One can understand the coal industry's angst toward the administration of President Barack Obama.
It first came to light in a 2008 interview when the-then Illinois senator, campaigning for president, told the San Francisco Chronicle that building a coal-fired power plant would bankrupt any company who tried to do so.
Meanwhile, the United States Environmental Protection Agency is bearing down on emissions caused by coal burning power plants, far exceeding its statuatory authority.
Now comes a separate federal agency, the U.S. Department of Interior's Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement, imposing new water quality rules on the coal industry.
Talk about kicking somebody while they are down.
It's not that water quality is not important. It certainly is. But so is listening to the input of the states, industries and people most affected by 1,200 pages of proposed new regulations.
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said the development of the stream protection rule was based on undisclosed data and was written without proper consultation with the states, the Daily Mail's Joel Ebert reported Friday.
Chris Stadelman, a spokesman for Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, said that substantial revisions to the rule were made after the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement ended conversations with the state's Department of Environmental Protection in May.
"It became clear that OSM was not interested in the input of states affected by this rule," Stadelman said.
West Virginia Coal Association Vice President Jason Bostic called OSM's rulemaking a charade.
"The OSM performed a regulatory sleight of hand by requesting input from the states, then essentially slamming the door to that input while they moved to rewrite the law itself. He said nine of the ten states originally involved pulled out of the process because it moved forward without them.
Proponents of the proposed "Stream Protection Rule" say it is an update from an outdated policy established in 1983 and the new rules are designed to reduce the impact of coal mining on the nation's streams.
Opponents say the rule is another thing that will harm an industry that has already experienced significant struggles in recent years.
"By ignoring state officials, the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement has made a mockery of the administration's pledge toward greater transparency," said Hal Quinn National Mining Association President and CEO.
At least the OSM deserves some credit. Because while the EPA steered clear of Charleston when holding public hearings on its rule, the OSM will conduct a hearing here.
But if the comment period is, as expected, like comment periods on any other Obama administration rule, concerns from Coal Country will most certainly be ignored.