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POLITICS CAN IMPACT COAL MINING
Coal Bin by Harold Hough April/May 2008
I know a lot of mining industry executives who
believe that the next president won’t make any difference to the mining
industry. They believe that the best strategy is to keep a low profile and act
as “Green” as possible.
However, the fact is politics do make a
difference. Many politicians ignore the benefits of mining and focus on the “enemies
of the earth,” template. It not only helps garner support from environmental
groups, it lends itself to ten second sound bites that impress uninformed
voters. And, if played properly, can help a politician win the support of a big
political contributor. If you don’t believe that, consider the Grand
Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which came into existence through an
executive order signed by President Clinton. This order took 1.7 million acres
of land in southwest Utah out of circulation and was so egregious that people
living in the area wore black armbands to protest the action. It was so
politically unpopular in Utah that the president announced his executive order
in Arizona – not Utah. That’s because not one Utah leader was willing to
side with Clinton and the president wanted to avoid an embarrassing photo op.
WHAT HAPPENED?
So, what was the story behind what Senator
Orrin Hatch called, “The mother of all land grabs?” It was a reserve of low
ash, low sulfur coal that could meet EPA standards with additional technology so
large that is called the, “Saudi Arabia of coal.”
The Grand Staircase – Escalante National
Monument is home to up to 62 billion tons of low sulfur coal worth $1.2
trillion. It is easily mined with open pit methods and can be transported by
rail.
So, when this vast coal reserve was made
unavailable to coal mining, who benefited? As the political saying goes, “follow
the money.”
The second largest deposit of this type of
clean coal is found on the Indonesian island of Kalimantan. And, who owns the
mine – the Lippo Group and the Riady family.
If the names sound familiar, they should. The
Riadys paid a multi million fine for funneling more than $1 million in illegal
political contributions to several 1992 political campaigns, including that of
Bill Clinton. So, what Clinton called a, “National treasure,” that shouldn’t
be mined, was a payoff for a major political contribution that Investors
Business Daily called, “The Clinton’s Coal-Gate.”.
Ironically, this executive order also impacts
Utah’s children. When Utah became a state in 1896, about 220,000 acres were
set aside for development and a trust fund was created to collect and hold all
the money earned for the benefit of Utah schools. Since this coal land will not
be developed, not only will America lose access to a major low sulfur coal
reserve, Utah schools are expected to lose as much as $1 billion over the next
50 years.
POLITICS DO COUNT
As we look towards a presidential campaign
season, we in the coal mining industry must realize that our industry is held
hostage to politics. It’s not enough to mine coal safely. It’s not enough to
mine in an environmentally friendly way. It’s not enough to pay taxes.
Politicians who know they can hamper the industry for political gain are using
mining as a poker chip.
There is only one answer. The industry can’t
sit back and hope to make a profit by following the rules. It has to articulate
its views and support politicians who see the benefits of mining. If not, we can
expect to remain the punching bag of politicians for the foreseeable future.
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