, senior vice president of the WV
Coal Association, said, Cabelas provided a fan-
tastic opportunity to showcase the benefits
mining provides not only to the northern pan-
handle, but to our state and country. CONSOL
Energy was a great partner in this event and we
appreciate their involvement. Everyone that
stopped by our booth at either location ex-
pressed their dismay at the challenges facing
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4
AUGUST 2013 The PORTAL
WEST VI RGINIA COAL ASSOCIA TION
Published by the West Virginia Coal Associationand Friends of Coal
CHARLESTON -- According to
information released by the West
Virginia Division of Commerce in
February, West Virginia coal exports
grew by 40 percent last year,
increasing from $5.3 billion in 2011 to
$7.4 billion in 2012. West Virginia coal
accounted for 49 percent of U.S. coal
exports in 2012.
Over the past two months, the West
Virginia Coal Forum has partnered
with several state chambers of
commerce and other groups in a
series of forums on the importance of
coal exports to the West Virginia
state economy. The first event was
held in July in Charleston and was
covered in the last edition of The
Portal. Since then, two additional
Association, and Fred Tucker, UMWA,
welcomed the more than 70 event
attendees and set the stage for the
meeting.
Congresswoman Shelley Moore
Capito headlined the event and
expressed her support for the mining
industry and the benefits it provides
to the state, including the Eastern
Panhandle, and the nation. She stated
that EPAs ongoing regulatory actions
are clearly a war on coal and that
she will continue to do all she can to
maintain fairness and industry
viability.
Several Eastern Panhandle legislators
were in attendance at the event,and
WVCA Hosts Series of Coal Forums On Coal Exports
In the Photo -- Sen-
ate President Jeff
Kessler talks about
importance of coal
exports to states
economy in remarks
to the Coal Forum II
in Wheeling.
DATES TO
REMEMBER
The Friends of Coal and Consol
Energy are prominent sponsors
of this years West Virginia
National Hunting & Fishing
Days Celebration, taking place
September 28-29, 2013 at
Stonewall Resort State Park,
near Weston.
Friends of Coal and Consol
Energy will have a booth at the
event and will be providing
industry information as well as
signing up new Friends of Coal.
Well be sponsoring the Hawg
Trough an aquarium on
wheels where professional
anglers will provide fishing
demonstrations throughout
the event.
The event is open from 9am-
6pm on Saturday, Sept. 28 and
from 9am-5pm on Sunday,
Sept. 29. There is a fee of $6
per adult to enter; free for kids
age 15 and under.
Come out and visit the Friends
of Coal and Consol Energy at
this years National Hunting &
Fishing Days Celebration!
Cont. on pg. 2
Cont. on pg. 2
IN THE PHOTO: The Cabelas store in Wheeling was all
decked out in patrioc and Friends of Coal themes.
Friends of Coal Honored by State Cabelas Locations
forums have been conducted, first in
Wheeling on August 15 and then in
Martinsburg on September 4.
The West Virginia Coal Forum is an
organization representing both labor
and management in the coal industry.
In the most recent event, the Forum
with co-hosts the Chamber of
Commerce of Martinsburg & Berkeley
County, Jefferson County Economic
Development Authority, Berkeley
County Economic Development
Authority, the Jefferson County
Chamber of Commerce and the
Eastern Panhandle Business
Association conducted a meeting,
September 4, at the Martinsburg
Holiday Inn. Coal Forum Co-
Chairmen Chris Hamilton, WV Coal
Friends of Coal
Sponsor National
Hunting & Fishing
Days at Stonewall
The Friends of Coal has
partnered with the B.A.S.S.
Nation of West Virginia as a
major sponsor for 2013. Friends
of Coal materials and signage
will be visible at B.A.S.S events,
to include the upcoming
Northern Qualifier tournament
to be held Oct. 5-6 on the Mon
River at Pricketts Fort near
Fairmont.
Friends of Coal
Joins BASS Nation
for Mon River Event
Friends of Coal
COAL FORUMS from page 1
CABELAS from page 1
?ou can nd ouL whaL's happen-
ing in the industry and join in
the conversaon. Friend us on
Facebook, follow us on Twier
and view great pictures on Flickr.
Visit the following links to tune in,
turn on and chime in:
Facebook
www.facebook.com/friendsof-
coal
Website:
www.friendsofcoal.org
Twier:
hps://twier.com/
FriendsofCoalWV
Flickr:
hp:]]www.|ckr.com]photos]
friendsofcoal
Are you a Friend of Coal?
Visit www.friendsofcoal.org and
download the applicaon or
contact Sandi at the WV Coal
Associaon by calllng (304) 342-
4153, or via email at sdavison@
wvcoal.com, for more informaon
on how to apply.
YOU MIGHT
WANT TO KNOW
CONNECT
ONLINE
GET YOUR FOC
PLATE TODAY
1he osL Cmce has lssued Made
in America ~ Building a Naon
commemorave sLamps - 12
designs, one is a coal miner.
Coal-based power output in
Germany rose 3.9 percent in
Lhe rsL 2C 2013.
TVA coal use up 17 percent in
rsL Lhree quarLers of 2013.
Association Staff Guests of Friends of Coal Truck at Bristol
BRISTOL - WV Coal Association
President Bill Raney, Vice
President Jason Bostic and
Association Counsel Louis Southworth
were in Bristol, VA for the Camping
World Truck Series race at Bristol
Motor Speedway, in late August,
spreading the word about Friends of
Coal and West Virginia coal. They
were guests of the #27 WV
Coal/Friends of Coal Chevy team and
driver Jeff Agnew. This was the first
NASCAR race for each of them.
Raney said the great looking Friends
of Coal Chevrolet, currently 15th in
points in the NASCAR Truck Series
Championship standings, is
enthusiastically received by everyone
in the pits and among the fans. They
seem to love the theme and what it
stands for.
The Friends of Coal and the West
Virginia Coal Association lent its name
and logo to Hillman Racing for the #27
Camping World Truck Series entry of
Team 7 Motorsports for the Camping
World Truck Series. Audience
estimates indicate the television
viewership for the event was
approximately 1 million viewers each
week.
the coal industry and the need to keep
our miners working. It was refreshing
to hear the positive sentiment and
support, and we look forward to to
staying actively engaged with our new
Friends of Coal.
The Friends of Coal display was front
and center at the entrances to the
Delegate Daryl Cowles, House
Minority Whip, addressed the group,
highlighting the impact mining has on
the region and thanking the event
organizers for coming to the area to
discuss this important topic.
Bill Raney, president of the WV Coal
Association, and Mark Muchow,
deputy secretary for the WV Division
of Tax & Revenue, shared statistics
demonstrating the importance of
mining to the Eastern Panhandle, as
well as the state. They informed the
group that the Eastern Panhandle has
received nearly $52 million from coal
severance funding through the
Infrastructure, Jobs & Development
Council since 1994. These funds have
been used to leverage tens of millions
of dollars in other funding to maintain
and upgrade water lines, wastewater
treatment and to pursue economic
development initiatives.
Additionally, Berkeley, Jefferson
and Morgan Counties received over
$820,000 in municipal and county
severance tax distributions in 2012.
Eugene Trisko, an energy industry
economist and attorney representing
the American Coalition for Clean Coal
Electricity (ACCCE), educated the
group on the imminent threats posed
by EPAs greenhouse gas regulations.
Trisko offered that West Virginia
households with gross annual
incomes below $50,000
representing 61% of West Virginias
population spend an estimated
average of 21% of their after-tax
income on energy. Two proposals
facing the industry have the ability to
further increase those costs. The first
proposal would impose stiffer air
quality regulations on currently
operating power plants. The second
would impose performance
standards for new generation
facilities. Both rules create a standard
that is unattainable by coal-fired
power plants under current market
conditions and available
technologies. If implemented, Trisko
said, literally hundreds of thousands
of direct and indirect industry jobs
are placed at risk.
And on a more positive note,
Giovanni Girelli and Brad Blas with
Martinsburg-based Essroc Italcementi
showcased the role coal plays in the
cement industry and their business.
The company recently invested more
than half a billion dollars to upgrade
their processing facilities a huge
investment in the region.
In the earlier meeting, the West
Virginia Coal Forum, in conjunction
with West Liberty University,
conducted a meeting on August 15
at West Liberty University's Highland E
nergy Center in Triadelphia, West
Virginia.
Robin Capehart, president
of West Liberty University kicked off
the meeting by welcoming event
attendees by recognizing the
importance of the coal industry to the
northern panhandle and the State.
Jeff Kessler, president of the West
Virginia Senate and a native
of Marshall County, headlined the
event. "There is no doubt that West
Virginia will continue to produce coal,"
Kessler stated. "Many may not realize
it, but Marshall County is the state's
top coal producing county. That's my
home and I'm proud of that fact."
"Concerning the new federal policies
confronting the industry, we need
stability and predictability. We need
reasonable regulation and a
reasonable time frame within which to
adapt and comply."
Neither Sen. Manchin nor
Congressman McKinley were able to
attend but sent representatives.
Cabelas store. More than 1500 area
coal miners, energy workers and
citizens from around the Tri-State
region signed up as a Friend of Coal
during the event. Outreach efforts to
local media resulted in at least three
articles and/or editorials in the
Wheeling newspapers and coverage
IN THE PHOTO: WV Coal
Association President Bill
Raney, Association Counsel
Louis Southworth and Vice
President Jason Bostic.
by both local television stations
multiple times. The effect was the
same in Charleston with two TV
stations and three radio stations
covering the event.