"EPA Chief Says Carbon Rule Not Killing Coal Country"

"The top U.S. environmental regulator said Friday that federal rules to curb power plant pollution are not the cause of the economic decline of coal country after presidential candidates confronted anger on the campaign trail this week from laid-off West Virginia miners.

"We need to understand that the market right now is saying that coal isn't competitive. It is saying it louder and clearer everyday," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy said at a Climate Action summit in Washington.

McCarthy spoke at the end of a week that saw the three remaining U.S. presidential candidates campaign in coal mining state West Virginia, where mining job losses and mine closures were a central theme."

Valerie Volcovici reports for Reuters May 6, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"EPA Chief: US Quickly Phasing out Coal for Clean Energy" (AP)

"EPA Chief: US Must Help Coal Country Transition" (The Hill)