The Truth - Mountaintop Removal CEOs Lying About Job Losses

Weve been hearing escalating outcries from the coal industry and from West Virginia politicians all claiming that the Obama administrations closer examination of mountaintop removal permits is immediately threatening thousands of coal mining jobs.

On Nov. 3, West Virginia state Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin warned the US EPA that, "It is of the utmost importance that this situation be resolved, not in a matter of weeks, but of days."

The coal bosses surely know how to whip up a frenzy of fear in their workers and how to goad them into public displays of hatred and threatening behavior towards those of us who oppose mountaintop removal. As a result, theres been a sharp increase in death threats and other harassment of anti-mountaintop removal activists.

But is it true that if mountaintop removal were severely limited or banned, there would be massive and immediate job losses? Would the industry run out of coal to mine here?

When these questions were asked of coal company executives whose companies practice mountaintop removal in West Virginia, the answer varied, depending on who was inquiring. If they were talking to coal industry stock analysts or to their shareholders, theyve essentially said its really not that big of a deal, that they can switch to more underground mining.

Massey Energys Don Blankenship seems to be a leader in the public message that the coal industry is in imminent danger. But he sang a different tune when talking to coal industry stock analysts in late October.

"They (Massey operations) are very safe in detail in 2010. In 2011, if we had an issue with permitting on a surface mine, we would go to more deep mines . . . We will be and keep ourselves (sic) in a position to make those volumes or more irregardless of which way the permitting issue evolves." Remember that deep mining requires many more jobs than does mountaintop removal to produce the same amount of coal.

Heres what Patriot Coals Senior Vice-President Mark Shroeder had to say to industry analysts in August: "The positive for us is that, as things get more difficult on the surface side, we have wonderful underground reserves that are out there, some of which are ready to go."

He also pointed out that "The coal out there in many of the properties is interchangeable."

Hmm, this sure isnt what the coal guys have been telling their workers, the media or our politicians.

Patriot Coals President Rick Whiting clearly told stock analysts that Patriot wants more surface mining permits.

But he also said "Every trip that (Patriot Chief Operating Officer) Paul (Vining) and I have made to the individual mining complexes in recent weeks and months ... we continue to be presented with more potential underground projects."

Patriots Whiting said, "It would be a travesty for these (mountaintop removal) permits not to come through, because they are low-cost fuel for all of our customers."

Low cost only if one doesnt consider all the devastation to human communities, water, wildlife and mountains.

He also explained, "Were hedged to manage through it either way it goes."

Gene Kitts, vice president for International Coal Group, defended quite strongly the industrys need for more surface mining in the Charleston Gazettes Coal Tattoo blog (Aug 14, 2009).

But International Coal Groups President Ben Hatfield said in late October, "We do not see in the permits that are teed up for scrutiny at this point anything thats likely to cause us to have to literally shutter production in that two year time horizon. But our overall plan as you know for a period of time, most of our growth is on the underground side," Hatfield continued. "I think the short answer is moving more of our focus on expanding underground operations."

Of course, losing a job is disruptive and troubling for anyone. And, yes, coal companies may make more short-term profit on mountaintop removal mining than on deep mining. However, communities and ecosystems suffer so much more from mountaintop removal.

There is no end in sight to the job-loss hysteria coming from mountaintop removal workers, state politicians and many media sources.

But it seems dishonest for politicians and media representatives to whip the masses into a frenzy over irreplaceable jobs and big state tax losses, when the coal bosses are assuring their financiers that if they cant do more surface mining, they are planning to add more jobs underground.

Shouldnt our politicians and the media dig a little deeper to see if the coal spokespeople are being honest with them?

(Direct quotes for this article were taken from blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo [August 14 and Nov. 4, 2009.] The commentary is ours.)