A little more than a year ago, Bo Copley lost his job working as a maintenance planner for a West Virginia coal company.

The reason: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, he told federal lawmakers.

“Just slightly over 1 year ago, I was notified that my services were no longer required, due to a reduction in force,” Copley told senators at a Wednesday field hearing in West Virginia.

“Although we were told that we shouldn’t have to reduce our workforce before the beginning of 2016, we should have known that we wouldn’t make it that long without one,” he said. “Our company was the only one in Arch that had not experienced such a reduction.”