Representatives of the West Virginia Coal Association and the Friends of Coal responded this week to the findings of the “report” by the Morgantown-based, anti-coal research organization, Downstream Strategies.

Despite being presented as a “complete report” of the economic impact of the coal industry on the state, the report left out several key calculations, including the $90 million in property taxes paid by the industry to the various counties and, unbelievably, the $3.2 billion in wages paid by the industry and its vendors and support companies.

Officials also drew attention to the background and obvious biases of the report’s authors, who include a member of Coal River Mountain Watch, and to the anti-coal groups funding the research, such as the Sierra Club and the SEIU.

Association officials referred reporters back to the study released earlier this year by a joint West Virginia University/Marshall University research team that we believe was much more thorough in its analysis of the vital economic impact of our industry on our state.

Association spokesmen were quoted in a variety of publications and broadcast news around the state and responded to stories posted on the internet and on social media forums such as Facebook.