Sen. George Allen Brings 'Listening Tour' to Breaks

   U.S. Sen George Allen brought his listening tour 2006 to the Breaks Interstate Park Friday as he met with local Republicans for a picnic supper.
   Arriving at the shelter on a horse, Allen called upon residents of the region to continue to work together to get things done, pointing to successes which have occurred in the coalfield counties from the Appalachia School of Law and the University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy, to the Red Onion Prison, Nexus, SI International and Alcoa.
   "There have been a lot of good things," Allen said.
   He called this region "the Saudi Arabia of coal" and pointed to the need to make the United States more competitive when it comes to energy.
   He suggested there is a 300-year supply of coal and he said clean coal technologies need to continued to be developed.
    "We need energy independence in this country," Allen said. "We need to keep our money here in America rather than send it to the Middle East."
    The country's dependence on foreign oil, he said, has got to be addressed.
    He called on Alaskan oil exploration to be stepped up.
    On another topic, Allen said he would fight attempts to tax internet access, noting that the internet has resulted in many innovations and he added it needed to stay free from access taxes.
    "We need to leave it free for innovation and opportunity," Allen said.
    He also called upon efforts to be continued to preserve the values which made this country strong and he said marriage needs to continue to be defined as the union between one man and one woman.
    He called families the "most important institution in all society."

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DMME Files Answer
State Agency Asks Court To Dismiss Injunction

   The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy has filed a motion to dismiss a writ of mandamus and injunctive relief related to a discharge permit filed by CONSOL which is now pending before the state agency.
   The department's response was filed August 9 in Buchanan Circuit Court.
   CONSOL filed a permit application revision with DMME in August 2005 asking to be allowed to modify its mine water disposal plan to allow it to discharge up to 10,000 gallons per minute of untreated mine water into the Levisa River within the town of Grundy limits.
   Ben Street, attorney for the three coal companies filing the suit seeking the writ and injunction -- Buchanan Coal Company LLP, Sayers Pocahontas Coal Company LLP and Yukon Pocahontas Coal Company LLP --alleged in that filing that the department failed to enforce its own rules and regulations by allegedly failing to require CONSOL to file a complete copy of its permit application with the Buchanan County Clerk’s office and by failing to require CONSOL to file all amendments there as well.
   “The absence of these documents at the local level, combined with the DMLR’s failure to file copies of previously submitted written objections, has rendered the informal conference conducted on May 23, 2006, a procedural nullity and wholly ineffective for the purpose of which it was intended,” the original complaint alleged. “The DMLR is required by law to record the informal conference . . .; it is required by law to file copies of written objections with the local clerk’s office; it is mandated by law to require applicants to observe and obey its regulations, including filing complete applications, as amended, with the local clerk’s office. The DMLR has failed and/or refused to perform its duties.”

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