Innovative Economic Development
Introduction
At Downstream Strategies, much of our economic development work focuses on repurposing degraded lands in Central Appalachia for innovative, sustainable enterprises.
Working with strategic partners across the region, we are leading the charge for economic revitalization by restoring degraded lands, diversifying economies, engaging communities, and developing renewable energy solutions for resource-dependent communities.
Nearly $30 million in private and public investments have been awarded to projects assisted by Downstream Strategies and the Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition in West Virginia, Ohio, and Virginia.
Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition
Downstream Strategies is a member of the Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition, which seeks to spur mine reclamation projects throughout Central Appalachia that are responsive to community needs and that accelerate the growth of new, sustainable economic sectors. Through this coalition, we work with four other lead organizations, including Appalachian Voices in Virginia, Coalfield Development Corporation in West Virginia, and Rural Action in Ohio.
As the cross-state technical expert for the Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition, Downstream Strategies helps identify potential projects and opportunities, develop ideas into fundable project concepts, and secure partnerships and funding for implementation.
Our 2020 report outlines 19 innovative projects that would transform abandoned coal mine lands into sites of sustainable community and economic development through ventures specific to the culture, skills, and geography of the Central Appalachian region. Sectors covered include agriculture, reusable materials management, ecotourism, renewable energy, and an array of other projects that can be adapted and replicated across the region.
Success in the inaugural mini-grant opportunity
In 2020, the Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition embarked on a new initiative: a mini-grant opportunity for innovative mine land reclamation projects. The reception was so successful that the Coalition expects it to be an annual element of its programming. Any entity in the Appalachian states of Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia is eligible to receive startup funds and technical assistance from Downstream Strategies, with the intention of producing a complete application for the federal AML Pilot program.
Kentucky-based Backroads of Appalachia was one of five recipients last year. Using the resources awarded by the mini-grant program, the organization successfully secured an AML Pilot grant to build a new visitor center.
Truetown Pigments, LLC
In Ohio with Rural Action, our group’s direct leadership and management of a groundbreaking paint pigment production project resulted in over $3 million in federal funds for the construction of the world’s first commercial pollutant to paint pigment facility.
The treatment system will function similarly to a wastewater treatment system. The clarification process also extracts 2 million pounds of iron oxide per year, which is then processed into a paint pigment. Many Appalachian states are shouldering the heavy price tag that comes with collecting metals from the water with plants similar to the proposed facility, but the paint pigment technology can be replicated and implemented at other facilities, turning them into profitable business ventures.
Devil’s Bathtub
Partners received over $88,000 in federal funding in 2018 for recreation enhancements for the Devil’s Fork Loop Trail in Scott County, Virginia. The Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition has provided ongoing support for this project.
Photo credit: Michael Schrader.
Economic opportunities on abandoned mine lands
As part of the Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition, we released reports in 2018 and 2019, highlighting 20 and 19 innovative projects, respectively, that would clean up abandoned coal mine lands and give them new life as sustainable enterprises, including agriculture businesses, solar farms, and other economic ventures.
The reports highlight investment opportunities for these project-ready concepts, which were developed and supported by the coalition. Many of these featured projects have since received over $35 million in federal Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Pilot Program funding from the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.
Solar in southwest Virginia
Downstream Strategies is proud to have supported an innovative partnership that is now bringing 3.5 megawatts of solar power to southwest Virginia.
Sun Tribe Solar and the owners of the Mineral Gap Data Centers will be developing a $4.6 million solar project on an abandoned mine site in Wise County, Virginia. Featured in our Many Voices, Many Solutions report as the Southwest Virginia Solar Springboard, the project team secured $500,000 in AML Pilot Program funding in 2018 to develop solar for a data center built in 2016.
This project builds upon Downstream Strategies’ ongoing research and development of solar applications in southwest Virginia, including a 2016 report highlighting the economic development potential of more than a dozen abandoned coal mining sites in the region.
This pilot project will serve as a critical step towards developing the solar value chain in rural Appalachia.
