GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) - A county that has both thrived and struggled due to its heavy reliance on the coal industry is stepping up its efforts to bring more diversity to its economy.
Moffat County is one of seven counties and regions that have been selected to attend the National Association of Counties’ first Coal-Reliant Communities Innovation Challenge workshop in late April.
“We still believe in our coal. We still support our coal. We know in this area coal still has a future,” Moffat County Commissioner Frank Moe said. “. But we know it’s prudent to diversify our economy, too.”
The National Association of Counties program is designed to help counties and regions that have experienced economic challenges related to the coal industry. The U.S. Economic Development Administration and the National Association of Development Organizations Research Foundation are also involved with the program.
“We are pleased to announce this groundbreaking effort specifically designed to help communities struggling with coal-related economic challenges,” Matthew Chase, executive director of the National Association of Counties, said in a news release. “This initiative will help foster economic conditions for growth and provide communities with tools to achieve their potential.”
Areas participated in a competitive process to be selected for the three-day workshop, which will be held in Kentucky. The other selected areas are in Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia.
Moffat County and the surrounding area are home to several coal mines and coal-fired powered plants that provide high-paying jobs and significant tax revenues. Moffat commissioners blame a war on coal in Colorado and nationally for contributing to the industry’s slowdown and the county’s current economic problems. These include state legislation in 2010 aimed at converting some Xcel Energy power plant generation from coal to cleaner-burning fuels such as natural gas, and a 2013 measure requiring rural energy cooperatives to obtain 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020.
In the county, there’s also significant opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed clean power plan. In a recent letter to Gov. John Hickenlooper urging Colorado to join states suing the EPA over the plan, county commissioners said the war on coal already has contributed to a decline of almost 8 percent in the county’s population from 2010-13, and in a quarter of homeowners in the county having mortgages higher than their homes are now worth.
Moe has experienced the region’s slowdown firsthand as owner, with his wife, Kerry, of the Best Western Plus Deer Park Inn & Suites in Craig. In 2012, they successfully urged Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign organizers to schedule a stop in Craig, where Romney spoke in support of the coal industry and attacked President Obama’s energy policies.
Moe said coal will continue to be a major employer in the area and needs to be protected. But he said diversification needs to occur to shelter the economy from the coal industry’s ups and downs, which can result from things such as changes in political administrations. And he hopes that diversification can lead to a recovery in areas such as the region’s real estate market.
He said Craig and Moffat County have an economic development plan, but it hasn’t entirely been embraced, funded or staffed. He hopes the coming workshop will help rally the community and get it moving in one direction in proceeding with a plan.
“We all need to work together as a team to help each other out,” he said.
A team has been assembled from Moffat County to attend the workshop. It includes Moe; Jay Oxley, Craig/Moffat Economic Development Partnership Board chair; John Rossfeld, chief executive officer of the Memorial Hospital in Craig; Russell George, president of Colorado Northwestern Community College; Brent Curtice, superintendent of the Moffat County School District; and the winner of the upcoming Craig mayoral race between City Council members Don Jones and Ray Beck.
Moe said those involved need to look at everything from broadband infrastructure improvements to enhancing tourism in a region with outstanding natural beauty.
Moffat County isn’t alone in western Colorado in working to lessen its economic dependence on the coal industry. Following the closure of Oxbow’s Elk Creek Mine in Somerset after a mine fire, the Region 10 League for Economic Assistance and Planning in Montrose, along with Delta and Gunnison counties, last year received a $245,000 federal grant to develop an economic recovery plan. Region 10’s executive director, Michelle Haynes, said local economic development proponents also will apply to attend another National Association of Counties economic diversification workshop for coal-reliant areas, scheduled to be held later this year in Colorado.
“It certainly doesn’t indicate that we feel like there should be less coal mining,” Haynes said.
She said while the diversification efforts Region 10 is pursuing sometimes are characterized by others as an effort to move away from coal, they’re actually just an effort to create job diversity to serve as a buffer when coal activity declines.
She also acknowledged the difficulty of trying to replace high-paying coal jobs that can be obtained without a college degree.
“It’s just not possible” to backfill lost coal jobs that can pay more than $80,000 a year, she said. But those involved in diversification efforts hope to at least find jobs that pay more than median local wages, and provide enough of a living wage that families who want to stay in the area can continue to do so, and perhaps other families can be attracted to the region.
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Information from: The Daily Sentinel, https://www.gjsentinel.com
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