Charleston , Kanawha County , West Virginia

President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney have both spent a lot of time trying to persuade energy conscious voters that they are the best choice when it comes to supporting coal.

"Look, I want to make sure that we are using our coal, our oil, our gas, our nuclear, our renewables," Governor Romney said. "I believe very much in our renewable capabilities. Ethanol, wind, solar will be an important part of our energy mix. But what we don't need is to have the president keeping us from taking advantage of oil, coal and gas. This has not been Mr. Gas, or Mr. Oil or Mr. Coal."

"When I hear Governor Romney say he's a big coal guy keep in mind, governor when you were the governor of Massachusetts you stood in front of a coal plant and pointed at it and said this plant kills and took great pride in shutting it down," President Obama said. "And now suddenly you're a big champion of coal?"

The senior editorial writer for the Washington Examiner is reporting that 50 Environmental Protection Agency staffers are hurrying to finish rules that would spell the end of the construction of any new coal-fired power plants, and also impede upgrades on existing ones.

"It just simply shows the absolute arrogance of this agency thumbing their nose at Congress," said Bill Raney the president of the West Virginia Coal Association. "Wanting to rush along and get their own set of regulations in place so that no one can call their hand on it. Again, I think it's revenge against Appalachia, it's revenge against the coal industry and it's awful."

The Examiner reports that the non-partisan Manhattan Institute estimates the EPA's greenhouse gas emission regulations will cost the U-S economy 700 billion dollars. Other outlets say those rules will result in the loss of 900-thousand jobs in coal mining and related industries.

"You simply nail the coffin shut is a possibility," Raney said. "Until, you know, right now there is no commercial way to sequester carbon to the degree and standards that they have promulgated or suggested. So, there is no commercially available means to do that."

A Romney spokesman says the president won't tell voters the truth about his plans to shut down the coal industry. He says Governor Romney is committed to reversing the damage caused to the industry by the Obama administration.

The Obama Campaign and the EPA did not respond to our telephone calls and email requests for comment.

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