Bill Rainey looks back at his long career in industry
MORGANTOWN — Longtime West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney, of Morgantown, will retire effective Jan. 1.
He took time to look back on his long career with The Dominion Post.
“The most rewarding things are the wonderful people that have helped me and mentored me and been patient with me and led me through so many things,” he said. “I know I didn’t do it on my own, not by any stretch of the imagination.”
The same held true in the National Guard, he said, where he retired in 2008 with the rank of colonel.
“People have been so good to me. I’ve been very blessed from that standpoint.”
Raney started in the coal industry in 1970 as a surface mine inspector in the state Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Reclamation. He was later promoted to assistant chief, according to his bio.
In 1977, he joined the West Virginia Mining & Reclamation Association as vice president. He was named president of the West Virginia Coal Association in 1992. In 2000, the two organizations merged, and Raney retained his role as president of the combined organization.
In the Guard, he held several command positions, including commander of the 1092d Combat Engineer Battalion and commander of the 111th Engineer Group. Before retiring at age 60 — the Guard’s mandatory retirement age — he served as a special assistant to the adjutant general. He served as president of the West Virginia National Guard Association and continues to serve as chairman of the West Virginia National Guard Foundation.
“It was a wonderful career,” Raney said. “I had all kinds of opportunities there. I had such great soldiers. They were just wonderful.”
Raney reflected on the ever-evolving coal industry. “We’ve been through so many highs and so many lows.”
Some years, they produced 150 million to 160 million tons. Back in the 1970s there were low production years when union contracts came due, with the accompanying strikes and uncertainty about when a contract would be signed.
The last 40 years saw a resurgence of non-union operations, he said, and now it’s predominantly non-union.
Meanwhile, science and technology has progressed. “It’s just remarkable. … It’s just become so sophisticated.”
Some Western surface mines, where the ground is flatter and more forgiving, are highly robotic, he said. But he doesn’t think underground mining will ever become robotic.
“I don’t think we’ll ever see robotics replace coal miners,” he said. “We’ve got the best coal miners in the world. They’re an unbelievable crew of craftsmen. … Hopefully we’ll continue to have coal for a long, long time.”
The Obama years
Raney talked about the challenges of the Obama years. “That was an onslaught of negative policies regarding coal mining and the use of coal.”
It began to take its toll on the publicly traded utilities that were concerned about the future under that policy movement. The utilities closed coal-fired, base-load plants “just because they weren’t sure what the next level of policies may be.”
The day of Obama’s inauguration marked the first protest on a mountaintop operation, he said. “We spent the next eight years in the courtroom or trying to negotiate policy that wasn’t impossible to comply with.
“The only thing we ask,” he said, “is give us an opportunity to sit down at the table and talk about regulations. Nobody wants a bad environment. They don’t want bad water, don’t want bad air. Everybody wants all of those things good and we’re going to do everything we can to preserve it, but you’ve got to give us a standard that we can achieve and don’t set one that is unachievable from an economic standpoint.”
The Obama-era policies and regulations were not impossible, he said, “but virtually impractical and economically impossible. All that uncertainty just created turmoil.”
The industry is still feeling the effects, he said. Conventional financing is difficult to secure as banks and investment houses are leaning green now, backing away from coal and natural gas.
“I’m just hopeful this coming eight years is not going to be a mirror image of that.” Raney said he believes President-elect Biden has a reasonable approach to that and a great concern for the mine workers. “Historically, I think it’s been a genuine concern.”
The problem may be if he puts what Raney termed “one-mission zealots” in charge of the agencies. That could continue the uncertainty. “I’m hopeful that isn’t going to happen and they allow practical regulation to take effect so you can better protect the environment and better protect the worker from a safety standpoint.”
From his many years at the state Capitol, he knows there’s always middle ground to work on that could preserve a person’s job. The job might change a bit, but still allow them to come to work to support their family and community.
He spoke briefly about his relationship with the United Mine Workers of America and UMWA President Cecil Roberts. He would tell Roberts, he said, that in order to organize a mine you’ve got to have an operating mine.
“There were different opinions on a number of things, but we always tried to work together on things that we felt had a common concern and common objective.” That objective was to keep miners working.
Delegate — now Senator-elect — Mike Caputo. D-Marion, also is a UMWA District 31 official and spent many hours at the negotiating table with Raney.
“Bill Raney is deserving of this retirement and I wish him all the best,” Caputo said.
They were more often than not on opposite sides of issues dealing with coal miners, but “Bill was a man of integrity. Bill was always honest and forthright even when we disagreed.” He would never leave the room feeling Raney hadn’t been honest with him.
They couldn’t always reach a compromise but Raney’s integrity and honesty always shone forth, Caputo said. “I consider him a friend.”
Looking ahead
Raney said he has no specific post-retirement plans at this point, other than to learn how to work with Legos in order to keep up with his 3-year-old grandson.
“I’m going to stay engaged,” he said. “I’ll help anybody do anything that I can possibly help them do.”
He wants to continue to promote development of surface mine land and production of rare earth elements, and continue to work with the Guard on projects.
He’ll never lose interest in coal, he said. “It’ll be tough to break that habit.”
His mission, he said, has always been to keep miners working. “I feel successful that it’s been successful not because of me but that everybody gathered up and headed in the same direction. I’ve been the beneficiary of that.”
Chris Hamilton, current Coal Association vice president, chairman of the West Virginia Business and Industry Council and co-chairman of the West Virginia Coal Forum, will succeed Raney at the association.
Heath Lovell, chairman of the Coal Association board of directors, said, “Bill Raney is an icon to those of us that have worked in and around the mining industry and to many throughout the state of West Virginia. His passion for, and contributions to this industry over his professional career are unsurpassed. He is the original “Friend of Coal” and we wish him a long, fruitful and well-deserved retirement.”
In addition to the Coal Association and Guard, Raney has served as former chairman and current board member of the West Virginia BIC, current board member of the West Virginia Youth Leadership Association’s Youth in Government Program, former chairman and current board member of the West Virginia Kids Count Fund, advisory member of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Advisory Committee, West Virginia Special Reclamation Advisory Council, Coal Resource Road Transportation Committee, the WVU School of Engineering Mining Program Visiting Committee, and as a past Elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Charleston.
His honors and awards include: the Distinguished West Virginian award,Most Loyal Alumni by the WVU Alumni Association, the Hope Award by the National Multiple Sclerosis Association, and the Lewis McManus Service Award by the West Virginia Youth in Government Program.
Raney and his wife, Pam, are founders of the Don Nehlen Fan Club supporting the coach during his career at WVU.
Tweet David Beard @dbeardtdp Email dbeard@dominionpost.com
