The governor talked about coal, education, the recession and the progress the state has made recently.
“They call this the Great Recession,” Manchin said. “But, we’re still fairing pretty well.”
Manchin said he believes it may take until 2013 for West Virginia to emerge from the recession, but he says the state will keep living within its means to help it through the lean years.
“We’re talking about where we are as a state, all the positive things we’ve had happen and expansions that are still going on,” Manchin said. “We’re very pleased with that. I believe we’ll come out of this recession stronger.”
Manchin said he’s very concerned about the current problems West Virginia coal mines are having trouble getting permits from the Environmental Protection Agency. Several local surface mines are currently awaiting permits that were initially given to them, but then taken away upon further review by the EPA.
“I’m very concerned about what’s going on and what we see coming from some of the federal regulators - the EPA, to be exact,” Manchin said. “I’m so determined to make sure the rest of this country understands the role that coal plays, what it has played, what it will play in the future, how we want to be a part of the solution and how we can do it much cleaner.
“There are so many people who want to write coal out and think they can do it with everything else. There is not a scientist or an economist who has ever verified they can do it without coal. Why in the world are they leading the chant to eliminate coal and make it so difficult and expensive? That doesn’t make any economic sense at all.”
Manchin said China and India should have to comply with the same mining rules that the United States has to work under.
Manchin said he plans to fight for coal.
“It’s basically finding a balance,” Manchin said. “West Virginia has to find a balance. How can we mine it and do it responsibly? We have a very, very aggressive land use bill now. We have an energy policy that most states don’t have. We’re doing everything in a productive manner. Now, retroactively, they’re saying they don’t like what we’re doing. They like the electricity they receive. They like all the different opportunities that this country receives from what this little state’s done. And they have to understand that we’re trying to work within the framework and they portray that West Virginia and other energy states don’t really care. If anything, we care more than anybody else.
“I’m not just going to stand back and let people portray West Virginians the way they want to portray us without the facts.”
Manchin said surface mining creates jobs, revenue and flat land.
“We can use a piece of property and alter its appearance and take the resources and create jobs and revenue for our state and we can have a place where we can build a commercial site, or a housing site, or a wind farm or solar farm or grow switchgrass that can be used for biofuels,” Manchin said. “If all that can be done, we have enhanced the quality of life in West Virginia.
“I’m not going to sit back as governor of this state and let someone else dictate what we should be able to control within our state and do best for our citizens.”
Manchin said coal has helped “make the U.S. what it is today.”
“Every citizen, 300 million people, have benefitted from what the state of West Virginia has done,” Manchin said. “We produce energy that is affordable and domestically produced. We have fought wars and won. We have built an industrial might like no other. And, basically, the middle class has prospered from what West Virginia has done. They can all sit and cast stones how they don’t like the use or mining of coal. The bottom line is we are who we are because of coal.
“We’re going to continue to need coal for the next 30-plus years. If those are the facts you’re dealing with and we want to make sure we’re mining coal in the most responsible way, I want to make sure that story gets out. And that’s what’s not being heard. I’ll go anywhere in this country and defend who we are and what we do and our ability to do it better. But, right now, our message is falling on deaf ears. “
Manchin said coal is essential to everyone in southern West Virginia.
“All over southern West Virginia, coal is the lifeblood,” Manchin said. “We’re not asking for subsidies or to do something that’s against the law. We’re asking to take a reasonably, rational, realistic approach for the fuel that we need, that is domestically produced and that 50 percent of this nation depends upon. Most every industrial state depends on (West Virginia coal) for a competitive price for energy so they can make their products. To eliminate it or make it so costly, it just creates a hardship on everyone’s life and to stand back and let it happen is wrong and we’re not going to let it happen.”
Manchin said he’s been assured he will have a meeting with President Barack Obama on the issue of coal mining.
“I do, still, have all the confidence in our congressional leadership. They are fighting for us, making sure people do understand about coal,” Manchin said. “I know that I’m going to make sure I do everything in my power and I know they will, too.”
Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin stopped by the meeting to hear Manchin speak. Tomblin spoke at the evening session.
“I’m talking about the economy, the mining permits and those kinds of things,” Tomblin said.
Nearly 40 state business leaders attended the meeting, held at the Earl Ray Tomblin Convention Center in Chief Logan State Park.
Manchin talked about the businesses that have moved into West Virginia over the last couple of years, including Daimler Electric, Hino Motors, and American Clean Energy, which is planning to build a wood-fired power plant at the James H. “Buck” Harless Wood Products Industrial Park on the Mingo County side of Holden Mountain.
“I think the opportunities are very bright for us,” Manchin said.
The governor also spoke on health care reform and public employees’ insurance.
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