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Understanding

Shift in Approach from EPA Leader

Credit federal Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan with one thing: He seems to better understand how to interact with our state than many of his predecessors.

Rather than blurting out “We’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business,” Regan — ahead of a visit to McDowell County — said: “It’s a community, like many energy communities throughout the United States, that once powered our nation, helped cement American competitiveness, now being one of the poorest counties in the country, not only just in that state. As we continue to transition … toward new, more competitive technologies and away from older technologies, especially those that rely on coal, we know that those communities will be hit the hardest. It’s important that we pay attention to these communities to ensure no one is left behind.”

What a difference.

Regan’s visit was to Keystone, where residents had been boiling their water for a decade, after the coal company that had built the original system left. Those residents have clean water now, after establishment of the McDowell Public Service District.

It’s the kind of thing not a lot of people talked about as the war on coal ramped up. But as infuriating as some of his agency’s policies can be, it is encouraging to hear Regan speak in a way that indicates he understands there are humans suffering through this transition.

“We’ve been in McDowell to collect information and engage with the communities on the ground to hear firsthand from them what they believe the solutions are to the many issues that have plagued communities for decades,” he said. “We know that communities know their issues the best.”

Indeed they do. What a wonderful thing it would be if all federal agencies understood that and acted accordingly.

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