"A coal mining company with ties to Scott Pruitt, and a handful of companies serving the oil and natural gas industry, are among the beneficiaries of a loan program Congress established to help small businesses get through the coronavirus pandemic.

Hallador Energy Co., an Indiana-based coal company, said last week it got a $10 million loan from the Small Business Administration under the Paycheck Protection Program, which it intends to use to fund two months of payroll and other expenses.

The company last year hired Pruitt, the former EPA administrator accused of numerous ethics violations, to lobby Indiana lawmakers to prevent coal-fired power plants in the state from closing (Greenwire, July 3)."

Timothy Cama reports for Greenwire April 21, 2020. [2]