POWER funding partnerships represent important step for federal assistance for economic transition efforts in Central Appalachia

Efforts toward a just transition to a more sustainable economy in eastern Kentucky could get a real boost from Friday morning’s announcement by Gov. Steve Beshear and the Obama administration, according to folks involved in those efforts in eastern Kentucky.

“This announcement is encouraging to our efforts to rebuild our economy,” said Carl Shoupe, a Harlan County retired coal miner and member of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth’s board. “We have been working hard to improve our economy here in eastern Kentucky, and this program is a small step in the right direction toward helping us build our economic transition.”

The governor, Jerry Abramson (Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House) and other federal officials announced that the President’s POWER Initiative will award $28-$38 million in planning and implementation grants partnerships anchored in communities impacted by the decline in coal use. These grants will help communities organize themselves to respond on behalf of affected workers and businesses, develop comprehensive strategic plans that chart their economic future, and execute coordinated economic and workforce development activities based on their strategic plans.

These activities can seek to: (1) diversify economies; (2) create jobs in new or existing industries; (3) attract new sources of job-creating investment; (4) and provide a range of workforce services and skills training, including work-based learning opportunities, resulting in industry-recognized credentials for high-quality, in-demand jobs.

“I can imagine how these funds could be used here in my coal camp community of Benham where we have been working on a energy efficiency project that is ‘shovel ready’ – making people's homes tighter to save money on electricity bills,” Shoupe added. “That money can stay in our region and create good work for local folks in the process.”

“It’s great that the Obama Administration is taking this initiative, and if we can get Congress involved to release Abandoned Mine Lands funds then we could see a real boost to economic activity in the region,” said KFTC member Eric Dixon from Letcher County. “Hal Rogers and Mitch McConnell should use their considerable influence to help the region instead of standing on the sidelines.”

In February, the president said he would ask Congress to accelerate the release of $1 billion over the next five years from the Abandoned Mine Lands Fund to be used for mine reclamation projects that also promote economic revitalization.

The Obama administration also is asking Congress to boost to $55 million the money in next year’s budget for expanding this program.

Members of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC) have been working for the past few years to broaden and deepen the conversation around Appalachian transition and building a strong, diverse, local economy in the mountains. The organization believes it’s essential that the transition to a new economy is a just transition – one that celebrates the culture and invests in communities and workers that depended on the old economy.

KFTC believes that a just transition is possible and that such a transition must:

• improve the quality of life for people and communities affected by economic disruption, environmental damage and inequality
• foster inclusion, participation and collaboration
• generate good, stable, meaningful jobs and broad access to opportunities and benefits
• promote innovation, self-reliance, and broadly held local wealth
• protect and restore public health and our environment
• respect the past while also strengthening communities and culture
• consider the effects of decisions on future generations

While the president’s latest initiative and his broader POWER+ proposal would not provide all the solutions for a just transition, it would provide a needed boost for the next economy.

Dixon hopes the public will have ample opportunity to bring these principles into conversations about the future of the region.

“With POWER funds flowing into Kentucky this year, I expect discussion around how to implement this and the proposed POWER+ funds will be a main topic of discussion at the SOAR summit in May,” he said. “No other funding source presents such potential to change the economic landscape in the region as the POWER+ plan, and fostering a grassroots implementation of these funds could be SOAR's crowning achievement.”

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