Date: 04-02-2017
‘WILL T.’ SAYS PRESIDENT IS ‘NICE MAN’ AFTER MEETING
Former Kentucky Supreme Court Justice and Pike County native Will T. Scott got a chance to meet briefly with President Donald Trump, and took that opportunity to speak with the president about coal-fired power plants in the state.
Will T. Scott said he met the President at the Kentucky Air National Guard base in Louisville Monday, the day before Trump signed the Energy Independence order, which rolls back EPA regulations enacted under the administration of Barak Obama.
Scott said he mentioned new power plants, which are more environmentally-friendly. He said Trump understood that Scott was talking about coal-powered plants.
“I talked to him about our power plants, and the fact that we have new designs, and how the new plants actually in service that have 1 percent of the (carbon) emissions,” Scott said. “He said, ‘You’re talking about coal, aren’t you? Well, let me assure you, we are going to mine coal again in Kentucky soon. When I get back to the Capitol, I already have paperwork sitting on my desk for me to sign that will start it happening.’ Then, Tuesday, we saw that he signed a lot of it.”
Scott talked about a plant in Virginia which uses new technology.
“There is one in St. Paul, Virginia, called the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Plant,” Scott said. “It’s a 600 megawatt plant, with 1 percent of the emissions of those old (plants that were built in the) 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s that are along the rivers. They also only use 10 percent of the water, which means we can move them further upstream, on the Big Sandy, the Kentucky and the Cumberland Rivers, where the coal is produced. These 600 megawatt plants use about 67 million tons of premium coal, along with gob coal and wood chips. They have a new burning technique that is so much cleaner.”
Scott said he believes Trump is a champion of the coal industry.
“He was real high on us getting back to work. It’s nice to have a president that understands that all we want is a legal job,” he said.
Scott, a long-time politician, said he is impressed with Trump the man as well as Trump the president.
“I was impressed with his focus,” Scott said. “I’ve spent time with Reagan, and both Bushes, and he is as close to Reagan as any president I’ve been with. He pays attention. He’s very sincere. With some people, you get that feeling, they give signals that they have to go, don’t have time for you. He did not. He is very personable, a nice man.”
By Julia Roberts
Appalachian News-Express
