Comment & Debate
Chris Hamilton of the West Virginia Coal Association: “Is it feasible to expect Toyota or Ford to build an auto plant on top of every mountain in southern West Virginia? Can we put an industrial park on each one and expect it to thrive? Of course not. No one is suggesting that.” According to a Friends of Coal article, “he said he would suggest that the sites be developed into things like recreational facilities such as the YMCA Soccer Complex in Beckley or in Morgantown at Mylan Park. He said homes and communities could be built outside floodplains to provide safe, modern housing, schools and hospitals, shopping centers, airports and industrial parks.”[1]