FRANKFORT, Ky. — Last week President Donald Trump signed several executive orders that will impact a signature Kentucky industry—coal. Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, spoke to support the measures Monday.
“This is a step in the right direction in making us, the United States and the state of Kentucky and coal producing states really competitive to be at the next level of where our economy will go,” Stivers told reporters at the state capitol Monday after being invited to Washington to watch the executive order signing.
Trump’s orders will allow for some older coal power plants to stay in operation, cut regulations, and open up federally owned land to mining.
Stivers thinks Kentucky will benefit from these actions, particularly in Appalachia where the coal industry has deep roots.
“So it won’t just be miners going back to work, it’ll be all the peripheral jobs that will come back that you’ll see that used to be there,” Stivers said.
State Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, is one of two Democrats who represent eastern Kentucky in the state legislature. Webb, an attorney and former coal worker, laid out her thoughts on the orders.
“It’s a multilayered, multifaceted benefit and then also like I said has some concerns with me primarily as to federal lands and relaxation of environmental standards because there is a way, a responsible way to mine coal, but it’s also important to protect the area in which we live,” Webb said.
Webb believes the long-term effects of the executive orders could mean more coal jobs, but doesn’t think it will happen immediately. She also hopes more attention on the industry will translate into lower energy costs for eastern Kentucky.
“We are grappling, struggling with how people in Appalachia are going to pay their power bills. I mean we have severe problems with energy costs right now in light of economic downturn in the industry,” Webb said. “I think certainly we can give a better quality of life if we revisit that energy source, domestic energy source, yes.”
State data shows coal production has been in decline since the early 1990s. Today the industry employs roughly 4,000 people in Kentucky, a fraction of the industry’s size 30 years ago.
Stivers said he believes the benefits of working in coal will attract people who’ve not previously worked in the industry.
“I think when you see the skills and the trades that, they will obtain and knowing that there is stability in the industry, hopefully for ten, 15 and 20 years, and that was one of the things the president made very clear he wants to solve that problem,” Stivers said. “I think when people see that as a career path, they’ll take it.”
The executive orders will also redirect previously allocated federal dollars from renewable energy generation.
However, not all are celebrating this news. The Sierra Club, a nationwide environmental organization, criticized the president’s actions.
Elisa Owen, the organization’s Kentucky Senior Beyond Coal Campaign Organizer said in a statement, “Again and again politicians fly through coal country with false promises about revitalizing industry, when what they mean is milking the last bit of profits out of Appalachia for the benefit of executives and shareholders. Standards that keep our air, water and working conditions safe: gutted. Cheaper alternatives to producing electricity: boxed out of the market. Unions to defend good paying jobs: undermined at every turn. ‘Reviving coal’ has always been about coal executives, not coal country.” of profits out of Appalachia for the benefit of executives and shareholders.“
Rep. Andy Barr, R-Kentucky, was in attendee for the executive order signing as well. In a social media post, Barr called this “a great day for Kentucky coal jobs, energy independence and our future.”
