Coal

LAKELAND, Fla. - A couple who romanticized trains and lived a modern-day adventure by riding railroad cars across the United States were killed when a train dumped its load of coal at a Florida power plant. Ever since Christopher Artes was a teenager in suburban Maryland, he had an illegal and dangerous kind of wanderlust - hitching rides on trains. During the summer, he fell in love with Medeana Hendershot, who shared his passion. They traveled from Georgia to Chicago, then back to Tennessee.

The sixth-biggest US coal producer has hired Blackstone Group and is working with lenders to finalize $625 million of loan and credit facilities and strengthen its finances. Debtwire reported that Patriot fielded formal pitches from restructuring advisers, including Blackstone and Centerview Partners. Patriot will retain such advisers should it be unable to satisfy its near-term financing needs, Debtwire said.

The owners of Salem's power plant, already slated to shut down in two years, have agreed that the facility will never burn coal after 2014, even if it changes hands, under conditions of a settlement reached in a federal lawsuit. Dominion Energy Inc., the Virginia-based owner of Salem Harbor Station, settled the lawsuit filed by the Conservation Law Foundation and North Shore-based HealthLink. The settlement ends a 20-year campaign to close the power plant. The agreement states that the plant cannot burn coal after 2014, the year Dominion has been planning to shut down the power plant.

Country music legend Loretta Lynn is three years older than she has led people to believe, an age change that undermines the story she told of being married at 13 in "Coal Miner's Daughter," documents obtained by The Associated Press show. Lynn's birth certificate on file at the state Office of Vital Statistics in Frankfort, Ky., shows that Loretta Webb was born on April 14, 1932, in Johnson County, Kentucky. That makes her 80 years old, not 77. Also on file is her marriage license and two affidavits from her mother, Clara Marie Ramey, and S.W. Ward Jr., who was not related to...

WASHINGTON - The 99-year-old Capitol Power Plant, which provides steam for heat and hot water in congressional buildings, is ending its distinction of being the only coal-burning facility in the District of Columbia. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday that the switch to natural gas as the sole fuel source used at the plant was part of their efforts to reduce the carbon pollution impact of Congress on the nation's capital. The two Democratic leaders have for the past several years initiated steps to make the Capitol grounds more environmentally...

WASHINGTON - The Energy Department failed to prepare a proper analysis and made a $500 million math error when it decided to shelve an experimental coal-fired power plant slated for central Illinois, according to a report from congressional auditors released yesterday. The project, known as FutureGen, would be located in Mattoon, Ill., if the project were revived, and it could provide a boost for economic development in the coal-rich, east-central part of that state. But more importantly, its advocates say it could provide a road map for reducing the amount of carbon dioxide...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The Obama administration yesterday stepped up its efforts to curb environmental damage from surface coal mining, announcing plans to give 79 permit applications in four states additional scrutiny. The Environmental Protection Agency said it wants to make certain the proposed mines won’t cause water pollution and violate the Clean Water Act. An initial review concluded all 79 probably would affect water quality and require additional study, the EPA said. Forty-nine of the permits are for mines in Kentucky, the nation’s No. 3 coal-producing state.

ST. LOUIS -- In fierce bidding reminiscent of efforts two decades ago to win the superconducting super collider, seven states are aggressively trying to land a billion-dollar power plant prototype that is virtually pollution free. Home to a third of the dozen sites chasing FutureGen, Illinois has up to $80 million in incentives on the table, from grants to low-interest loans. Ohio is offering twice that, while Texas has passed a law making it responsible for any legal entanglements stemming from the coal-fired plant's carbon dioxide emissions.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- It stretches for nearly 2,200 miles, a ribbon of mountains and meadows, forests and fauna. But scientists, hikers, and land managers say the Appalachian Trail is more than a footpath. Passing through 14 states and eight national forests from Georgia to Maine, including a 90-mile stretch through Massachusetts, it is also a living laboratory that could help warn 120 million people along the Eastern Seaboard of potential environmental problems. That's why several organizations have launched a project to begin long-term monitoring of...

A London newspaper said Anglo American PLC and BHP Billiton Ltd. may bid on Walter Energy, which is based in Birmingham, Ala., and produces steel-making coal. The Independent did not cite any sources, according to Bloomberg News. Demand from steelmakers in China and flood-related supply disruptions in Australia have driven prices for coal to record highs. Walter declined to comment.

A Chinese coal miner has been rescued after being trapped underground for 17 days by an underground flood that killed at least 10 others. State television and the official Xinhua News Agency say rescuers brought 39-year-old Si Li out of the Junyuan No. 2 Coal Mine in the northeastern city of Hegang on Saturday. The reports Sunday said he was hospitalized in stable condition. Xinhua said 28 miners were in the mine when it flooded May 2. Ten died, three are still missing and the rest escaped as the water rose or were rescued shortly after the disaster.

James River Coal Co. reported a first-quarter loss as higher costs offset an increase in coal sales. The Richmond-based company said Thursday that its net loss was $15.7 million, or 45 cents per share, for the three-month period ended March 31. That's compared with a net loss of $7.6 million, or 28 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue from coal sales increased more than 70 percent to $279.7 million. Including freight and handling, revenue was $301.9 million. Coal shipments rose 47 percent to 3.05 million tons from about 2.07 million tons a year earlier.

Two electric utilities have paid almost $5.2 million in coal taxes under protest, arguing they won't owe the money if North Dakota voters decide to abolish property taxes in the state. Basin Electric Power Cooperative, of Bismarck, and Minnkota Power Cooperative, which is based in Grand Forks, are challenging whether they owe a "coal conversion" tax. The monthly tax is assessed according to how much power is produced by power stations that Basin and Minnkota operate in western North Dakota's coal country.

Arch Coal Inc. said Tuesday that "severe weakness" in the U.S. market for coal used to generate electricity cut sharply into its first-quarter earnings and forced it to further curtail production for the year. Falling well short of Wall Street's expectations, the St. Louis-based company's said its net income during the January-March quarter totaled $1.2 million, or a penny a share, compared with $55.6 million, or 34 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue was $1.04 billion, up 19 percent from $872.9 million in the 2011 quarter.

A Chinese city government says villagers with sickles and clubs protesting against mining activities in the southwest attacked police, killing one officer and injuring 15 others. The Lijiang city government in Yunnan province said late Friday that the violence erupted on Wednesday as villagers were gathered at a township government office to express concern that activities at a coal mine could trigger geological disasters. The city government says in a statement posted on the provincial news portal that the villagers had camped out for several days...

Peabody Energy Corp. said Thursday that its first-quarter profit slipped on weaker U.S. coal demand for electricity generation because of a mild winter and utility switchovers to cheaper natural gas. But its January-March earnings still beat Wall Street's expectations and its shares rose about 7 percent. Peabody, the world's biggest private-sector coal company, said its net income attributable to common shareholders was $172.7 million, or 63 cents per share, over the first three months of this year, down from $176.6 million, or 65 cents, a year earlier.

Cliffs Natural Resources, the largest US iron-ore producer, more than doubled its dividend and said it's refocusing on the execution of expansion projects. The Cleveland company's dividend will rise to 62.5 cents payable June 1, from 28 cents. It is also developing a ferrochrome deposit in Ontario and ramping up production at metallurgical-coal mines in Alabama. The coal is a steelmaking raw material.

Freight railroad operator CSX Corp. said Monday that fourth-quarter profit rose 6 percent as higher rates offset a decline in the volume of goods it shipped. The company also announced it had replaced its chief operating officer. CSX shares fell in after-hours trading. CSX said Chief Financial Officer Oscar Munoz would become chief operating officer, replacing David A. Brown, who is "no longer with the company. " CSX said the change was unrelated to the company's business or financial performance.

JOHN SUNUNU'S plea on behalf of coal miners is sincere but wrongheaded. A look at coal's full life-cycle reveals a trail of tears, from the dangers it brings the miners to the communities in Appalachia where mountaintop coal removal has lead to alarming rates of cancer, respiratory and heart disease, and birth defects. Saving coal mining jobs is akin to saving the jobs of cigarette makers. We must find healthier jobs for miners. When we do, we'll all breathe easier. Aaron Bernstein Associate director, Center for Health and the Global Environment Harvard Medical School Boston...

WHO SAYS President Obama doesn't have an energy policy? Last month it was boldly on display as the Environmental Protection Agency published rules restricting CO2 emissions for power plants. Coupled with dramatic limits on mercury emissions issued in December, the new rules will fundamentally reshape power generation in America. Aside from the 15 plants already under construction, there will probably never be another coal-fired electric plant built in the United States. That's bad news for nearly 200,000 workers who depend directly on the coal industry for their jobs.