[Hoot Gibson]

The damage that Obama is doing to this nation's energy security is long term. Obama's economic policies, which he predicted would keep unemployment from reaching 8 percent, will continue to depress the coal market.

Pulling more than 70 surface mine permit applications from consideration will have a devastating impact on the economy of Appalachia beginning in three to five years. Anybody who thinks otherwise does not understand the US coal market or the mining process.

In most cases, mining companies do not have a choice between deep mining or surface mining. Economics and geologic conditions dictate which mining method is feasible for a given reserves. The environmental wackos who have taken control of the federal agencies that regulate mining would like the general public to believe that companies will simply deep mine reserves if mountain top removal methods are banned. That simply is not the case.

Even when it is feasible to either deep mine or strip a block of coal reserves, stripping results in a much higher recovery rate. Deep mining a surface minable reserve wastes a valuable natural resource. Typical recovery rates for mountain top removal mining is 85 to 90 percent versus 50 to 60 percent for room and pillar mining.