260 jobs created with new $35 million facility in Henderson County

Coal barge on the Ohio River (Credit: Shutterstock/Real Window Creative)

Late last month, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced new job creation within the state’s coal industry as River View Coal LLC, which operates an underground coal mine in Union County, will expand its footprint in the state with a new facility in Henderson County, creating 260 well-paying jobs with a $35 million investment.

“It is great to see continued job creation in Northwest Kentucky,” Beshear said. “We are pleased to welcome River View to Henderson County as this significant investment and job creation breathes new life into an industry that has always been important to our economy.”

Leaders at River View will construct a new 30,000-square-foot facility on 56 acres in Henderson County in response to growing demand. Work on the River View project is expected to begin in April 2023 and be completed by December 2024.

“River View is excited to expand into Henderson County,” said River View General Manager Bill Adelman. “The coal industry has faced a lot of challenges in recent years, but this project allows us to continue to mine coal for the power producers who care about providing affordable and reliable electricity to homes and businesses. Kentucky has many state and local elected officials who have supported investment and growth in our commonwealth. We’re appreciative of their efforts, and the laws they’ve passed, that make expansion opportunities like this one more likely to happen. River View looks forward to what this project means for our miners and Henderson County.”

River View, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alliance Coal LLC, began producing coal in 2009 and is now the largest underground room-and-pillar mine of its kind in North America. The existing operation includes a preparation plant onsite with a throughput capacity of 2,700 tons of raw coal per hour. Currently, River View employs 783 people in Kentucky. It’s currently the second-largest coal producer in the eastern United States with seven operating underground mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia as well as a coal-loading terminal in Indiana on the Ohio River.

State Sen. Robby Mills commended company leaders for the investment and job creation.

“I applaud the investment by Alliance Resource Partners and I am excited that coal mining will continue to be strong in Northwest Kentucky for many years to come,” Sen. Mills said.

State Rep. Jonathan Dixon noted the company’s longstanding presence in the region.

“River View Coal has been vested in the success of our communities for many years,” Rep. Dixon said. “It is great news that they are continuing to produce great paying jobs and making a huge investment in Henderson.”

Henderson County Judge/Executive Brad Schneider said the project will benefit the existing workforce in addition to the new job creation.

“Henderson County is thrilled to welcome River View Coal and Alliance Resource Partners to our community. Our county has a long history of helping provide this country its most abundant and reliable energy source, coal, and it is exciting that we’ll soon be back in the business of powering America,” Schneider said.

River View Coal’s investment and planned job creation furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth, as the state builds back stronger from the effects of the pandemic.

Kentucky has posted record low unemployment rates for five consecutive months, holding at or below 3.9% since April 2022.

To encourage investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) today preliminarily approved a 10-year incentive agreement with the company under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $3.4 million in tax incentives based on the company’s investment of $35 million and annual targets of:

• Creation and maintenance of 260 Kentucky-resident, full-time jobs across 10 years; and
• Paying an average hourly wage of $49 including benefits across those jobs.

Additionally, KEDFA approved River View Coal for up to $300,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.

By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.

In addition, the company can receive resources from Kentucky’s workforce service providers. Those include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job-training incentives.