Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : EPA Chief Sees Job Losses for Miners

William K. Reilly, the chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, acknowledged that a proposed new clean air law will put some coal miners out of work, but said he is hopeful that technology can save jobs. “We are prepared to work very carefully with those workers and with the states to try to ensure that we have as good a safety net and unemployment retraining provisions as possible,” Reilly said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” To reduce acid rain, the legislation would restrict sulfur dioxide emissions. The new limits are expected to cause thousands of job losses in the coal mines throughout Appalachia and the Midwest. Reilly said he is hopeful that advances in “clean-coal technology” can save some of the jobs in the East.