Just got off the phone with my buddy Gov. Joe Manchin … I admit to talking a little WVU football with him, but the main topic was today’s big summit with most of the state’s major coal operators.
I’ve been bugging Manchin’s communications director, Matt Turner, trying to get admitted into the meeting so I could tell Coal Tattoo readers what is said. The governor’s office scheduled a “media availability” for just after the meeting, but what’s said in the meeting itself seems much more interesting– and newsworthy — to me.
Recall that the list of expected attendees includes Massey Energy President Don Blankenship, CONSOL Energy CEO Brett Harvey and International Coal Group President Ben Hatfield. Two members of Congress will be there, as will county commissioners from the state’s major coal producing counties, and top officials from a dozen or more other coal companies. It’s a big deal to get all those folks in the same room, and it seems like the public ought to know what is said.
In my experience, the governor has been a pretty open guy, and he’s never been shy about answering my questions — or coming out to listen to folks who show up at his office to protest his strong support for the coal industry.
But not this time … Manchin says he doesn’t have a problem himself letting the press into today’s meeting. But, the governor said, he checked with coalfield county elected officials who asked for the meeting (meaning primarily Logan County Commissioner Art Kirkendoll) and was told the local officials wanted a private meeting.
Manchin said those local officials asked him to set up the meeting so they could “talk openly and freely” with the members of the state’s congressional delegation — something Manchin said those local officials complained to him they rarely get to do.
OK, so what does that mean? Some observers believe the meeting is basically a chance to criticize Democratic Rep. Nick J. Rahall. Coal industry supporters don’t believe Rahall is doing enough to get EPA off the backs of mountaintop removal mining operators. The industry is pretty happy with Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, and neither of the state’s two U.S. senators is scheduled to attend the meeting in person. Other observers think Manchin hopes to use today’s meeting to get the congressional delegation to help him angle a face-to-face with President Obama, to try to convince Obama to get EPA to back off and to stop pushing a cap-and-trade bill to limit greenhouse emissions.
Manchin is also sticking to the story that there was no need to invite environmental groups (or other critics of coal industry practices) to today’s meeting. He told me this morning:
“This is not about the environment. This is about the economic plight the [coalfield local government officials] are being put in.”
That still doesn’t make a lot of sense … how can you talk about the economic consequences of climate change legislation without also talking about the potential consequences of doing nothing about global warming, or about the real economic costs of not taking action? Why wouldn’t the governor want to have someone like WVU’s Michael Hendryx at the meeting, to discuss his work trying to actually measure the costs and benefits of coal in Appalachia?
Coal county government officials who asked for the summit no doubt want to focus only on the immediate and direct impacts of any reduction in coal output on their local coffers. But there are lots of other sides and facts that any true analysis of the future of coal in West Virginia might be smart to consider.
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It looks like the Governor wants to emulate VP Cheney with his own secret energy task force.
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Interesting comparison, Bill.
BTW, readers — I had failed to previously mention that this meeting was set up to be held in the Governor’s Press Conference Room,” which is actually in the area of the Capitol where the Secretary of State’s offices are located.
But, I’ve now learned it’s been moved to a presumably more secure location — meaning tougher for the press or the public to snoop around — perhaps the big party tent set up adjacent to the Governor’s Mansion.
And, I’m told that Sen. Rockefeller is now planning to attend.
Ken.
I guess the tent thing only makes sense … energy companies helped fund the “party tent,” http://www.sundaygazettemail.com/News/Business/200909260838
More on the party tent:
http://mywvhome.blogspot.com/2007/12/agency-rapped-over-mansion-project.html
We don’t agree on much, but on this post I agree with you totally.
http://westvirginia.watchdog.org/2009/11/10/watchblog-sunshine-on-my-shoulders-makes-me-happy/
Just wondering…if the gov was holding a private meeting with wind farm developers would it cause this much of an uproar???
Concerned Miner — I think you’ve missed the point.
First off, if Gov. Manchin insisted on a private meeting with wind farm developers with no reporters present–yes, that would concern me.
Second, it’s not just about Gov. Manchin meeting with a coal company executive or two. This is about the Gov. convening a meeting with a very large group of influential people–including more than a handful of public servants whose salaries you and I pay as taxpayers–and excluding anyone who they fear might disagree with them.
I can’t think of any other industry, civic, or activist group that has ever had this level of access provided to them before. Can you?
This doesn’t add up. Here’s what Kirkendoll said in the Logan Banner ( http://loganbanner.com/bookmark/4408695 )
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“This meeting was way overdue to have all the major coal producers’ officials together with the EPA and the DEP, the congressional people and the commission presidents from the five major coal-producing counties that spend the money and try to create activities on coal tax,” Kirkendoll said. “Everybody that has a stake in what we do will be there. Instead of each of us writing letters, I wanted to get us all together — the people who are investing their money, who are spending the money, the people who are making laws and making the rules — so that we can ask how do we a qualify permits that are solid and work. I sent the governor a letter and he thought it was a great idea so he put the meeting together.”
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So, Kirkendoll doesn’t think anyone downstream has a stake in coal mining. He doesn’t think it matters that we drink the same water, breath the same air, or–point of fact–actually pay for the electricity that makes that coal valuable. None of us have a stake? That’s insulting.
His stated purpose for the meeting definitely sounds like a meeting about environmental regulations.
As Ken pointed out in another post, the coal companies have assured their investors on Wall Street that there is no real crisis in permitting. They say they will be OK for another couple of years without new permits. At the same time they have our (their) politicians worked up into a lather to make sure EPA brings its review of permits to a hasty conclusion.
This ability to spin stories in two directions at the same time is of course not a new trick. For example, some coal companies report to Wall Street and the Federal S.E.C. that they still have plenty of coal in underground reserves, and are therefore good companies to invest in. Then they turn around and report to the state tax department that their coal has been all but mined out, and therefore little taxes are owed.
It seems to me that there is a direct conflict of interest by having the Secretary of the DEP at this meeting. Manchin said this meeting was not about the environment, so why was Huffman there? Are they asking Huffman to subvert the law? Are they asking him to turn his head on water violations? Did they give him a big sack of cash? Why was he there? His business is about protecting The People’s environment. Is the WV DEP now a wholly owned subsidiary of the coal industry? When a government agency becomes one that facilitates corporate interest The People are not well served. It looks like we will have to file a freedom of information act to find out what they were doing with Huffman in the room. Joe, hold those shredders. The DOJ won’t take kindly to destroying records.
These are just a few questions that arise from such a cloak and dagger meeting. I don’t trust Manchin in a public meeting let alone behind closed doors.
I must have overlooked who was there representing Boone County. Does anyone know who it was? This makes me so angry. This county has been gutted for coal and what do we have to show for it?
Bo you asked: Is the WV DEP now a wholly owned subsidiary of the coal industry? I believe we all know the answer to that. I believe that we should use FOIA to get this information ASAP. Manchin is acting just like Cheney. Well, Cheney is gone but we are still stuck with Manchin, on a lower level I think Manchin is just as bad or even worse because he turns a blind eye to his own citizens whose lives have been ruined for the benefit of his coal buddies. I have to ask, which is more important….money or health? People can find another job, but nobody can find another healthy body when their health has been ruined.
[...] Manchin — who’s in a big meeting now with coal industry leaders and politicians to discuss the future of coal — will lead a [...]