I was listening to a recent podcast about Joe Mansion. When and how he got such power, and how he has profited from his connection to the coal industry. Here are some of the takeaways from a most interesting report.
Joe Mansion has long time ties to the coal industry with give him an income of $500,000 per year from coal brokerage. He makes three times as much from his coal interests as he does from his salary as a senator. Mansion used his connections to enrich himself. Beginning in the 1980's when he was just a state senator, he was well connected. He took advantage of the business opportunities that came his way, specifically two developers from Pennsylvania with whom he partnered with in the waste coal industry. Waste coal is like garbage, but it could be burned to make electricity (it's called GOB). Mansion was important in the business because he could solve the environmental hurdles, get them through the red tape.
Mansion helped them set up and provide services for a power plant. It is illegal for Mansion to be in business with a power plant, yet he was making money from the power plant (1% of gross revenue) from burning waste coal.
Mansion used his influences as a state lawmaker to pass a tax credit. There is a direct line from Mansion to the power plant getting more money (when he was governor) for electricity. These higher power rates for West Virginia benefited Mansion.
The Grant Town Power Plant, which he has an interest in has had decisions made regarding it while he has been in the senate. Mansion has opposed new rules from the EPA cracking down on mercury. The amount of waste coal coming from his company increased dramatically during his years in the senate.
Who owns Grant Town? It's a deeply layered company, with holding companies like Edison International, NRG, and Sumitomo all having interests in the power plant. Mansion's potential conflict of interest grew as time went on. Mansion sponsored bills that would help his company. Of course there's no clearcut knowledge as to why he did what he did, but here we are. Is he protecting the coal industry? Is he protecting his own financial interests? Draw your own conclusions.
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