Billings Gazette - MetraPark Crowd Helps Celebrate Coal's Role in Montana Economy

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By Mike Ferguson

"We are not going to power our nation," congressional candidate Ryan Zinke told the 700 or so people attending Saturday's Coal Appreciation Day, "on pixie dust and hope."

Zinke, a Republican running against John Lewis for Montana's sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, was one of a number of office-seekers and officeholders to speak at the third-annual celebration of Montana's coal industry, held in the Montana Pavilion at MetraPark and sponsored by Count on Coal Montana.

Speakers even included a Montana Supreme Court candidate -- Lawrence VanDyke, the state's former solicitor general, who's trying to unseat Justice Michael E. Wheat.

Each of the event's speakers, including U.S. Rep. Steve Daines, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, and John Ostlund, a Yellowstone County commissioner, praised the state's coal industry, and Mayor Tom Hanel proclaimed Saturday Coal Appreciation Day in Billings.

"Our purpose," said event organizer Greg Kohn, "is to promote coal as a dependable, affordable energy source."

Daines, who's being opposed by Democrat Amanda Curtis in a Senate bid, noted that Montana's coal reserves can meet the nation's energy needs for the next century. More than half of Montana's energy comes from coal, he said, and state coffers receive about $125 million in tax revenues from the industry.

Recent well-publicized executions by the Islamic State, known both as ISIS and ISIL, "highlight the need for energy security," Daines said, and "the sooner that energy independence happens, the more secure we'll be."

Ostlund said that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "has declared a war on coal" with proposed regulations designed to cut emissions from coal-, oil- and natural gas-fired plants 30 percent by 2030. He advised the crowd to "stop listening to watered-down political comments" from politicians who say "I like everything," including renewable energy sources, coal and other forms of energy.

"The coal industry has some of the best jobs we have in Montana," said Ostlund, who's being opposed in the Nov. 4 election by Democrat Jim Ronquillo. "We need it to be strong and not lock up the industry."

"It's time to step up and value the natural resource jobs we have," said his fellow commissioner, Jim Reno, who's also a Republican. "Remember -- November is coming up."

Industry representatives also turned out for Saturday's three-hour event, which featured entertainment by the band Cooper and the Crowd Thinners -- with Ostlund's wife, Kristie, sitting in for a time, even singing "Coal Miner's Daughter" at one point -- as well as a free barbecue lunch served up by Famous Dave's restaurant.

Todd O'Hair, senior government affairs manager for Cloud Peak Energy, brought along a simulator the company uses to help teach employees how to operate heavy equipment. Children delighted in operating the realistic-looking simulator, which arrived in a trailer set up inside the pavilion.

"Billings is an incredibly important community for us," O'Hair said. "This community overwhelmingly supports coal, and this is our appreciation to the community for support of our industry."

Last year, O'Hair said, Cloud Peak Energy spent $23 million on goods and services in Billings, and paid $55 million in state taxes. The company produced 18 million tons of coal last year, about 45 percent of the coal dug in Montana.

While children tried their luck at sinking baskets, tossing beanbags to knock over cartoon characters and leaping around in a bounce house, magician Kameron Messmer, of Billings, twisted balloons into fun shapes -- everything from a bow and arrow to an octopus. Chloe Park, 7, seemed delighted with her octopus after Messmer handed it over.

"It's cool. I'm going to go home and put him on my dresser," she said with a smile.

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