Adopted by House 2-13-2006
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 17
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Staton and Browning)
[Introduced January 13,2006; referred to the
Committee on Rules.]
Requesting the Governor of the State of West Virginia and the
West Virginia Development Office to put the highest priority
on putting forward locations in the southern coalfield
counties for the proposed coal conversion facilities.
Whereas, The United States faces foreign and domestic threats
to the petroleum and natural gas resources so vital to our
economy; and
Whereas, West Virginia has an estimated 50 billion tons of
coal reserves; and
Whereas, Coal liquefaction and other conversion processes can
turn each ton of coal into as much as three barrels of liquid
fuel; and
Whereas, Governor Joe Manchin, III, has established the West
Virginia Coal Conversion Initiative to bring the public and
private sectors together to build coal conversion facilities and
related infrastructures in the Mountain State; and
Whereas, Such facilities would bring much needed jobs, economic development and take the state away from a dependence on
outside fuels; and
Whereas, Southern West Virginia is located within 500 miles
of half of the nation's population and much of West Virginia's
coal reserves lie in the southern coalfields; and
Whereas, The West Virginia Turnpike, U. S. Route 19 and the
soon to be built Coalfields Expressway make southern West
Virginia more accessible than ever to the markets of the East
Coast, Midwest and South; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Legislature hereby requests the Governor of the
State of West Virginia and the West Virginia Development Office
to put the highest priority on putting forward locations in the
southern coalfield counties for the proposed coal conversion
facilities; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House is hereby
directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Governor of
the State of West Virginia, the West Virginia Development Office
and the Wyoming County Commission.