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The West Virginia Manufacturers Association (WVMA) is pleased to announce our upcoming Manufacturing and Energy Growth Summit taking place on May 1-2, 2023 at Oglebay Resort (Wheeling, W.Va.). This annual event brings together industry leaders, professionals, and enthusiasts from around the world to discuss the latest trends, challenges, opportunities, and intersections of the manufacturing and energy industries.
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Manufacturing is the lifeblood of West Virginia’s economy, which is why it is so baffling that the federal government has proposed stricter regulatory requirements that could hinder our growth.
Years ahead of schedule, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to institute tougher National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for a pollutant called PM2.5 – a particulate matter that is a byproduct of many manufacturing processes. To hear EPA tell it, you would think PM2.5 emissions are on the rise but that is not the case. In fact, nationwide, PM2.5 levels have decreased by 44 percent since 2000.
West Virginia is a manufacturing state. We’re proud of our strong work ethic, abundant natural resources, and how we’ve been able to turn around some very economically fragile regions creating communities with a strong future due to the strength of our manufacturing sector. The Potomac Highlands and part of the Kanawha and Mid-Ohio valleys, particularly, have a significant manufacturing presence that allows us to compete on a global scale.
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The West Virginia Manufacturers Association has signed on to a letter urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to overhaul its policies regarding Class VI injection wells.
The letter, signed by a coalition of groups representing multiple industries in five states, asks EPA Administrator Micheal Regan to address permitting timelines and other regulatory factors they see as impeding investment in carbon capture and storage.
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Tonight’s election results show that West Virginia voters clearly support conservative, business-minded candidates, but that support unfortunately did not carry over to critical policy decisions that will shape our state’s future.
We at the WVMA continue to believe that Amendment 2 was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our Legislature to have ALL options on the table to modernize our tax code and bring fairness to all businesses, especially those that have employed West Virginians for years. Sadly, an important section of our tax code will remain mired in the early 1900s. Our state will fall even further out of step with the rest of the nation in how we tax tangible personal property, essentially punishing businesses for investing in machinery, inventory and equipment in West Virginia.
As we move past our disappointment, we remain proud that West Virginia manufacturers helped to rescue our economy during the pandemic. We will look for ways to overcome the tax inequities here and encourage continued investment and job creation.
