(a) The Legislature finds and declares that:
(1) No other economic undertaking in the history of West Virginia has had a greater impact upon the citizens of this state, providing such an economic force and affecting the social construct and day-to-day life and environment of the people and communities of this state, than the activities associated with the extraction, transportation and consumption of coal or its byproducts. In areas of this state where the coal industry exists, the economic benefits of coal production are an indispensable part of the local community's vitality.