ASSOCIATED MAY HAVE TO CLOSE MINE, LOSE MINERS

MOBERLY -- P.C. Long has been a coal miner for 23 years.

He and his fellow miners at Associated Electric Cooperative's mine near Moberly are worried about their jobs.

Faced with complying with federal Clean Air regulations, Associated Electric is considering closing the high-sulfur coal mine that fuels the Thomas Hill power plant near here and instead shipping in low-sulfur coal from Wyoming.

That could mean the loss of at least 350 jobs in 1995, Associated Electric officials say.

Long believes that ultimately as many as 500 jobs at the coal mine and the power plant in northern Missouri would be eliminated.

"Obviously, I am not in favor of it," said Long. "I personally and the majority of the people up here think it is an unnecessary maneuver."

Associated Electric is currently holding meetings around the state to discuss the situation. Long and other coal miners have been attending those meetings to urge that the coal mine be kept open.

The United Mine Workers of America, which represents the miners, has suggested an option it says would allow workers to keep their jobs and let the cooperative comply with Clean Air regulations.

Long said Associated already has a $300 million investment in the coal mine and $85 million in a scrubber that is already in place on one of the three power plant units.

In addition, he said, Associated Electric would have to spend some money to make changes at the power plant to accommodate the Western coal.

"You cannot bring Wyoming coal in here tomorrow and start burning it in the power plant. They have to spend $100 million to change the plant over."

The United Mine Workers' proposal calls for making use of federally allowed "credits" that companies can receive based on the amount of sulfur dioxide emissions that they remove from the air.

Such "credits" he said could be used to pay for the scrubbers needed to meet federal Clean Air requirements.

School districts in a three-county area in northern Missouri would be hurt financially if the mine is closed, he said. "The schools would be totally devastated," said Long.

Associated Electric pays about $6.5 million in taxes annually to school districts and other local government units in the three-county area, he said.

"Coal has been mined up here for 140 years," said Long, pointing out that the Moberly area's open-pit strip coal mine is the last major coal mine in Missouri. Associated Electric purchased it 12 years ago from Peabody Coal, Long said.

Noranda Aluminum Inc., an aluminum manufacturing plant in Southeast Missouri, receives some of its electrical power from the Thomas Hill Energy Center.

Noranda officials say installing scrubbers at the Thomas Hill facility would result in increased electric rates, which, in turn, would force Noranda to shut down one of its production lines and lay off 450 people.

But Long said he believes the coal mine can be kept open without a substantial hike in electric rates for Noranda.