Challenges on the Rise for Wyoming Coal

February 9th, 2010 • Filed Under
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By Dustin Bleizeffer

CASPER— Despite strong profits, it has been a bruising 12 months for the U.S. coal industry, which came under fire for mountaintop removal mining and coal ash waste in the eastern half of the country.

Wyoming’s major coal operators avoided those hot-button environmental issues and weathered softening demand by having most — if not all — 2009 production already under contract for favorable prices.

But the industry faces a multitude of mounting challenges, from the cost of production and transportation to more stringent pollution controls and a more competitive international market. That means utilities are constantly flirting with a switch to natural gas, energy efficiency and renewables.

“We’re definitely in competition. But I don’t feel threatened by natural gas because I feel we can compete with them,” said Marion Loomis, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association.

…  The Environmental Protection Agency is considering new rules to limit emissions of mercury, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and ozone under the Clean Air Act. Many of the rule-making actions stem from EPA findings and U.S. Supreme Court rulings during the Clinton and Bush administrations. And some believe it is the EPA’s proposed rule change for sulfur dioxide that could be most significant to the coal industry in the short term.

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