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27.6 million tons, the lowest level of coal production in Ohio since 1941, the year the United States entered World War II. This drop in production is due in part to the increasing regulation and enforcement of surface-mine activity, health and safety issues, increased transportation costs, and the escalating cost of union contracts, but primarily to the impact of the Federal Clean Air Act of 1970, which placed stringent controls on the emissions, particularly SO2 emissions, from burned coal. Late in 1990, the Clean Air Act was amended to give coal-fired power plants of greater than 100-megawatt generating capacity a deadline of 1995 to comply with strict emission standards. As a result of this legislation there is concern that the utility rates of many Ohioans may increase substantially because of the expense of retro-fitting of aging power plants with expensive sulfur emission-control systems such as scrubbers, or the high cost of importing low-sulfur coal from outside Ohio. Another expensive option for utilities is to fuel switch from coal to petroleum or natural gas. A concern shared by many is that the amended Clean Air Act will cause a continued decline in Ohio's production of coal.
From its pioneer beginnings, Ohio's coal industry has evolved from a stage where coal was mined and shipped by hand for domestic and early industrial consumption to a highly regulated, mechanized, and automated industry employing thousands of people and providing a much-valued fuel to help meet Ohio's energy needs. The total cumulative coal production in Ohio by underground, surface, and auger mining methods from 1800 to 1993 is 3,400,071,772 tons. The quantity of recoverable coal reserves remaining in the ground in Ohio is estimated at 11.8 billion tons.
Unquestionably, Ohio's industrial growth, variety of commerce, and economic prosperity are a result of the development of her natural resources, especially coal. Coal has supplied the fuel for a myriad of purposes. The location and development of many of Ohio's eastern and southeastern cities and towns are a result of coal mining. Modern conveniences, such as air conditioners, stereo equipment, TV's, VCR's, and desktop computers, are operated by electricity, nearly all of which in Ohio is generated by coal-fired power plants.
Few would disagree that Ohio's coal industry has contributed significantly to our present high standard of living. But what of the future? What is in store for Ohio's coal mining industry? There are those who say that the heyday of coal mining in Ohio has passed and the coal industry as a whole is on the wane. These doom-sayers cite as evidence for a dying industry: lost coal contracts, several large underground mines recently idled or abandoned, companies reorganized or reduced into smaller operations, and the moving of some major coal operators from Ohio to other states. The effect of such corporate actions unfortunately has resulted in fewer coal-mining jobs, lost tax revenues to communities which grew around and became dependent on coal income, and a decrease or elimination of business by associated industries that supplied goods and services to Ohio's coal mines. However, there are some who are optimistic about the future in spite of the continuing decline in Ohio's coal production. These optimistic individuals are hopeful that the industry will be saved by one or more of the promising clean-coal technologies currently being developed. Whatever the future holds for Ohio coal, all Ohioans are hopeful that electricity will remain affordable and be produced in an environmentally sound manner.
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