VEDP says it's filling the big hole created by lost coal jobs

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) insists it's working hard to fill the economic void created by rapidly declining coal mining jobs in Southwest Virginia."We're on it. ... We have been at it for many, many years looking at doing our part to diversify (the Southwest Virginia economy), VEDP President and CEO Martin Briley said in a phone interview.A recently released study from Bristol, Tenn.-based King University noted a loss of 1,400 coal jobs in Southwest Virginia since 2012, bringing the 2014 overall total to around 3,500 coal-supported positions.In contrast, the King study said there were around 12,000 coal mining jobs in the region just 25 years ago.The loss of those 1,400 coal mining jobs, the study pointed out, had a ripple effect in other sectors causing a total loss of 3,240 jobs in the region, with a negative salary impact of around $215 million.But, in the last five years, Briley said VEDP and its partners have closed 53 deals creating $224 million in investment, and 3,150 jobs in Southwest Virginia. More than 40 of those deals were expansions of existing business, Briley added.Still, Briley points to the negative outside pressures on coal from cheaper natural gas and tightening federal regulations on emissions from coal-fired power plants.Buchanan County, one of those Southwest Virginia coalfield counties, reported an 8.4 percent unemployment rate last December compared to the 4.5 percent statewide average, according to VEDP.As for coal's future in the region, Briley noted: "We're listening to the economists. We don't see a light at the end of the tunnel in the near term ... (economic) diversification is something we've been approaching for a long time."Coal is a touchy subject for the administration of Democrat Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who was quoted by The Washington Post in 2013 as supporting tougher Environmental Protection Agency rules on coal-fired carbon emissions.But McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman, also has expressed support for carbon capture and sequestration technology to help the coal industry.Besides coal's impact in Southwest Virginia, a separate Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) report released only days ago said the Appalachian region is becoming less reliant on the "resource extractive and goods producing sectors" and more dependent on the service sector for employment."There has been a steady outmigration of adults between the ages of 18 and 35 from the region for access to jobs and other opportunities," the ARC report also noted.The King study showed the creation of 1.51 jobs in "machinery manufacturing" will offset the economic impact of losing one coal mining job.But the study also noted creating 5.71 jobs in "food services and drinking places" would offset the loss of a coal mining job.Manufacturing, Briley suggested, is an ideal economic development target."It is beginning to increase again," Briley said of the manufacturing sector's resurgence. "We're seeing an uptick of international manufacturers wanting to come to the United States and indeed to Virginia."Briley said business prospects in the last five years have made 532 visits to the region. VEDP, he continued, made 369 recommendations to new firms to look at the region, plus 107 recommendations to existing companies.VEDP is currently working on 25 active new projects and working with 12 existing business in the region, while another 20 so-called "suspects" are also considering the area.As an example of VEDP's work, Briley pointed to a recent announcement by England-based NuLife Glass to invest $5.9 million and create 46 jobs to establish its first Virginia operation in the city of Bristol. The company provides a recycling service for all types of cathode ray tube glass.Last December, McAuliffe cut the ribbon on Mayville Engineering Co.'s $10 million investment to expand its Virginia operations in the former Merillat plant in Atkins, Va., in Smyth County, to create 160 new jobs. The company's processes include complete metal fabrication, tube forming and coatings.While drumming up business prospects, Briley also stressed Virginia's community college system is adapting to match the workforce needs of employers."We always have to be vigilant understanding what the needs are of corporations and the needs of our population," said Briley. "It's a never-ending effort to put the two together with specific sustainable curriculum. ... We need to deploy it equally everywhere."Virginia Delegate Israel O'Quinn, R-Bristol, acknowledged replacing lost coal jobs has been one of the Southwest Virginia legislative delegation's highest priorities."The coalfield counties have also been courageous in trying to land new employment opportunities in their area," O'Quinn said in an email. "I also believe the new Centers of Excellence will be a huge step towards increasing employment opportunities in the coalfields. We will soon have a workforce that's trained for advanced manufacturing and that opens up a whole new realm of prospective jobs."That being said, our entire delegation would like to see more leads from VEDP. The governor is apparently meeting with prospective businesses at a rapid rate, yet we aren't seeing the leads materialize in far (Southwest Virginia). We work well with the VEDP staff, we just need more opportunities to get prospective businesses into the coalfield region. If they come, they will see that we have people with an unparalleled work ethic situated in one of the most beautiful parts of the United States."Virginia Delegate Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, did not respond to a request for comment for this story. He chairs the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, which provides payments to tobacco farmers as compensation for the adverse economic effects resulting from lost tobacco production opportunities. The commission also works with economic development interests in Virginia.For more about VEDP, go to www.yesvirginia.org.