Increased federal oversight of mountaintop removal coal mining corresponds with jobs increase, data shows

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Contact: Matt Wasson, Ph.D., matt@appvoices.org, (828) 262-1500
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BOONE, N.C. – House Republicans continue to claim that federal oversight of mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia threatens domestic coal production and coal mining jobs in Appalachia, but new government data points to an opposite trend.

Data recently released by the Mine Safety and Health Administration show that the number of jobs at Appalachian coal mines in the first three quarters of 2011 is at its highest level since 1997. In contrast to previous predictions by coal industry supporters, the number of miners in Appalachia has increased by six percent since the Obama Administration announced plans to strengthen the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s scrutiny of mountaintop removal permits in June 2009.

Since the April 2010 issuance of an interim guidance on surface mine permitting in Appalachia by the EPA, the number of Appalachian miners has grown by 10 percent.

“What these data show is that strengthened enforcement of mine safety and environmental rules is creating jobs in Appalachia, not destroying them” said Dr. Matt Wasson, program director for regional environmental organization Appalachian Voices. “The opposition of coal companies to any and all regulations to protect the safety of workers and communities near their mines is really about profits — specifically, that they will be forced to spend more on workers at the expense of shareholder dividends.”

On Friday Nov. 18, House Republicans held the 15th House hearing this year aimed at promoting the idea that government regulation of surface mining leads to fewer mining jobs. The Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources hearing involved legislation introduced by Representative Bill Johnson (R-OH) called the “Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act.” Johnson’s bill would stop the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement from rewriting the federal stream buffer zone rule. But the bill would also greatly restrict OSMRE’s ability to regulate coal mines by prohibiting the agency from taking any actions that would reduce coal mine employment, reduce the amount of coal available for mining, consumption, or export, or designate an area as unsuitable for surface mining techniques such as mountaintop removal.

Some members of Congress have claimed that deregulation of coal mining is necessary to increase domestic coal production. But, according to Federal Reserve data released Nov. 17, the capacity of active and permitted coal mines is the highest it has been in 25 years. At the same time, the utilization of coal mine capacity thus far in 2011 is the lowest it has been in 25 years.

“The idea of a ‘Permitorium’ on coal mine permitting that House Republicans are pushing out is completely and demonstrably false,” said Wasson. “So is the idea that coal production in the U.S. is constrained by permits in any way. It’s entirely constrained by demand for coal.”

Mountaintop removal is a destructive form of surface mining that removes the tops of mountains to access thin seams of coal. Much of the remaining rubble is dumped in adjacent valleys, burying and poisoning valuable headwater streams with what is called a “valley fill.”

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View supporting charts and data at: http://appvoices.org/resources/Coal_Jobs_Supporting_Data.pdf

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

County is latest to cite health and economic concerns as reasons to oppose

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Contact: Mike McCoy, Appalachian Voices
434-299-8550
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On Thursday, the Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors adopted an official statement of opposition to what would be the largest coal-fired power plant in Virginia.

The county would be downwind of the 1,500-megawatt coal plant proposed by Old Dominion Electric Cooperative in Surry County. Isle of Wight joins Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, the town of Surry and Congressman
Bobby Scott in officially stating concern for the health of the people and economy of Hampton Roads in light of the proposed coal plant.

In its statement, the board focuses on the potential health effects of pollution from the coal plant, which include risk of birth defects in unborn children from mercury contamination and increased respiratory problems from the ground level ozone (smog) caused by the plant’s emissions. Ozone is the primary cause of “Code Orange” and “Code Red” air days in Hampton Roads during which even healthy adults are at risk of lung damage and children and the elderly are especially at risk. Another major concern is that businesses may have a hard time expanding, or may choose not to locate in an area with increased ozone, which is strictly regulated by the federal government.

Isle of Wight is the latest in a growing number of municipalities and organizations opposed to the coal-fired power plant due to concerns about how it will affect the regions’ health, economy, agriculture and environment during an expected 60-year life span. In addition to the communities listed above, health groups such as the Norfolkbased Consortium for Child and Infant Health, the Virginia Asthma Coalition and the American Lung Association have officially opposed the proposal. Others officially opposed include the Isle of Wight Citizens Association, the Carrollton Civic League, the James City County Citizens Coalition, The Coalition to Keep Surry Clean, the Cape Henry Audubon Society, as well as the Garden Club of Virginia and a host of
conservation groups.

Isle of Wight is the immediate neighbor to Surry County, ODEC’s preferred site for the proposed plant. In January 2010, Isle of Wight County made an official request of Surry County to require ODEC to fund an independent study of the economic ramifications from the increased air pollution for Hampton Roads. Despite strong opposition to the plant from local residents, the Surry County Board of Supervisors snubbed Isle of Wight, many of its own citizens, and the region, by granting local zoning approval without addressing these concerns.

The Wise Energy Coalition and its partners commended Isle of Wight County for taking a strong stance to protect the citizens, businesses and farms of the region.

“The Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors did the math and decided that another dirty coal plant upwind of Hampton Roads, a region already suffering from poor air quality, is a deal that only a short-sighted Surry County Board of Supervisors could see as beneficial,” said Mike McCoy of Appalachian Voices.

“The residents of Isle of Wight are clamoring for clean, affordable renewable energy options. And with state reports documenting more than 3000 megawatts of wind power just waiting to be harvested off of Virginia’s shores, the message to ODEC is clear. Now is the time to retire this coal plant proposal and move forward with better, 21st century alternatives,” said Cale Jaffe, Senior Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.

“We hope that other Hampton Roads communities will also consider opposing this project. If the plant is built, Hampton Roads may find it harder to attract new businesses, and existing businesses may find it harder to expand because of increasingly stronger controls for ozone pollution. That is a terrible burden for Surry County to put on the region during our current economic struggle,” said Bob Burnley, economic development specialist and former director of the Virginia DEQ.

ODEC is actively seeking approval for the coal plant from the Army Corps of Engineers and has recently conducted water intake tests for the plant in the James River with the Virginia Marine Resources Institute.

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Videos available at http://wiseenergyforvirginia.org/2011/11/isle-of-wight-county-officially-opposes-coal-plant/