News & Media | Bill Raney's speech to the Charleston Rotary |
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| Monday, 08/27/2007 | |
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It’s very intimidating to be here before the Charleston Rotary It’s the leaders of Charleston - Kanawha County - the judiciary And the clergy You even have my preacher in the audience Now if that’s not intimidating - I don’t know what is I’m glad Bill McCoy is here - not only today But in Charleston - he and his family are a great addition I was listening to him Sunday (I was listening!) And thought - for a Wheeling boy and I went to school with a bunch of them He has as much southern charm and way about him as you could ever want He’s good for us over at First Presbyterian I thought and thought about what to talk with you all about And how to present it I even told Lyle Sattes - Dave Lanham and Karen Price If they had something else to do at noon today They should go do it - this might not be very pretty I thought about bringing some slides of active mining sites Reclamation - valley fills - But our young intern went back to WVU last week Was not here to help me - make it work And I was afraid Ken Ward or Craig Selby Would make fun of my pictures or me trying to operate a/v equipment So you’re stuck with the spoken word I also thought about having President Welch Cut the electricity off about half way through the talk That, of course, would be to demonstrate what it would be like If coal is removed from the energy equation of this country Because more than 50% of America’s electricity is made by burning coal But I thought - to be totally accurate here in West Virginia I’d have to have President Welch turn the electricity off for the entire program Because we make 99% of our electricity here in West Virginia with coal But I was afraid that was a little too cute Someone who is a more accomplished speechmaker Could make that happen and not stumble over it Actually - I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to see my notes Then I thought - maybe I can say something profound and intelligent That will be quoted in tomorrow’s Gazette-Mail and it’ll Make me sound brilliant and far-sighted But - that hasn’t happened in 30 years - why would I expect it today So you’re going to get about 15 minutes of coal talk That’ll be filled with observations and conclusions from the last 30 years Of representing an absolutely fabulous industry That I’m so proud to represent And one that has had and continues to have a great deal of importance To our state and this nation - and- to Kanawha County Did you know Kanawha is the 3rd leading producing county in the state In 2006 - more than 13.5 million tons were produced by more than 1,500 miners And those counties surrounding Kanawha produced more than 45.5 million tons of coal And (I guarantee) a lot of those people live here - shop here - And spend time in Kanawha But I don’t expect you to love us - just because we pay taxes and employ people I think we’re important for a lot of other reasons And we’re under attack - being threatened by a lot of outside critics And we need your help We need you to better understand what we’re doing and why we think it’s important I’ll try to link all that together First and foremost I want to say - I’m proud to be an American - and a West Virginian I think we have all kinds of opportunity for a bright future Because we have such a strong legacy A strong legacy of truthfulness - looking after our neighbors - And protecting our families and our people Because WV Coal is all about our people Without them we wouldn’t have a hearty coal industry or anything else I start talking about our miners and managers first - because You can’t run a mine without people Good people I don’t care what part of the world you’re in You can’t do it They need to be trained - drug free - devoted to work everyday Committed to teamwork We’re blessed here because we have - The best coal miners and coal mine managers in the world Operating under the toughest – environmental - safety and transportation laws Most rugged terrain - geology and weather conditions Of any place in this country - anyplace in the world (for that matter) We have 105 separate regulatory agencies That can show up and have something to say about the way Our managers are running the mine Or the way the miners are performing their duties That’s 105 separate bosses How many do you have in your business? It takes at least (and that is if everything is perfect) 12 months to get the permits to open the smallest of mines On the average it takes about 24 months to get all the permits It takes a minimum of $10 million dollars to open the smallest of mines Surface or underground With that kind of investment Predictability and certainty is a must A must for a return on the investment A must for the performance of our people To be sure it is the best - from a safety standpoint -an environmental standpoint A good neighbor standpoint I always refer to our people as the best practicing environmentalists in the world Our people love the land they work on - it’s where they grew up Hunting the hills and fishing the streams Where they’re mining today They want their children and grandchildren to do the same thing - They’ll do whatever it takes to protect that heritage and that future That’s what our people are doing everyday That’s the difference They’re doing it - building ponds - planting trees - controlling water Not talking about it or marching about it They’re doing it And they’re proud of what they do everyday-- They truly are the best environmentalists in the world And they want to continue doing that - right here - close to home We’re protecting the environment - better than ever We’re coordinating our mountain top operations with Highway construction - commercial developments - public facilities Reclaiming properties for higher utility and development We’re limiting our footprint With sophisticated planning and accelerated reclamation Many want to make valley fills the points of controversy in our permitting processes If you read some of the parachuting journalists’ articles (Ken Ward) You could easily think we are dumping - haphazardly - everything imaginable In the streams and rivers of this state And we’re the only ones doing it The truth of the matter is We use these structures after comprehensive engineering - evaluation and review Only in the upper-most reaches of the most remote hollows of West Virginia Usually it’s a ditch that’s being filled - a dry ditch And the only time there is water, of any sort, is when it rains or the snow is melting Most of the year it is a dry ditch Yet we have judges attempting to send our people home Because we’re filling these dry ditches The fact is - These ditches are constructed on the completed fills In order to transmit the rain and snow melt - to the watersheds below Valley fills are used any time you excavate earth and it swells up by 30% They’re safe – engineered - environmentally sound Southridge has a large valley fill - the only reason it wasn’t controversial Was because there wasn’t a coal seam involved (I don’t understand it) So it’s tough to start and operate a coal mine in West Virginia But we have a lot of coal left to mine - 53 billion tons And we’ve got a lot of smart people trying to figure out how to do it How to sustain our 150 million tons per year production It is critical that we increase extractive research - Because if the coal is not mined here - it doesn’t do us a bit of good Our seams are getting thinner - more difficult to access - have more rock and dirt Our underground costs are running a little more than $43/ton That’s why it is so important to figure out how to mine these remaining seams They can build all the CTL plants and Future Gens they want But if the coal is not West Virginia coal - then we’re going to lose out Let me run through a list of items to provoke discussion and questions Some of it is statistical - some is opinion - some is documented fact West Virginia has 62 separate named seams of coal- Located in 43 of our 55 counties In other words – almost 80% of our state has coal reserves under it Since we became a state (1863) 144 years We’ve mined about 14 billion tons - we have 50 billion remaining Last year we mined more than 158 million tons in 26 counties With more than 20,000 direct coal miners (20,533) And more than 28,000 coal handlers and specialty contractors (28,187) Who depend on a mine operating every day We’re the 2nd leading coal-producing state in the nation We’re the leading producer of bituminous coal in the nation We have more underground coal production than any other state We have more Coalbed Methane recovery infrastructure than any other state We have 13 power plants with a capacity of 14.200 MW That use 36 million tons of our production annually To make 99% of our electricity At an average retail price of 4.5 cents/KWH Just this past year we licensed the first new coal burning power plant in 30 years It took 10 years to get all the permits and get through all the suits That is unacceptable Because - We should be the energy center of this country We’re within ½ day’s drive of 60% of America’s population We should be hanging power lines all over the state So we can make the electricity here at home - close to the coal seams And wheel it to those who need it in the SE, NE and Midwest You see - the electrification of America in the 19th and 20th centuries Was one of the most amazing engineering accomplishments in our history It allowed us to win wars-industrialize our country - advance our standard of living It put us ahead - it keeps us ahead And coal was the key to that electrification And it still is Coal makes 52% of this nation’s electricity There is no alternative (quiet confidence) If you notice - the opponents or those who criticize fossil fuels Never offer any realistic alternative Oh sure - they talk about windmills - solar panels - renewables But there’s no way they can ever make enough electricity To feed this country’s appetite They talk about Ethanol - but there’s not enough corn or switchgrass And I read (the other day) - that ethanol was worse than regular gasoline (air quality) Plus - the rush to make so much ethanol has raised the price of corn so dramatically That it’s raising the price of food - everywhere Coal to Liquids is a popular topic today And I hope we get one of those plants - We need it for energy independence and energy security But when the largest consumer of electricity is The Internet and its associated computer equipment What we really need to be doing - is building power plants Coal-fired -baseload power plants - close to the mines To supply electricity to the people who need it and want it So we can have a quiet confidence about our coal Because we’re getting better everyday At mining it - shipping it - using it And there is no real alternative But the world must be patient - either by force or leverage I think one of the efforts of our opponents is to raise the cost Of coal fired electricity - so it doesn’t have an advantage over other fuels So we have court decisions, editorials, ad campaigns, movies Documentaries and many detractors Trying to raise the 4.5 cents/KWH cost to something more like What New Yorkers are paying --- that is about 13 cents/KWH We must do everything possible to maintain our advantage As we pursue the no-emissions power plant Since it has occupied a good deal of time and effort recently - I want to talk about safety America’s mines are the safest in the world Underground mining has more risks than surface mining But the point is - we are not - as an industry One of the top ten most hazardous activities in the country Despite what you would believe –listening to the news But we’re being asked to do things Based on theory --- not practicality Rules are being rushed - and mandates are being made -- To purchase equipment that is not tested Won’t be tested (according to NIOSH) At least not by human subjects! How are they ever going to know --- if it’ll be OK for our people? If they don’t test these shelters -- before they require us to put them in our mines! As a matter of fact this equipment is not even available today Yet we’re being expected to buy it Or be accused--- of not caring about our people -- Dragging our feet on safety And wanting - to put profits before safety! Our people finally got tired of being wrongly accused They’ve offered to put the money that would be used to purchase This non-existent—untested equipment in escrow ‘Til we get something that works And - doesn’t give our people a - false sense of hope and confidence The concept of protection is what we all want But to try to make it work with rapidly developed - unproven equipment Is not the way to do it But we are making progress - So we hope the policy makers will be more deliberate and practical Underground communication systems are the same thing Although it is not as threatening Because we’re already talking to one another underground We just not able to do it wirelessly At least not yet A lot of smart people are hustling to get something that talks through the earth As soon as they can If today’s equipment - can’t talk to everybody - track everybody In every part of the mine - wirelessly Let’s say that Let’s don’t act like it can - then find out it can’t We’re all working together - pushing to improve what we have Nobody is dragging their feet We want that wireless system more than anybody does Again our people have offered to put the money in escrow If that’s what the detractors want to argue about and accuse us of But we shouldn’t be forced to buy something That doesn’t do what we’re trying to accomplish And isn’t any different or better than what we have now The recent incidents in Utah and Indiana will bring new challenges And we will continue to strive for workable requirements Because - there is nothing more important to our people Than making sure they get home safely every night Our industry - fossil fuels everywhere Are under attack from the global warming and green house gases front Is it a problem? How big a problem is it? What should we do about it? In the volumes and volumes of literature You can find about anything you want To support a position - We need to get beyond the frenzy of convenient science Being interpreted – in many cases By people who didn’t take science classes in school And telling us - what they want us to know Before we dismantle the economy with over reaction There has to be a deliberate and thoughtful approach That protects our people - I’m convinced we can do it Because we have a lot of advantages right here in West Virginia We must recognize them and take the lead But we have to be aggressive - and make sure people have the facts For instance, we here in West Virginia are a carbon sink As a matter of fact North America is a carbon sink according to a prestigious Princeton University study I doubt you’ve read that anywhere! Although we make 99% of our electricity with coal And our carbon footprint is pretty big We absorb more carbon than we emit Because of our maturing Appalachian hardwood forests We’re the 3rd most forested state in the nation So we have a natural advantage We need to make sure the world understands We can burn coal - without net emissions of carbon But before anything is done in Congress or in the world (for that matter) The question that must be answered is - What effect will the proposed controls have on our people Working in and on the mines in West Virginia - in Kanawha County? If the answer is - it will disrupt their lives and take their careers Then they are on the wrong track - Our politicians must protect our people And not be listening to the shallow thinkers who are wanting To sell books, movies and records And return to their mansions that use 20 times more electricity than the normal home They must listen to our people They must protect them - their jobs and their way of life So our challenges are great We’re being sued in the courts on ten different actions (many are repetitive) A couple of those if upheld could have a 50 million ton impact on our production - 1/3 We’re sustaining our streams through engineered and functional mitigation Yet we have a federal judge who accepts out-of-state testimony of someone Who’d never been on a mine site - Putting our people’s jobs in jeopardy - creating uncertainty There’s something wrong with that We’re appealing it - But it will take a long time to get through our courts And the permitting agencies are paralyzed during these times So - we must all pull together And preserve the fossil fuel industry of this State We can do that with aggressive stewardship - and truthful initiative Combined with world class technology and a professional workforce I hope you will join us I hope you will take a copy of our new Coal Facts with you (on the table) It will give you a better idea of how we make up more than 10% Of West Virginia’s gross state product And why it’s important to sustain our annual production of 150 million tons I hope you understand the seriousness of the outside threats Being advanced by people who Never offer a real alternative or practical solutions And don’t seem to care much about our people We need your help - We need you to be a Friend of Coal (decals available) We need West Virginia to be the energy state With an environment that attracts investment - advances stewardship And protects our people - our families - our way of life - Thank you.  For more information on the West Virginia coal industry, visit www.wvcoal.com |
