At a Glance

The public is having its turn to weigh in on whether to repeal Trump's Clean Power Plan.The plan was meant to force utilities to burn less coal.This is the only public hearing scheduled and it's taking place deep in coal country, a move some have called a "sham."

The Trump Administration's one and only public hearingto weigh the pros and cons of dismantling formerPresident Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan is underway deep in West Virginia's coal country.

The Environmental Protection Agency's two-dayhearing is taking place in the state's capital, Charleston, and is providing an opportunity for the public to voice opinions on the contested plan meant to force utilities to burn less coal to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, the driving factor in human-caused global warming.

Environmental groups have called the EPA's decision to hold the only public hearingin coal country a "sham," noting that thelocation is meantto keep critics silent and give a greater voice to advocates of "dirty energy."

The Trump administration has provided staunch support for the coal industry. Repealing Obama's plan is seen as astep towards helping coal miners.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced the repeal of the plan that was finalized in 2015 but never enacted because of multiple lawsuits initiated by coal advocacy groups during a stop in another coal-mining town, Hazard, Kentucky, on Oct. 10.

There was plenty said Tuesday and Wednesday by supporters of the repeal at the hearing held at the state'sCapitol building.

Bob Murray, chief executive Murray Energy Corp., told the committee that Obama's plan was nothing more than an illegal power grab that decimated the coal industry.

"The Clean Power Plan would devastate coal-fired electricity generation in America," said Murray, whose company employs 5,200 miners and has 14 active coal mines. "This would impose massive costs on the power sector and on American consumers."

Bobby May of Hurley, Virginia, said he was the son and father of coal miners, and said the Clean Power Plan was an attack on his family's livelihood.

“We are survivors of the Obama administration’s war on coal,” said May. “Coal puts food on the table for my family. It puts clothes on the back of my grandchildren.”

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Despite environmentalist's claim that the location was rigged to staunch the voices of people opposing the repeal, many traveled hundreds, if not thousands of miles to testify. Even some coal miners spoke in favor of keeping the repeal, often going againstthe singular voice of their coal-mining brethren.

Stanley Sturgill, 72, a former coal miner from Lynch, Kentucky, now suffers from black lung disease after working years in the coal mines. He told the hearing committee that he wanted the Clean Power Plan to remain in place, for the good of his children and grandchildren.

"Now to be realistic, do I really think that the administration cares what this old worn coal miner has to say?" asked Sturgill. "I don't know. I really doubt it. But I had to be here, and as long as I can draw a breath, I'm going to keep working to fight climate change and protect the land and country I love."

Executive Director of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition Angie Rosser characterized the proceedings as a "public spectacle," noting that the fate of the coal mining industry is already set, no matter the outcome of the decision.

“The coal miners I talk to seem to know coal jobs will continue to dry up, with or without a Clean Power Plan,” she said. “We’ve been pitted against each other by being told we’ll either have coal, or we’ll have nothing. This administration seems to thrive on public anger and conflict. It’s a distraction. When people are fighting, they are not talking … The clock is ticking to do something different than leaning on a dying industry.”