By Mannix Porterfield
CHARLESTON — Gov. Joe Manchin sat down with President Obama to defend coal Wednesday at the White House, but got no pledge that stalled mining permits would be approved any time soon.
But after huddling with Obama and nine other governors, mostly from energy states, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson told Manchin some type of action was coming. She wasn’t specific.
“We’re going to get something worked out,” Manchin quoted her as saying.
Manchin said the president acknowledged the coal-producing governors want “a yes or no answer,” but his only response was, “Trust me.”
Some 20 mining permits remain in limbo in West Virginia as the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers examine whether they conflict with provisions of the Clean Water Act.
“You can’t produce energy this nation needs with that uncertainty,” Manchin said he advised the president.
Manchin told reporters in a late afternoon conference call that he provided Jackson with voluminous materials on the permitting controversy.
Obama announced the creation of a special task force to explore carbon capture and storage — an integral part of the move toward clean coal technology.
With Vice President Joe Biden also attending, Manchin indicated he pulled no punches in his defense of the coal industry.
More than once, he complained to Obama and the others that coal had been “vilified” by some around the country, including public leaders.
Manchin voiced concerns that if the administration makes it harder to mine coal the entire country will suffer.
“We don’t have a clear balance,” he said. “We’re going to use it (coal). The country needs it and the world is going to be using it more than ever.”
Manchin said he called on Obama to point out shortcomings if problems exist with regard to the environment, adding, “We can improve and do better.”
“If they penalize before finding a cure, you will artificially raise the price,” the governor warned.
“When you raise the price, you drive more jobs off shore and make more hardships on the people.”
Manchin said he pressed the president on the permits and Obama disagreed with him that the industry had been painted as villains by his administration.
“The perception is that it’s a dirty energy that is no longer needed,” the governor said.
“The bottom line is you’ve got nothing else. We’re just trying to make it better to get to the next level. We had that discussion.”
Manchin said most coal is being shipped overseas now, but if America is forced to import it the way oil is sent in, “we’re going to have serious problems.”
He said he told Obama that West Virginians have been unfairly portrayed as a people with a disregard to the environment.
“That is just not the truth,” he said.
Manchin said he had “a good dialogue” with Obama and Biden, and came away believing he got his message across.
“He knows very well where we’re coming from. He knows if the economy suffers, if jobs suffer, because they get it wrong, they will pay a horrible price.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said the creation of the special task force was an “important first step toward the full-scale commercialization of clean coal technology within the next 10 years, which is the key to a secure energy future for the nation.”
“West Virginia is already leading the way with the sequestration of carbon dioxide at AEP’s Mountaineer Plant — the first coal plant in the world to capture and store carbon dioxide on site,” he added.
— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com
