TESTIMONY OF MIKE WHITT
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
MINGO COUNTY REDEVELOPMENT
AUTHORITY
OF WILLIAMSON, WEST VIRGINIA
Presented to:
COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND
PUBLIC WORKS
Subcommittee on Clean Air, Wetlands,
and Climate Change
Hearing on
Thursday, June 6, 2002
Chairman Lieberman, Ranking Member Voinovich,
and members of the subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to testify. I
commend you for your willingness to hear from the Mingo County Redevelopment
Authority.
With mining, Mingo County is diversifying the
economy. We are creating good paying
jobs with benefits for our citizens, and the opportunities for economic
development are better than they have been in a long, long time.
Our Mission…“The Mingo County Redevelopment
Authority is a public organization, established to promote and encourage the
economic and civic welfare of Mingo County, and for the development, attraction
and retention of business, industries, and commerce within the county, thus
creating employment opportunities and increasing the area's tax base.”
Because of mining and
development sites created by mining, we have been able to create good jobs in
the industries of wood, aquaculture, agriculture and recreation. The Mingo County Board of Education has
established a Horticultural
Curriculum through the use of our agriculture demonstration project. By growing excellent Arctic Char from mine
water, we have created a new industry in southern West Virginia. We anticipate the county school system will
add an Aquaculture Curriculum as a result of our fish hatchery, grow-out
facilities and proposed fish processing facility. Without mining, these new jobs and economic opportunities would
never have been possible in southern West Virginia!
Our challenge is to achieve our mission to
create new jobs, improve the quality of life for our citizens, and increase our
tax base throughout the next generation for the future of our children and
grandchildren. We cannot meet this
challenge unless reclaimed mine sites are provided to us for the purpose of
creating economic development.
Diversifying the Mingo County economy through
support of the mining industry is an important part of our future. Realizing this,
the Mingo County Redevelopment Authority brought together a diverse group of
citizens to develop the Mingo County Land Use Master Plan (Plan). The Plan was presented to the citizens of
Mingo County at a public hearing, where public suggestions were incorporated
into the Plan. The Plan has been
approved by the Mingo County Commission.
For the first time in history, Mingo County has a Plan that provides a
road map to achieve economic development opportunities. Any coal company who volunteers up front and
before mining commences to use our Plan will be provided with our proposed post
mine land use for the property. After
mining, the property will be 1) returned in a manner consistent to our Plan; 2)
adequately supplied with infrastructure; and 3) used for the economic
development purposes as stated in the post mine land use. Prior to our Plan, Mingo County lost many
economic development opportunities because most of the property mined was put
back to its Approximate Original Contour (AOC), leaving no land suitable for
economic development. Our Plan affords
opportunities to change that.
Through the leadership of the Mingo County
Redevelopment Authority, we have developed an excellent partnership with the
private and public sectors. Mike Callaghan, Director of DEP, and Governor Bob
Wise have been very instrumental in our efforts to encourage post mine land use
development sites for proposed and ongoing surface mine activities. We have
listened to Mingo Countians. The Land
Use Master Plan is a grass root Plan of what we need to stop the downward
economic spiral that we have been faced with.
There is one thing that EVERYONE agrees on, and it is the fact that
Mingo County must diversify.
We must stop the cycle of schools being
closed, good teachers leaving and major industry jobs vanishing. Our county population has dropped from
37,000 in 1980 to 28,000 in 2000. One
of our schools has 95% of our kids who qualify for the free lunch program…as a
best-case scenario; we have nearly half our kids on the free lunch program at
Williamson High School, which is located within our county seat.
Before 1989 when the Mingo County
Redevelopment Authority was formed, local economic development agencies did not
exist in any of the southern West Virginia counties. Since our establishment, we have worked hard to form a team
relationship between our private and public sectors, and with the dedication of
our board of directors we have achieved an excellent display of teamwork within
our county. Everyone has come together
to help save our county from economic devastation. We cannot wait to diversify our economy after the coal is
depleted…we must diversify in conjunction with the ongoing and future mining
activities, and our efforts must continue.
Here are some of the projects that the Mingo
County Redevelopment Authority has accomplished by utilizing opportunities
created by the mining industry…
Ø
The Mingo
County Wood Products Industrial Park (Exhibit A)
o
Located on a
reclaimed surface mine site
$28 million total project cost
Includes a centralized lumber storage area, lumber processing facility, lumber pre-drier, a battery of dry kilns, boiler and silo. The first shell building (82,000 sq. ft.) houses a hardwood flooring manufacturing facility.
o
o
Presently 90 employees
o
100 new jobs by
the end of 2002 (estimate)
Ø
The Mingo
County Agriculture Demonstration Project (Exhibit B)
o
Located on a
reclaimed surface mine site
o
Enabled the
Mingo County Board of Education to provide a Horticultural Curriculum
o
Operated and maintained by the students through the new
horticultural program
Ø
The Fish
Hatchery (Exhibit C)
o
Utilizing
underground mine water to hatch and raise Arctic Char fingerlings
o
Created a new industry in southern West Virginia
o
Will provide for an Aquaculture Curriculum to be
available to the students through the Mingo County School system
Ø
The Grow-out
Facility for Arctic Char (Exhibit C)
o
Utilizing
underground mine water to grow Arctic Char fingerlings to market size (2lbs)
o
$3.5 million
private investment
o
Pro-fish is the
distributor of Arctic Char into the Washington, DC area.
Ø
Twisted Gun
Golf Course (Exhibit D)
o
The coal
industry has already constructed an 18-hole golf course, with a breathtaking
view of the natural surroundings. This
project will enhance the recreational opportunities in Mingo County.
Here are some of our potential projects that,
in conjunction with ongoing mining, will help diversify and enhance the quality
of life for Mingo County citizens…
Ø
King Coal
Highway / I 73-74 (Exhibit E)
o
In
cooperation with the Department of Highways and the Department of Environmental
Protection, the coal industry plans to construct (to rough grade) 5 miles of
the new King Coal Highway/ I 73-74, with 2 connectors…saving the taxpayers an
estimated $90 million dollars
Ø
Airport (Exhibit
F)
o
In cooperation
with the Mingo County Airport Authority, the coal industry will construct (to
rough grade) an area to provide the county with an airport runway of 6,000 –
10,000 feet, with sufficient acreage for ancillary future development… saving
the taxpayers approximately $30 million dollars.
Ø
Fish Processing
Plant
o
The coal
industry has provided site preparation as an in-kind contribution toward the
construction of a fish processing facility, which will handle all the fish that
is hatched and raised in southern West Virginia
As you can see, the mining industry and our
efforts to diversify the economy in southern West Virginia are connected in a
substantial manner. However, to
continue to advance our plans…
Ø
The mining
industry must continue…
Ø
Our partnership
with the private/public sectors must continue…
Ø
Post mining
land use creating developable property for future jobs must continue…
Ø
Our
diversification efforts must continue…
I am not a lawyer and I am not a chemist. I’m just a local citizen who loves my county
and its citizens. We care about whether
our kids and grandkids will be able to work and provide for their families in
Mingo County. We want a county that
will allow people who have been forced to move away to come back home. We care about all these issues. We care about our schools and the
opportunities provided to our kids.
We’re working hard to make southern West Virginia economically
viable.
We have gone to great strides to achieve a
better economy in Mingo County. We want
to continue, and we will if the mining continues. The mining is necessary, and the valley fills are needed for the
continuation of surface, contour, and underground mining.
Again, without
diversification during the mining of coal, there will be no opportunity for
diversification after coal mining. We
have found a solution to stop our downward plunge and it’s not just a “fleeting
vision”…it’s reality! It’s attainable! It works! And we want it to continue.
Now you have a better
understanding of our situation and can see the importance of diversification
during the mining process in southern West Virginia. If there’s anything I can do to help ensure that our progress is
not hindered, please feel free to contact me.
Better yet, I would like to invite each of you to come to Mingo
County. I’ll personally take you around
our county and show you first hand what progressive steps are being taken by
Mingo County.
Some people see things as they are and ask why…But I
dream of things that never were and ask why not.
John Kennedy
Thank you very much.
Mike Whitt
