COAL GIANT MURRAY FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY
Regulatory breaks from Trump unable to help Ohio-based company
Ohio-based Murray Energy is seeking bankruptcy protection, despite a flurry of regulatory breaks that its CEO pushed for and received from the Trump administration.
CHARLESTON, W.VA.» A major U.S. coal mining company is seeking bankruptcy protection, despite a flurry of regulatory breaks that its CEO pushed for — and received — from the Trump administration.
Ohio-based Murray Energy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization Tuesday, joining a growing list of struggling coal operations as communities switch from fossil fuel to cheaper and lesspolluting renewable energy or natural gas.
The filing marks a significant political failure for President Donald Trump, who had sought to end what he called a “war on coal” by Democrats as a key part of his campaign and early presidency.
Murray Energy was the country’s fourthlargest coal producer in 2018, accounting for 6.1% of total production, according to the Energy Information Administration. Other major producers that have sought bankruptcy protection this year include Blackjewel Mining in West Virginia and Cloud Peak Energy in Wyoming.
Murray Energy’s move was necessary to access liquidity and best position it for long-term success, said former CEO Robert Murray. The company’s operations span
Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia, as well as Colombia in South America.
Government preference for gas and renewable energy to replace coal-fired power generation, combined with a recent severe reduction in coal exports, delivered a onetwo punch that an over-extended Murray Energy could not withstand, said Cecil Roberts, president of United Mine Workers of America.
“Now comes the part where workers and their families pay the price for corporate decision-making and governmental actions,” Roberts said in a news release.
West Virginia Senate President Mitch Carmichael said the bankruptcy filing was surprising even with the evident struggles in the coal business, adding that he’s concerned about pensions and worker protections for Murray Energy’s nearly 7,000 employees.
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, said via Twitter that Murray Energy must continue meeting its obligations to pay into pension plans for union miners.
Murray, who on Tuesday was replaced as CEO by Robert Moore, has tied his fortunes to Trump. He hosted a fundraiser for Trump in July, which had been expected to raise $2.5 million for a joint committee supporting the president’s reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee.
Murray, who has called climate change an “environmental hoax,” is also a proponent of Trump’s regulatory actions aimed at scaling back environmental protections put in place during Barack Obama’s presidency.
In the first weeks of Trump’s tenure, Murray presented incoming Cabinet members and other administration figures with a written wish list of environmental regulations he hoped to see knocked down to ease what he depicted as a regulatory burden on the sagging coal industry.
Trump put Andrew Wheeler, a lobbyist for Murray Energy, in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency. Along with targeting the Obama-era
Clean Power Plan, the administration moved ahead on proposals to reduce environmental protections on coal ash, mercury emissions from coal plants, and other smokestack pollutants.
The president has lessened his call-outs for coal as the industry continues its decline despite his administration’s support.