Bill Raney says the state has 96 active mining sites, down from
152 in 2013 and 184 in 2012. Media outlets report that Raney attributes the
decline to uncertainty created by President Barack Obama's administration.
Raney also says the industry is seeing a shift in production
from mines in southern West Virginia to
northern West Virginia
He attributes that to the scrubber technology added to northern
power plants during the 1990s which enabled them to burn high-sulfur coal found
in northern West Virginia , Pennsylvania ,
and Ohio
