Western Railroad Discussion > Possible new EPA coal regulations this month

link
http://washingtonexaminer.com/november-surprise-epa-planning-major-post-election-anti-coal-regulation/article/2512538#.UJctPI58v8t

Looks more like a political statement than a "Just the facts" news piece.

Keith



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/12 23:26 by kyounger.

kyounger Wrote:
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> Looks more like a political statement than a "Just
> the facts" news piece.
>
> Keith

I'd agree with this, although there are a lot of regulations scheduled to come down the pike (pipe?) in 2013. Many new regulations will go directly from proclamation to a court injunction stopping them until a hearing is taken.

One big issue with any administration is over reach on regulations that its agencies write. Many laws are sloppy, badly written, and occasionally have contradictory provisions. The agencies have to write regulations, and they impose their own views on the written law.

So, the courts sort out applicability, etc.

(If you're interested in going into the weeds, track the meaning of "navigable waters" as used in the 1972 Clean Water Act. It now means any seasonally wet, seasonally dry, water course that leads into any stream that flows into a body of water on which a boat of any kind can operate.)

kyounger Wrote:
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> Looks more like a political statement than a "Just
> the facts" news piece.
>
> Keith


Saying that Lucy will yank the ball away when Charlie Brown tries to kick it is not a "Just the facts" statement, either. She might just choose not to this time. And yet...

First the Washington Examiner is an extreme right-wing newspaper owned by Phil Anschutz. "When it came to the editorial page, Anschutz’s instructions were explicit — he 'wanted nothing but conservative columns and conservative op-ed writers,' said one former employee." From Politico, quoted in Wikipedia. That article is not news, it is off the editorial page.

Second, the wellhead price of natural gas, after climbing to almost $3.50/mcf here in ColoradoWest, has tanked again, to $3.15 (that is a 3-day-old price, a new one will be out tomorrow). New York Citygate is only $3.60. A reminder that prices pushed to around $14 for ColoradoWest gas in 2008. As long as prices stay anywhere near as low as they are now it won't matter what the EPA or anybody else does, coal plants will be closing as fast as their owners can switch them over or convert them to gas or replace them.

Sorry, folks, I have coal dust in my blood, literally, and I hate to see this happening, but while coal certainly isn't dead yet it is on life support....

Time for a real change

Marty Harrison
Knob Noster, MO

lowwater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> First the Washington Examiner is an extreme
> right-wing newspaper owned by Phil Anschutz.
> "When it came to the editorial page, Anschutz’s
> instructions were explicit — he 'wanted nothing
> but conservative columns and conservative op-ed
> writers,' said one former employee." From
> Politico, quoted in Wikipedia. That article is not
> news, it is off the editorial page.
>
> Second, the wellhead price of natural gas, after
> climbing to almost $3.50/mcf here in ColoradoWest,
> has tanked again, to $3.15 (that is a 3-day-old
> price, a new one will be out tomorrow). New York
> Citygate is only $3.60. A reminder that prices
> pushed to around $14 for ColoradoWest gas in 2008.
> As long as prices stay anywhere near as low as
> they are now it won't matter what the EPA or
> anybody else does, coal plants will be closing as
> fast as their owners can switch them over or
> convert them to gas or replace them.
>
> Sorry, folks, I have coal dust in my blood,
> literally, and I hate to see this happening, but
> while coal certainly isn't dead yet it is on life
> support....


So why let the EPA try and pull the plug? Prices have fluctuated quite a bit over time, it would be quite foolish to assume that nat gas is going to kill coal for forever, or even a generation (no pun intended.) The market is surprisingly resilient, but big gov't can be far more difficult to roll back, even with horrid decisions.

One lesson any investor learns early on is the noise, sound bites, alarms, etc will always be there. So will the longer term trends. Doubly true with energy investing.

Knowing when to hold, fold, or bet against is a lesson often learned at considerable expense. For individuals and countries.