Building a grassroots movement behind coal
By Bryan Brown, FACES of Coal
The Federation for American Coal, Energy & Security – or FACES of Coal Campaign – was established to educate Appalachian residents about the benefits the coal mining industry provides to them, their families, their communities, their state and the nation as a whole. Through this education process, the campaign hoped to build support for the Appalachian coal mining industry that could be converted into action to protect against unfair policy by the current administration and Congress when necessary.
It’s no secret that coal is currently unpopular in Washington, DC. Since President Obama has taken office, the Appalachian mining industry, in particular, has seen permit approvals – and the jobs and tax dollars that support local communities – come to a virtual halt. More than 200 permits sit dormant, neither approved nor rejected, but simply waiting in a regulatory limbo.
In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has instituted new and unattainable water quality standards that only apply to the mining industry and only in six Appalachian states. These standards call for stream waters adjacent to mining sites to be cleaner than the tap water found in most cities. In January 2011, the EPA revoked one of the most studied mining permits in the history of coal mining; one that had been previously approved. This is the first time in the history of the EPA that any such action has been taken. Actions such as these will be the direct cause of job loss and economic instability for many Appalachian communities.
More recently, the Associated Press obtained a copy of an internal U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation & Enforcement (OSM) document that recognizes the OSM’s proposed new Buffer Zone regulations would eliminate thousands of mining jobs across the U.S. and, most directly, in Appalachia.
FACES was created to build a multistate grassroots and public relations effort that would educate the public and policy leaders on the benefits provided by mining. In addition, and more importantly, the campaign strives to unify coal’s supporters and activate that support on the issues when needed.
The FACES campaign was launched in Charleston, West Virginia, on Aug. 19, 2009, and was quickly followed by similar efforts in Kentucky and Virginia.
The coal industry has its traditional allies in Appalachia. Those are the residents, community leaders and policy officials that have a familiarity bred by proximity to the industry. While the FACES campaign sought to unify that support, the primary objective of the effort is to educate those individuals and groups that exist in Appalachia but are not familiar with the benefits the industry offers. This would include those that live outside of traditional mining areas or those who don’t have any direct relationship with the industry.
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