Published: June 20, 2009 10:59 pm      

Emission curbs in clean energy act could devastate state economy, chamber warns

Electric bills doubling, even tripling. Widespread layoffs across the coal industry. Thousands of jobs, many in the $60,000-plus range, suddenly vanishing. State revenues taking a dramatic nosedive.

That grim scenario, as painted by Steve Roberts, president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, is what he perceives as the likely result if Congress persists in passing HR2454.

Formally, it’s known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, a 932-page document aimed at trimming emissions of “global warming pollution,” spurring carbon capturing technology and imposing a cap-and-trade system.

Its effects in this region, based on Roberts’ dark prediction, would turn a recession into a depression, and it wouldn’t take long.

Already, says Roberts, the economy in West Virginia is on the verge of reeling even further now that the Obama administration is slowing down the bedrock industry of coal.

“We have 48 permits that have been put on hold in West Virginia that 18 months ago would have been issued,” Roberts said in an interview.

“These 48 account for an outstanding number of jobs and tax revenue that we’re losing because of lost coal production. And once we take this coal production off line, it doesn’t come back.”

What ensues is that power companies simply will turn to Illinois and Wyoming for coal purchases, as mountaintop permits are held up by the new administration in Washington, the Chamber leader said.

“It’s really West Virginia and eastern Kentucky and southwest Virginia that are really in the crosshairs and will suffer greatly,” Roberts said.

Fearing the worst, Roberts said the Chamber is trying to muster public support to apply pressure on West Virginia’s entire delegation in Congress to buck the leadership of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to thwart HR2454.

“They need to work for us, not for Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid,” Roberts said of the state’s senators and three House members.

At mid-week, Roberts and other Chamber leaders from across West Virginia met in Charleston to discuss the coal situation and the likelihood of job losses if the environmental bill winds up at the White House.

“We all left here very enthusiastic,” he said.

“They are very determined to speak with a much louder voice about what the change in (mining) permits and the cap-and-trade proposals will do to West Virginia working families.”

Cap-and-trade is an idea that lets a government entity set a limit on how much pollution may be discharged. Companies that need to emit more than the set amount must buy “credits” from firms that pollute less.

Roberts sees this as nothing short of economic insanity.

Not only is surface mining facing tremendous setbacks, but Roberts says the proposed pollution guidelines would likewise cause some tremors in underground production as well, and that could trigger shock waves across the state’s entire economy.

“Especially in Raleigh County,” the Chamber official said. “Any place that is a home to surface mining operations, and any coal production.

“Raleigh County has made some very impressive gains in per capita income because of coal mining. But if Pelosi gets her way, Raleigh County gets hurt. Numerous surface jobs are headquartered in Raleigh County.”

Just this week, Roberts was informed by a vendor supplying coal interests that he was forced to issue pink slips to 50 workers.

“When permits aren’t issued, companies have to stop mining,” he said.

“Everything comes to a stop. We quit producing energy. We quit producing jobs. We quit helping to solve the tax problem.”

Roberts finds it ironic, and decidedly unfair, that the rush by Congress to limit pollution appears to be a goal pursued only in America, as foreign industrial interests continue to clog the atmosphere with pollutants, almost totally unrestrained.

In fact, he said, greenhouse emissions in America have been curtailed every year since 2000. Other countries except France have raised emissions.

“We can devastate households in this country by doubling, tripling electric and gas bills, and make no difference in the environment,” he said.

“None of this applies to China, Indonesia, or Russia, or any where in Southeast Asia, and for the most part, developing nations. If the cap-and-trade bill passes, the United States will be forced into less greenhouse emissions than that currently are coming from Haiti.”

Scientists are divided over the issue of global warming, and Roberts’ perspective is that evidence points to the contrary, saying each winter for the past six years has been colder than the previous one.

“This is really a shot at working people,” he said of the anti-pollution measure.

“Let’s face it — coal is the biggest energy source in West Virginia. People are struggling to heat their homes, pay the electric bill, struggling to keep air conditioners going in summer. This bill is going to double or triple your cost. We’ve already seen what it does to industry.”

The Chamber official referred to the recent closing of Century Aluminum in Ravenswood and the loss of 700 jobs that paid workers an average of $60,000 a year.

“The plant shut down because electricity costs went up so much while the demand for aluminum at the same time was bringing prices down,” he said.

Since 2000, Roberts said, 45 percent of the greenhouse emissions came from China, while 3 percent were attributed to American industries.

“The average person doesn’t want to say, ‘sure, lower my standard of living,’ when no one else in the world is lowering his standard of living to comply with these rules,” Roberts said.

“Our delegation in Congress is a very senior one with strength. We want them to use this to help save West Virginia jobs and save our tax base. All we’re saying is, ‘Do the right thing for the country.’”

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com