When it comes to coal, technology is a game-changer. Over the past several decades, emissions from American coal plants are down 90 percent thanks to the more than $100 billion dollars invested in new technologies by America’s coal industry. Unfortunately, the policies coming out of the federal and many state governments do not reflect the transformation occurring in our industry.

The EPA and some state agencies frequently take the bait laid by special interest groups promoting a political agenda that ignores the role that technology has played in making sources such as coal cleaner than ever. They overlook the fact that affordable and reliable electricity impacts not only our nation’s economy, but also the family budget.

So instead of pursuing balanced policies that protect the environment and strengthen the economy, we end up with excessive policies that seek to limit America’s energy options. This is evident with the Nucla Power Plant in Colorado. Thanks to new technologies, this is one of the lowest mercury-emitting coal plants in the country. Yet the EPA’s new rules on mercury could shut it down. This is not an isolated problem. A recent published report found that more than 280 coal-fueled generation units are scheduled to be shutdown due at least in part to EPA regulations.

This is happening at the state level too. In Colorado, some state legislators are seeking to more than double the renewable energy standards for the state’s utilities, which would increase costs for consumers. The city of Los Angeles is proposing to move the city away from coal-based electricity two years before a state-imposed deadline. Last month, the city’s ratepayer advocate reported that such a move could cost more than $600 million dollars.

Responsible policymakers recognize the promise of clean coal technology, and pursue policies that allow American to take advantage of our massive volumes of coal. Much progress has been made in clean coal technology, but the future is even more promising. Last month, GE Power and Water unveiled a new filtration technology for coal plants that is both stronger and more efficient. Earlier this year, researchers at Ohio State University were able to run a scaled-down coal plant while capturing 99 percent of carbon dioxide.

Twenty-first century technologies demand 21^st century policies. Instead, we’re getting a stream of policies based on 20^th century policies. Coal and clean coal technology must play an important role in meeting our future energy demands. The question is our government pursuing the balanced approach necessary to ensuring that it can?

The article attributes coal’s surge in this region to clean coal technologies that have enabled mining companies to access more broadly the Midwest’s vast deposits of coal. As Vic Svec, of Peabody Energy, noted in the article, “The widespread deployment of scrubbers [installed on coal-fueled power plants] removes the major barrier—sulfur dioxide—to Illinois Basin coal use.”

As many in the article go on to say, the ramped up production of coal from the Illinois Basin is not only giving communities access to affordable, reliable American-made energy, but it’s also creating jobs and spurring economic growth.

David A. Meyer, chairman of the county board of Washington County, IL, said the project has given the area a much-needed boost and has provided “permanent good-paying jobs, some of them very high-tech.” Indeed, one coal mine in a farming community southeast of St. Louis added 580 jobs and helped fund a high school and court building. In McLeansboro, 70 miles to the east, a mine under construction has brought jobs and several new businesses to the area.

“This is a significant achievement for our state and country. Coal mining has provided thousands of jobs in Wyoming over the last 150 years, all the while fueling America’s economy,” Governor Mead said. “Coal has helped make America great because it is an affordable and reliable source of energy. It keeps the lights on in our homes and powers America’s industries.”

The announcement also applauded two Wyoming-based mines Arch Coal’s Black Thunder Mine  and Peabody Energy’s North Antelope Rochelle Mine—that accounted for 20% of all U.S. coal production in 2012 combined.  Overall, 401 million tons of coal were produced in Wyoming last year.

Coal fuels American homes and businesses with affordable and reliable energy, and will continue to play a vital role in our nation’s energy mix.

McConnell’s “Coal Jobs Protection Act” is a promising step in protecting the coal industry from what he asserts is EPA action beyond its “scope of authority” by making the permitting process for coal mines more burdensome, The Hill noted.

“Coal is a vital part of my state’s economy, and a vital part of America’s energy portfolio,” McConnell said. “The EPA’s attack on this important Kentucky industry hampers the growth of jobs, and it especially hampers the growth of small business — the greatest engine of job creation.”

McConnell clearly recognizes the importance of coal in keeping our nation’s economy strong, providing good jobs to hard-working Americans, and preserving access to affordable and reliable energy. In his own state of Kentucky, over 4,000 coal industry jobs have been lost – a drop of nearly 30 percent – prompting action through this new legislative measure.

IGCC can achieve thermal efficiencies that exceed 40 percent, thus emitting as much as 30 percent less carbon dioxide.  IGCC plants also have very low SO₂, NO_X, particulate matter, and mercury emissions – making them some of the cleanest plants in the United States – using our nation’s most affordable and abundant domestic fuel resource – coal.

Among the plants that will be using IGCC technology is the Edwardsport Station in Indiana, which is expected to begin commercial operation by the middle of this year.  “The 618-megawatt IGCC facility will be one of the cleanest and most efficient coal-fired power plants in the world.”

In North Dakota, Basin Electric Power Cooperative owns and operates a plant employing gasification technology.   The Great Plains Synfuels Plant – the cleanest energy plant operating in the state – is “a model of how coal can be used to produce energy in an efficient and environmentally responsible manner.”

In Kemper County, Mississippi, Southern Company is building a 582-megawatt transport integrated gasification (TRIG) plant that will deploy technology to capture 65 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions from the plant, using the state’s four billion ton reserve of lignite coal.

Just another way clean coal technologies are powering our energy future.

“By 2015, more than 90 percent of U.S. coal power plants will have installed clean coal technologies and other advanced emissions controls. This unprecedented investment is leading to cleaner air, while preserving the affordable electricity generated by coal. The coal industry is proud of these accomplishments and looks forward to newer technologies to improve the lives of all Americans.”

The Department of Energy states that coal gasification offers one of the most versatile and clean ways to convert coal into electricity, hydrogen, and other valuable energy products. Gasification, in fact, may be one of the most flexible technologies to produce clean-burning hydrogen for tomorrow’s automobiles and power-generating fuel cells. Hydrogen and other coal gases can also be used to fuel power-generating turbines, or as the chemical “building blocks” for a wide range of commercial products.

The capability to produce electricity, hydrogen, chemicals, or various combinations while eliminating nearly all air pollutants and potentially greenhouse gas emissions makes coal gasification one of the most promising technologies for energy plants of the future.

According to the article, “Fred Pickel, the ratepayer advocate at the Department of Water and Power, said Monday that eliminating coal from the utility’s power mix ahead of a state-mandated deadline is projected to cost more than $600 million. What that could mean for ratepayers’ electricity bills is unclear, he said.”

At a meeting of the City Council’s Energy and Environment Committee on Wednesday, Pickel said he would urge city officials to look for ways to lower the costs. “The question is, can we do this cheaper?” he said.

Two coal plants currently provide nearly 40 percent of the city’s energy. Under the new plan, the city would supplant most of that with power produced by switching to natural gas.

Fuel switching is an interesting approach for Los Angeles considering clean coal technology enjoys majority support among California voters. It is especially noteworthy that this support is broad-based, encompassing majorities of Republican, Democratic and voters declining to state a party affiliation. Given that the most important issues to California voters are “jobs and the economy,”voter sentiment that the state’s energy policies have made it less competitive should be a red flag to Sacramento legislators.

In a recent survey of California voters, nearly 57 percent answered yes when they were asked “Do you support or oppose developing new clean coal power plants in California?” When asked the question, “Do you think that California’s energy policies have made the state more or less competitive?”, more than 43 percent answered yes. And particularly telling is the fact that nearly one-quarter of California voters feel that the state’s energy policies have made the state far less competitive.

These numbers are in stark contrast to comments recently made recently by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa when he announced that the city will become the only city in America that won’t get any electricity from coal by the year 2025.

Coal-based electricity is one of the least expensive, most reliable means of producing electricity, and it’s a central part of the American energy portfolio. Not only that, coal has a long history of providing energy to Americans.

America has depended on the reliable and abundant coal that comes from our land and powers our lives for more than a century. With the energy in America’s coal reserves being roughly equal to the world’s known oil reserves, it’s clear that coal should continue to be a reliable source of electricity for all of us.

The article states, “The air-filtration media technology involves bi-component felt media for construction of fabric filters used in coal-fired boiler baghouses. There continues to be a pressing demand for further innovations in clean coal technology, as the fossil fuel continues to show resilience as an energy source, despite the continuing progress towards renewable energy.”

Over the last several decades, the coal-based electricity industry has invested billions to clean the air, and the results are that emissions of major pollutants from coal-fueled power plants have been reduced by nearly 90 percent per unit of electricity generated.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal will continue to account for the largest share of electricity generation through 2040. And the International Energy Agency reports that even though coal demand growth has slowed in the U.S., coal’s share of the global energy mix is still rising, and by 2017 coal will come close to surpassing oil as the world’s top energy source.

“Coal has been and will continue to be a significant source of energy in the United States, and I take my job seriously when developing those standards to provide flexibility in the rules,” McCarthy said.

According to a story from Reuters, “Republican Senators John Barrasso of Wyoming and James Inhofe of Oklahoma, among others, quizzed McCarthy about the economic impact of its rules on states that rely on coal as a primary energy source, and about her feelings toward job losses when coal plants close.”

Barrasso said rules that prevent new coal plants from being built and would potentially shut down existing coal plants are already causing “chronic unemployment” in Wyoming.

“I haven’t heard yet any plain statements from EPA –hopefully we will today from this nominee – about the negative health impacts and lives lost from chronic unemployment caused by the EPA policies,” he said. “This is a serious health epidemic and it seems to go unnoticed by the EPA. How many more times will an EPA administrator pull the regulatory lever that will allow another mining family to fall through the EPA’s trap door of joblessness, poverty and poor health,” he said. “Are coal miners no longer heroes to the nominee and the EPA? These people are heroes and they deserve better than they’re getting from the EPA,” Barrasso said.

Coal is mined in 25 U.S. states and is responsible for more than 760,000 jobs in the United States. Wyoming is the largest coal-producing state, followed by West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Illinois.