Add Another 500 to Unemployment List … CONSOL Energy Coal Company cuts 500 jobs in WV Because of Obama’s EPA

President Barack Obama always boast of the jobs that he has saved or created. How about the jobs that he, his administration and the EPA are personally responsible for losing? Add 500 West Virginia coal workers to the list of the unemployed due to Obama’s over-reaching EPA.

A Pittsburgh-based coal company, CONSOL Energy, will lay off nearly 500 of its West Virginia workers next year and its CEO blames environmentalists dead-set against mountaintop mining who have waged “nuisance” lawsuits for the job loss.

But CONSOL Energy’s political problems are not unique to the mining industry, which has suffered under the Obama Administration. The Environmental Protection Agency is already holding 79 surface mining permits in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. The EPA says these permits could violate the Clean Water Act and warrant “enhanced” review. And, agency went even further in October, announcing plans to revoke a permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in West Virginia.

The latest setback for the coal industry was announced on Tuesday when CONSOL Energy said close to 500 workers would lose jobs at their Fola Operations location near Bickmore, West Virginia in February 2010.

This is the same EPA that said they would bypass the Congress and put their ow “green house gas” restrictions on business if the politicians did not act. That is correct. An arm of the Executive branch of government is going to regulate business without the approval or vote of Congress. And as predictable as the sun rising in the East, Obama finds himself on the wrong side of the debate as 53% of Americans state that the EPA should not regulate without the Congress’ ok.

At last check, The Founding Fathers were rolling over in their collective graves at the abuse of the separation of powerand checks and balances.