MiningWeek Online
January 28, 2005 Volume 11, Issue 4

This Week's Issue:

• Gerard lauds Voinovich for launching multi-emissions dialogue
• NMA briefs Reps. McMorris, Drake, Gohmert
• Ney positive on need for energy bill
• Gerard: election results provide opportunity to advance supply-side energy solutions
• NMA: Coal holds key to solving natural gas crisis
• OSM proposes to revise rules for transfer assignment, or sale of permit rights
• NAMC urges clarification of EPA Framework
• Silver-based biocide use rising, Silver Institute says
• Jury order environmental group to pay $600,000 to AZ rancher
• Newsbits

"America's mining industry is grateful for Sen. Voinovich's leadership in holding today's hearing," Gerard said. " We hope this is the start of a process that leads to bipartisan support for multi-emissions legislation that will break the regulatory stalemate in the electric power industry. Without the certainty of legislation, specifying reduction requirements and compliance timeframes, costly and time-consuming litigation will continue to frustrate continued progress in reducing emissions and constructing clean coal power generation needed to ensure continued economic growth," he said.

"Coal's vital role in supplying electric power was underscored earlier this week by Sen. Pete Domenici's (R-NM) timely conference on the natural gas crisis (see related story). Against this background, Sen. Voinovich's hearing is especially welcome. Coal now generates 51.8 percent of the nation's electric power, and as our most abundant and reliable fuel it can increase that share and relieve the growing energy burden on our basic industries, on manufacturers and consumers. But energy companies and state authorities need greater regulatory certainty to facilitate timely new investment in coal-based power generation," Gerard said.

"We pledge our full cooperation with Sen. Voinovich and his colleagues in their pursuit of responsible multi-emissions legislation and the continued environmental and economic progress it will ensure," Gerard added.

In introducing the legislation, Voinovich called Clear Skies the "most aggressive presidential initiative in history to reduce power plant pollution and provide cleaner air across the country." Inhofe said the measure "harmonizes our energy and environmental policies to protect both the environment and jobs. It reduces emissions by historic levels and helps ensure continued access to the reliable, low cost electricity that is so critical to job creation and our country's global competitiveness."

The Clear Skies Act expands the Acid Rain Program's cap-and-trade provisions to include emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and mercury (Hg) - in addition to sulfur dioxide (SO2). Under this program:

• SO2 emissions would be reduced by 73 percent, from year 2000 emissions of 11 million tons to a cap of 4.5 million tons in 2010 and to a cap of 3 million tons in 2018;
• NOx emissions would be reduced by 67 percent, from year 2000 emissions of 5 million tons to a cap of 2.1 million tons in 2008 and to a cap of 1.7 million tons in 2018;
• Mercury emissions would be reduced by 69 percent. Emissions would be cut from 1999 emissions of 48 tons to a cap of 34 tons in 2010 and to a cap of 15 tons in 2018.

A full Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the legislation is planned for Feb. 2, with mark-up scheduled for the week of Feb. 14.

Back to top

NMA briefs Reps. McMorris, Drake, Gohmert

Rep. Drake (R-VA)

All three are new members of Congress and said they appreciated the opportunity to become familiar with the industry's concerns. In remarks to the committee, Drake noted the port of Hampton Roads, which is in her district, ships the "largest amount of coal in the world" and she recounted a visit to a coal mine near Gundy, VA. McMorris underscored the importance of minerals mining jobs in her district being provided by a Teck Cominco mine and said she is "very excited to be a member of the House Resources Committee." Gohmert emphasized the large quantities of natural resources in his district, including coal and minerals.

Rep. Gohmert (R-TX)

NMA members outlined several key mining issues, including the ongoing problem with the minerals mining permitting process, which can delay new U.S. mines by eight to 12 years, and the lengthy regulatory process that impacts the opening of new coal mines and power plants. All three new representatives said they had no idea the approval process was so long, with Drake noting: "When it's taking you 10 years or more to get a permit, that is out of wack and something needs to be done." Reform of the Endangered Species Act and the Abandoned Mined Land program were also topics of discussion.

Rep. McMorris (R-WA)

The "Meet and Greet" portion of the GAC meeting was part of a busy week of activity for committee members that included a dinner briefing the previous evening by Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), deputy majority whip (see separate story).

Back to top

Ney positive on need for energy bill

NMA President and CEO Jack Gerard and Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH)

Senate Deputy Majority Whip Bob Ney (R-OH) told an NMA Government Affairs Committee dinner this week he is positive on the need for comprehensive energy legislation in this session of Congress. In a wide ranging discussion, Ney also said he thought prospects for far-reaching Social Security reform were questionable, but that something less ambitious might be possible. He also stressed the need for getting the federal budget under control, and thanked NMA and the mining industry for support when he began his Congressional career in 1995.

Back to top

Gerard: election results provide opportunity to advance supply-side energy solutions

Speaking at the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation's Winter Workshops on Energy Law in Ft. Myers Beach , FL, Gerard said Congress has the opportunity to pass a comprehensive energy bill, responsible multi-emission legislation and "achieve the elusive goal of regulatory certainty."

He said Clear Skies legislation, introduced this week by Sens. George Voinovich (R-OH) and James Inhofe (R-OK) (see related story), "will provide the certainty of additional emissions reductions, including reductions of mercury. Casting aside these gains that are locked into law just to get an incrementally steeper reduction will risk lengthy, costly and protracted litigation - and the probability of achieving much less over a much longer timeframe."

Gerard said NMA was supporting further reductions not only because of regulatory certainty, but also because "constant improvement in our environmental performance helps meet the public's rising environmental expectations, and makes coal the responsible fuel choice."

"Now it's time for public policymakers to also recognize coal's importance. If we are serious about strengthening our manufacturing base . . . serious about stopping the loss of high-wage jobs in this country . . . we need to take serious action to lower energy costs. Otherwise, the crisis will continue." Gerard noted the U.S. has the "unwelcome distinction of having the highest natural gas prices in the industrial world - the toll these prices have taken on our basic industries is sadly familiar."

Gerard said regulatory certainty was crucial because: "We need the assurance of specific emissions reductions and of specific timeframes for achieving them . . . the certainty that adequate funding for advanced clean coal technologies will be in the research pipeline . . . the assurance that emissions standards are achievable with commercially available technology . . . and the certainty that time-consuming and costly lawsuits won't disrupt energy markets, and further progress toward emissions reductions."

He added that an arbitrary cap on carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. power plants "would be extremely costly, and achieve only a negligible improvement in the global climate, since the U.S. share of global CO2 emissions is projected to fall by 2020 as those of China and India "grow at twice our rate. If these countries remain outside the solution for slowing greenhouse gas emissions, then western industrial nations will have accomplished nothing - other than to confer a manufacturing advantage on their industrial competitors."

Gerard concluded: "Hopefully we didn't work to secure an energy-friendly Congress and administration only to squander the opportunity by accepting unnecessary, ineffective and potentially damaging carbon controls."

Back to top

NMA: Coal holds key to solving natural gas crisis

NMA recommended five policy options for enhancing coal production and fuel diversity to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which held a conference on the natural gas crisis earlier this week. Coal currently generates 51.8 percent of the nation's electric power.

"The prospect of continuing shortages of natural gas demands that we take steps now to encourage further use of the country's 250-year supply of coal," said NMA president and CEO Jack N. Gerard. "Impressive emissions reductions from coal-fired electricity, together with the security offered by our vast domestic supplies, makes coal a vital component of any strategy for reducing natural gas impacts to manufacturers and consumers."

Gerard said Congress can begin to take steps today that will reassure consumers of further emissions reductions from coal-fired power plants, stimulate investment in advanced clean coal technologies, and streamline the permitting process for new coal production and power plant construction.

A robust federal clean coal technology partnership with the private sector, and accelerated depreciation and investment tax credits would be powerful inducements to expand coal use for electricity generation, he said. Gerard also urged swift passage of a multi-emissions control bill as another sure way of guaranteeing both continued environmental improvement and timely construction of new generating capacity.

"With coal demand hitting an historic high last year and poised to set new records this year, the market is clearly signaling it wants coal to continue to be the fundamental provider of affordable and reliable electricity," added Gerard. "Policymakers should heed this signal and respond accordingly to avoid further disruptions in natural gas supply."

Back to top

OSM proposes to revise rules for transfer assignment, or sale of permit rights

The proposed rule, published Jan. 26 in the Federal Register, was prompted by an agreement OSM entered into to settle a lawsuit brought by NMA, which sought to overturn certain aspects of OSM's 2000 final Ownership and Control rule.

In 1998, OSM proposed to amend certain provisions of its rules, including the provisions related to transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights. However, OSM did not include transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights in the 2000 final rule due to the number and disparate nature of the comments on the proposed revisions. OSM decided instead to devote further study to the current rules for transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights and related issues.

Under section 511(b) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), no transfer, assignment, or sale of the rights granted under any permit issued under SMCRA will be made without the written approval of the regulatory authority. Under section 506(b), a successor in interest to a permittee who applies for a new permit within thirty days and is able to obtain the bond coverage of the original permittee may continue mining until a permitting decision is made.

OSM said the proposed rules would, among other things, revise the definitions of "transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights" and "successor in interest" and revise the application and review requirements for these permitting actions. These and other changes are being proposed to clarify the reach of these definitions and, therefore, the types of changes requiring regulatory authority approval under these rules. Changes to information requirements are also being proposed that would coincide with those proposed clarifications.

"We have devoted further study to transfer, assignment, and sale issues and related topics, as we promised in 2000, and believe it is now the right time to clarify our regulations," said Jeff Jarrett, Director of OSM. "We view this rulemaking as an opportunity to consider distinguishing between the circumstances that will constitute a transfer, assignment, or sale of permit rights from those resulting in a successor in interest as well as from those that will only require a permittee to provide information updates. We also seek to introduce regulatory stability to an area that has been subject to varying interpretations for many years."

The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed rule changes.

Back to top

NAMC urges clarification of EPA Framework

Among the groups submitting comments, the North American Metals Council (NAMC), of which NMA is a part, said it has been supportive of EPA's efforts to develop the Framework "because we have long recognized that metals and metal substances have unique physical and chemical properties that do not lend themselves to standard risk and hazard assessment approaches that are used for organic-based substances."

In terms of general comments, NAMC said in spite of intensive efforts to clarify the role that bioconcentration factors (BCFs) and bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) may play in assessing the hazards and risks of metals (and the important limitations on that role), "there are still some comments in the Framework document that are inconsistent with each other and with the current state of the science. While this version of the Metals Framework is greatly improved over the previous draft, the treatment of BCFs and BAFs needs to be clarified further and made more consistent."

The EPA draft Framework, issued for external review late in 2004, was scheduled to be reviewed via conference call by a Science Advisory Board (SAB) this week, and in person from Feb. 1-3.

Back to top

Silver-based biocide use rising, Silver Institute says

"Although some applications show signs of maturing - such as pool and spa water purification systems . . . all supplier contacted expect sales growth as world economies expand," Silver News said. "Along with establishing and growing markets for water purification, such as drinking water and pools, relatively new uses of silver-based biocides for water treatment are expected."

One of these is the growth in the use of silver biocides in commercial ice-making machinery, Silver News reports. "It is estimated that 150,000 to 200,000 such units are being sold yearly worldwide. Even more use of silver-based biocides is likely to be in refrigerators, freezers and other food storage units."

Another new development, the newsletter reports, is the expectation that silver-based biocides will be used for the purification and recycling of lightly-polluted or "grey" water. Testing is underway in both the U.S. and Europe in this regard. Among other things, makers of silver-based water treatment systems have also targeted food processing applications, and other major markets target the control of pathogens, especially legionella bacteria, in cooling towers of air conditioning units.

Back to top

Jury order environmental group to pay $600,000 to AZ rancher

The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) , which built a national reputation for successfully suing the government regarding endangered species, was found guilty of defaming Jim Chilton, a fifth generation Arizona rancher, and his family business in a two-page press release and 21 "false and misleading" photographs published on the Center's website in July 2002.

The jury in a 9-1 verdict cited the Center for making false statements in the news advisory and said misleading photographs were used in an unsuccessful effort to block renewal of Chilton's grazing permit for a 21,500 acre site northwest of Nogales. The jury also said the Center did not accurately describe the condition of the grazing allotment.

"The case is more about the truth than about money," Chilton said. He added he filed the suit because he wanted to challenge the way the Center does business. "They don't use science, they use scare tactics. They also use endangered species as surrogates to obtain their own goals and to raise money."

The Center unsuccessfully argued that its release and photo captions were just "honest opinions" and that they can't be libelous because they were public records that were part of its unsuccessful effort to block renewal of Chilton's grazing permit.

Commenting on the decision, Policy Director Kieran Suckling said, "The center has been here a long time, and we'll be here a long time in the future." He said the Center will probably appeal the decision, and its insurance should pay for at least some of the damages, if they're upheld. Suckling said he was most worried about the verdict's potentially "chilling effect" on advocacy groups.

According to last year's annual statement, CBD has an annual budget of $2.9 million and assets of $2.4 million. The Arizona Daily Star's website says in 2003, the Center "got reimbursed for $992,354 in expenses after winning in court - about double what its 10,000 members donated that year."

Back to top

Newsbits

Back to top