LOGAN COAL VENDORS

By T.L. HEADLEY

As a native of the Harts/Chapmanville area, and as a descendant of the first families to settle Logan County (Dingesses and Workmans), I believe I have the right to comment on the issue of mountaintop mining.

In the interests of full disclosure, I am a public relations consultant working for the West Virginia Coal Association, the Friends of Coal, the Logan Coal Vendors Association, the Coalition for Mountaintop Mining, the Eastern Coal States Association, Citizens for Coal and CEDAR of West Virginia among others.

Further, I have an MBA from WVU, an MA in Marshall, dual BAs from Marshall and I am eligible to sit for certification as a professional economic developer.

As such, I believe I speak with some authority on this issue...

Few thinking people would summarily end the mining of coal or its use as a baseload fuel. Of course there are radicals who argue exactly that and they are usually folks with absolutely no ties to this region -- east and west coast liberals and enviro-radicals who believe humanity is a disease that should be wiped from the face of their Goddess - Gaia (Earth).

Problem is, most of us live in the real world.

One point that seems to be agreed to by all is that West Virginia needs to diversify and develop its economy. No one in the coal industry would argue that point. We would all love to see a West Virginia that was home to many varied businesses and industries -- one in which our children and grandchildren could grow and prosper.

How do we get there?

Here are some common problems outlined by recent economic studies undertaken by the state government:

• a.  Lack of infrastructure
• b.  Lack of readily developable land
• c.  High cost of site prep.
• d.  Lack of quality housing (housing choices)
• e.  Lack of investment capital
• f.   Lack of a culture of risk
• g.  Lack of a comprehensive vision for the future
• h.  The issue of flooding in valley floors
• i.   Many others.....

Let's look at these and see how they match up to the opportunities provided by the mining industry.

First, a bit of economics.

The coal industry in West Virginia generates approximately $26 BILLION each year in total economic impact. The industry pays approximately $3.6 BILLION each year in wages, with the average coal miner making nearly $70,000 per year (source: WVU-MU Joint Study of the Impact of Coal). There are approximately 60,000 West Virginia families whose livelihoods depend on the mining of coal.

These are jobs that would be almost impossible to replace and that provide the very bedrock of the state's economy today.

With that said, the coal industry can help build a future -- even for the sustainable post-coal economy we all want to leave in the wake of the industry. Yes, coal is a finite resource and while there remains some 250 years of coal production still in the ground, at some point it will end.

How can coal be a part of the future?

The most common issues cited in the economic development and diversification of the state is the lack of flat, developable land. Today, our economy is largely built in the little valley floors, with businesses and homes crowded into every available space in those little flood-prone valleys. Sharing that space with roads, railroads and rivers and having very little to work with. Even then, these valley floors are usually 20-year floodplains with flooding a constant threat.

Would Toyota or any other major business want to locate there? Of course not. It is hard to even get insurance for a home on these floodplains, much less justify building a factory or store there.

Now, what's left?

Well, there are two options -- scraping out a little notch on the hillside (usually about a 60 degree slope) or going up to the top of the hills. Problem with the hilltops is that in most cases, unless there are utilities already there, you have to pay for the service lines yourself - often a huge and debilitating challenge.

Coal mining can and does provide exactly that flat, developable land most in need by economic development experts. Our surface mines (current and former) can be easily configured to serve these needs -- housing developments, schools, hospitals, shopping centers, industrial parks, airports, etc.

Critics claim these sites are "out in the middle of nowhere and are undevelopable" but a simple look around southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and Virginia belies that claim. Already we have scores of developments taking place on these sites, including the new King Coal Highway, the Mingo County Airport site, numerous schools, parks, recreational facilities, shopping centers, homes, etc.

Surface mining provides these sites to the public at signficantly reduced coal to the taxpayer -- imagine having to foot the bill for the excavation needed just to put the Mingo County airport site together -- a 900 acre site with hundreds of thousands if not millions of tons of earth removed?

So why the claims by the radical anti-coal groups? Well, the bottom line is that they are opposed to coal... period. They want to end its mining and its use. They don't care about your jobs, your children or your futures. They care about their narrow political and social agenda and see the West Virginia coal miner as simply in the way.

Coal mining offers excellent jobs today and the hope for a future for our people. Without coal mining and without surface mining and mountaintop mining, our people would be much worse off today and would have little hope of significant change in the future.

Coal is our past and our present, but it is also a path ... a bridge ... to our future. I ask that you tell those radicals who apparently don't believe we are intelligent enough or capable enough to be entrusted with the keys to our own land to take the next bus out of town.

West Virginians want mining! West Virginians understand the need for and opportunities presented by mining!

Become a Friend of Coal today!

Call the Friends of Coal at 304.342.4153 and we can sign you up! Or join online at www.friendsofcoal.org. Also, if you are a company that does business with the coal industry or is located in the coalfields, join the Logan Coal Vendors Association at www.logancoalvendors.com!

Join us today!