Washington (Platts)--28Jun2007

The Democratic majority in Congress is making decisions that will damage the
coal industry, according to Robert Murray, president and CEO of Murray Energy.

The outspoken, yet always entertaining, Murray gave a passionate speech at
McCloskey's Coal USA conference in New York City on Wednesday on the state of
the coal industry under a Democrat-led Congress.

"Discussions on global warming have taken the gloss off the coal industry,"
said Murray, who is expected to testify before the Senate Environment and
Public Works Committee today. 

"This issue [global warming] overshadows anything in the coal industry today,"
Murray told a packed conference room.

Legislation and regulations are being developed by people who want to get rid
of the coal industry, and Murray cited the Miner Act and the call to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions as examples.

Murray, like many of his counterparts at the two-day conference, said the
"outrageous fines" the Mine Safety and Health Administration is imposing is
hurting coal operators and will cause many small producers to shut down.

"I had to pay $48,000 because a roller was turning in coal dust," Murray said.
"Two operators have already been shut down for so-called flagrant violations."

The possibility that coal-fired power plants may be required to reduce carbon
dioxide emissions outraged Murray even more.

The most "inconvenient truth" is that we can't reduce global warming without
technology. This "global goofiness" is going to hurt the economy by raising
energy prices and reducing, if not cutting off completely, the use of the
cheapest form of energy in the US. Worse yet, the CO2 emissions still would
rise due to the growth in China and India, Murray said.

--Regina Johnson, regina_johnson@platts.com

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