Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin recently made several appointments to his key board, including eight in coal mining.
The first is for the Virginia Coal Mine Safety Board; the five selected are Christopher Lester, retired electrician, Murray Energy; Harless Mullins, retired plant operator, Alpha Natural Resources; Michael Gary Prater, United Coal; Victoria Ratliff, University of Virginia; and Joshua West, United Mine Workers of America.
He also tapped Chris Stanley, vice president at Clintwood JOD, to the Coal Surface Mining Reclamation Fund Advisory Board.
Finally, two were selected for the state’s Board of Coal Mining Examiners: Phillip Hale of Twin Enterprise and Casey Mooneyhan of Paramont Contura.
According to the Virginia Department of Energy, Virginia’s coal mines produced 10.2 million tons of bituminous coal in 2022, and its underground mining accounted for about 75% of the state’s total output.
Source: governor.virginia.gov