Op-ed: Biden plan to revitalize coal communities 'welcome news,' may bring much-needed funding and policy support

Peter Hille

President Biden, in late January, signed an executive order aimed at help revitalize the economies of coal-impacted communities. The order came after economic-development groups in coal states, and labor leaders and environmental organizations all over the country, signed an open letter calling for the move.

The Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plan Communities, created by the order, brings together Cabinet-level leadership from different departments and will issue a report within 60 days on the initial steps of the initiative. 

The order is welcome news, writes Peter Hille in a recent op-ed. Hille is president of the Mountain Association, an Eastern Kentucky economic development nonprofit and one of the organizations that co-signed the call for a working group. 

"Community leaders from Appalachia to Wyoming to the Navajo Nation, where people once relied on the coal industry, have been developing and implementing promising solutions to create inclusive, equitable and sustainable economic growth for years. But these leaders have largely lacked supportive public policy and investment at the necessary scale to accelerate this work," Hille writes. "The Mountain Association joined with partners across the nation to develop a National Economic Transition platform, reflecting the interests of labor, environmental organizations, grass roots groups, economic developers and Native American communities. The NET platform identifies seven pillars, key elements to guide policy makers and leaders in building new and more resilient economies in these places, and ensuring that the new economy works for everyone." Click here to read more about the NET platform.