Tag: Mine Reclamation

Energy Bills Move Forward As Legislature Winds Down Session

State lawmakers wrapped up energy related legislation in the final hours of the session, including a bill to create a Mining Mutual Insurance Company.

The Senate unanimously approved the final version of Senate Bill 1 on Saturday, and it becomes effective immediately when the governor signs it.

SB 1 creates a five-member board to manage at least $50 million in taxpayer funds. Those funds would back mine reclamation bonds.

An audit last year found that the state’s special reclamation fund was not adequate to cover future mine cleanup obligations, potentially exposing the state to hundreds of millions of dollars in liabilities.

Senate President Craig Blair identified SB 1 as one of his top priorities, and in a rare move, he sponsored the bill.

Advanced Batteries

The House sent House Bill 4025 back to the Senate late Saturday with an amendment removed, but the chamber didn’t act on it before the session expired.

The bill would have exempted rare earth minerals mined in the state from severance taxes. Its supporters say that will encourage the development of advanced battery technology for use in electric vehicles and storage batteries for renewable energy.

Carbon Storage

Both chambers finished action earlier this month on House Bill 4491, with the Senate agreeing unanimously to the legislation.

HB 4491 will create a permitting system for underground carbon storage. The system could help carbon-intensive industries, such as power plants, steelmakers and cement companies, meet their carbon-reduction or net-zero goals.

The stored carbon could also be used in the future and meanwhile would not be released into the atmosphere.

Nuclear Power

Senate Bill 4 made it across the finish line and to the governor’s desk last month.

SB 4 repealed the state’s longstanding ban on the construction of new nuclear power facilities. The ban was enacted over concerns about nuclear safety and to protect the state’s coal industry from a competitor.

But times have changed. Gov. Jim Justice, a coal executive, signed the repeal. It will take effect on May 1, 2022.

Mine Safety

A bill to change the state’s mine safety code didn’t get very far.

House Bill 4840 would have made changes that Democrats, many Republicans and the United Mine Workers of America said would have weakened safety.

An intensive lobbying effort by mine workers and their allies effectively sidelined the legislation.

House Of Delegates Approves Bill To Aid Mine Reclamation

The House of Delegates approved a bill on Friday to help cover the cost of reclaiming abandoned mines.

An audit last year found the state’s special reclamation fund is insufficient to cover the cost of cleaning up the state’s mine sites.

The audit said the state could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in mine cleanup obligations. Coal company failures in recent years have worsened the problem.

State lawmakers are proposing a Mining Mutual Insurance Company that would issue bonds to cover those liabilities.

It would consist of five appointees chosen by the governor, the Senate president, the House speaker, the Department of Environmental Protection secretary and the state insurance commissioner.

The five-member board would manage $50 million in taxpayer funds. Its proceedings would be closed to the public and the news media, as lawmakers exempted it from state open meetings law and the Freedom of Information Act.

The House voted 61-36 in favor of Senate Bill 1. It will need a vote in the Senate to become law.

Mining Mutual Insurance Company Board Would Shut Public Out

A bill to create a Mining Mutual Insurance Company raises questions about government transparency.

Senate Bill 1 would exempt the mutual’s five-member board from the state open meetings law and the Freedom of Information Act.

Members of the public and news organizations would not be able to attend or view the board’s activities, nor would they be able to request documents about them.

The company’s board would consist of five political appointees and would oversee at least $50 million in taxpayer funds.

One of the bill’s sponsors, Senate Minority Leader Stephen Baldwin of Greenbrier County, says the company would be private and that the legislature and the Insurance Commissioner would hold it accountable.

The Open Meetings Law, or Sunshine Act, intended for the proceedings of all public agencies to be conducted in the open. The law provides for such agencies to go into executive session, which is not open to the public, when necessary.

Pat McGinley, who teaches law at West Virginia University, says the board’s proceedings should be transparent.

“Under the Freedom of Information Act, those communications would clearly be, most of them would be, open to the public,” McGinley said. “And clearly, the sponsors of this bill and anyone who votes for it wants to keep the public in the dark.”

The bill passed the Senate unanimously in January, and is now in the House of Delegates.

Board Of State Mine Reclamation Insurer Could Operate In Secret

A new board proposed by the legislature to backstop the state’s mine reclamation fund may be able to operate in secret.

Senate Bill 1 would create a Mining Mutual Insurance Company to issue mine reclamation bonds backed by at least $50 million in taxpayer funds.

But as written, the bill would exempt the five-member board from state open meetings laws and the Freedom of Information Act. That means the board’s activities would be shielded from public view.

The board would consist of a chair appointed by the governor. Other members would be appointed by the secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, the Insurance Commissioner, the Senate president and the House speaker.

Gary Zuckett, executive director of the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, said SB 1 needs more scrutiny in light of last year’s legislative audit of the state mine reclamation program. The audit found the program’s liabilities far exceeded the available funds.

“We really need to lift up this legislative audit,” he said, “The auditors, I think, did their due diligence on this.”

The audit recommended a commission to study the problem. Instead, the legislature has proposed this solution.

Senate Approves Bill To Backstop State Mine Reclamation Fund

The West Virginia Senate has passed a bill to address the state’s mine reclamation liabilities.

SB 1 passed in the chamber unanimously on Wednesday and now goes to the House of Delegates.

The bill establishes a mining mutual insurance company. The company would sell bonds for mine reclamation and serve as a backstop to the existing Special Reclamation Fund.

That fund kicks in when coal companies can’t meet their reclamation obligations, due to bankruptcy or a decline in coal production.

Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, warned that the need could reach hundreds of millions, or billions of dollars and overwhelm the fund.

As he explained to the Senate Finance Committee, that’s why he sponsored the bill.

“My confidence in this bill is so strong. I don’t sponsor bills,” Blair said. “I’m making an exception this year.”

The bill provides for $50 million in seed money, which would be repaid. The money wouldn’t come from the Special Reclamation Fund.

Vulnerable Mine Reclamation Bond Concerns Has W.Va. Senate Planning To Be Proactive

Concerns over vulnerable mine reclamation bonds in West Virginia has the Senate attempting to be proactive according to Senate President Craig Blair (R-Berkeley) who introduced Senate Bill 1, “Creating a Mining Mutual Insurance Company” on the first day of the 2022 legislative session.

Blair spoke during the Senate Finance Committee Thursday.

The bill passed through the finance committee unanimously. It will be reported for approval to the full Senate.

“We don’t have a lick of coal in the Eastern Panhandle, but I recognize how important it is to the state of West Virginia,” said Blair, an eastern panhandle resident. “I was around for workers comp. It took us a decade to get out of that mess.”

Blair suggested that drawing Procter & Gamble to invest in building its facility in the state may not have happened if the workers comp issues weren’t previously addressed.

The P&G facility broke ground in 2015 on its $500 million, 2.5 million square foot facility near Martinsburg and went into production in 2018. It now has more than 1,400 employees.

“P&G wouldn’t be here if we didn’t get out of that (workers comp) mess,” Blair said. “I propose we be proactive this time.”

At the annual Legislative Lookahead meeting Jan. 7, Blair said one company holds about 60 percent of the mine reclamation bonds and if anything would happen to that company it could cost the state between $1 billion and $8 billion, according to estimates.

“We need to ensure some stability and protect ourselves as much as possible,” Blair added.

“We’re hoping to take a $50 million loan, just as we did for workers comp and physicians mutual and make it so that these coal companies that choose to have their own mutual, that they can have their own mutual that they can get the mine reclamation bonds through there,” Blair explained during the annual Legislative Lookahead sponsored by the West Virginia Press Association Jan. 7.

“My confidence in this bill is strong,” Blair said. “I’m making an exception in sponsoring bills. It will provide an insurance policy for the state of West Virginia and the mining industry in this state. This isn’t a bailout. It’s an insurance policy of $50 million to protect us from an exposure of between $2-4 billion. We can’t afford to let that happen.”

None of the funds will come from the mine reclamation fund, Blair said.

“There’s other places to find the $50 million,” he stated.

Blair introduced David Rader, whom Blair said, “He’s coming out of retirement to help us with this.”

Rader was appointed to the board of directors of BrickStreet Mutual in 2006 when it became a private company and served on its board until 2017. He retired in 2011 as president and CEO of West Virginia Mutual Insurance Company, the largest medical professional liability insurer in the state.

“I’m here to help if you want to do this,” Rader told the committee. “I’m making myself available and glad to do that. I love West Virginia.”

Sen. Ron Stollings (D- Boone) asked Rader of the $50 million base, “How will it help us?”

“No one knows how bad it will be,” Rader answered. “In case there’s a crisis, you have to have a minimum to start with. It’s critical.”

Sen. Stephen Baldwin (D- Greenbrier) asked, “We don’t know the source (of the $50 million)?”

“That’s this committee’s responsibility,” Rader answered. “It’s something (Sen. Finance Chair Eric) Tarr is working on. To pass this bill without the $50 million, we have nowhere to go. Until we can show that surplus, there’s no reason to apply for insurance. They won’t talk to me.

Tarr (R-Putnam) said there are “several options” for the $50 million base.

“This will be a loan,” he said. “It’ll likely come from surplus.”

Rader said the base would permit the state to write about $200 million in bonds.

“$50 million is a good number to start,” he said. “I’m optimistic that even in a worst case scenario – it’s still a win-win. It’s a benchmark, not knowing what it’s going to be. My goal is to establish stability.”

Sen. Robert Plymale (D-Wayne) voiced approval, saying “What is being designed can be of great benefit to the people of West Virginia.”

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