Republicans Bring Charge of Obama ‘War on Coal’ to Virginia
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Republicans took their complaints about President Barack Obama’s rules to curb pollution from coal power plants to rural Virginia, saying the regulations will harm the economy of the election battleground state.
Joining the lawmakers at a hearing in the coal-dependent southwest corner of the state were representatives from coal miner Alpha Natural Resources Inc., power generator Dominion Resources Inc., and a unit of energy holding company PPL Corp. The executives said the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed greenhouse-gas rules would effectively prohibit the construction of new coal-fired plants, leading to job losses and higher electricity costs.