Efforts to restore coal jobs in the US prove to be difficult

World Today

Efforts to restore coal jobs in the US prove to be difficult

As U.S. President Donald Trump approaches his 100th day in office, he is also dealing with domestic issues.

Among them are the jobs he has promised to restore in the coal industry.

He has signed an executive order rolling back environmental regulations – designed to make it easier to operate coal power plants. But even that appears to fall short.

CGTN’s Roee Ruttenberg traveled to the city of Page, Arizona, where hundreds of coal jobs are set to go up in smoke.

The residents of Page, Arizona quite literally live and breathe the nearby coal-fired power plant.

For decades, the Navajo Generating Station, or NGS and the coal mine which supplies it have – in part – fueled the local economy here. Which may explain why many are angry the plant’s now slated to close in two years.

The NGS was built in the 1970s – in partnership with the U.S. federal government – on land leased from the Navajo Nation.

So sovereign ground, with lots of coal in it. And because of preferential hiring policies, nearly all of its employees have been from the Navajo tribe.

U.S. President Donald Trump has positioned himself as a champion of the coal industry. He courted its workers during his campaign.

And last month signing an executive order to roll-back Obama-era regulatory policies – he told these miners he was sending them to work.


First Person: Life after coal in Page, Arizona