The award has been named after a man whose contributions to the advancement of mining safety and innovation are known industry-wide; and, whose character symbolized the ingenuity, tenacity and leadership required to continually improve in our pursuit of the safest workplace possible for our employees and ourselves.
“It is an honor to pay tribute to Eustace Frederick with this award,” said Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association. “It is an honor for our industry to carry his legacy forward in this manner – the highest award we have to offer for safety. By naming this award after him, the bar is set very high for attaining this distinction.”
Eustace lived the majority of his life in Bluefield, and was many things to many people. He was an amazing father and husband; a star athlete; a distinguished legislator; and a true leader of West Virginia’s business and mining communities.
He worked for Consol Energy for 40 years; starting out as a mining engineer before rising to senior vice president.
He served in various leadership roles and was instrumental in developing equipment and mining techniques that reduced the dangers coal miners faced. He was instrumental in the development of coal seam degasification technologies which resulted in the capture of methane gas. The project resulted not only in safer mines, but also a new business venture for Consol.
Consol was awarded the 2002 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Protection Award for this methane capture method, and Eustace received the North American Coal Bed Methane Forum Award.
“Eustace was also a tireless advocate for southern West Virginia and the coal industry during his 14-years of service in the state legislature,” Raney said. “On occasions too numerous to mention, he shared his industry knowledge with his colleagues to explain the complicated processes of the mining industry and to help pass critical legislation.
“With his death earlier this year, a strong voice for safety and for the industry was silenced. Eustace will be missed. However, we are determined to keep his legacy of mining safety and innovation alive though this award.”
This year’s winner of the Eustace Frederick Award was Consolidated Coal Company’s Blacksville E2 mine in Monongalia County.