It is absolutely amazing that anyone could be surprised that Obama’s admin would try to do all in it’s power to curtail the production of coal:

[T]he Environmental Protection Agency has put the brakes on 79 surface mining permits in four states since he was elected.
The EPA says these permits could violate the Clean Water Act and warrant “enhanced” review. But the agency went even further last week, announcing plans to revoke a permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in West Virginia – a move that has caused anxiety among coal-state Democrats about the future of the industry under the Obama administration.

Obama was pretty clear about his intentions to tax into bankruptcy coal burning plants (through his cap and tax boondoggle):

“So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can,” he said at the time. “It’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.”

Evidently his supporters in coal producing states didn’t believe him because now they’re surprised and outraged that he would actually try to restrict production through executive means:

Although his favored cap-and-trade bill hasn’t yet been passed, West Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin III, who supported Mr. Obama’s candidacy, called the EPA moves part of a stealth campaign to stifle the industry.
“Right now, my belief is that they’re trying to kill off surface mining through regulation what they cannot get done through legislation,” Mr. Manchin told MetroNews Talkline, a West Virginia call-in radio program, earlier this month. In West Virginia, 23 permits are being held up, with other affected states being Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

When Obama actually gets his legislation, it will be much worse. And this guy who is governing a coal producing state supported the guy who is going to undermine the state’s economy. Smart.