Category: Mountaintop Removal Legislation

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MSHA: Coal Industry is On Notice

 

Kenneth Stroud of Rawl, WV, demonstrates his bath water at home. More than 700 area residents are suing the coal company that injected toxic coal slurry underground these communities for twenty years. Residents allege the waste has breached the ground water they depend upon, sickening hundreds and killing many. photograph (c) antrim caskey, 2006

Kenneth Stroud of Rawl, WV, demonstrates his bath water at home. More than 700 area residents are suing the coal company that injected toxic coal slurry underground these communities for twenty years. Residents allege the waste has breached the ground water they depend upon, sickening hundreds and killing many.   photograph (c) antrim caskey, 2006

MSHA News Release: [03/16/2009]
Contact: Amy Louviere
Phone: 202-693-9423
Release Number 09-266-NAT

MSHA puts 15 operators on notice for potential pattern of violations
Move marks 4th round of enforcement initiative by agency

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) today announced that 15 mine operators from around the country have received letters putting them on notice that each has a potential pattern of violations of mandatory health or safety standards under Section 104(e) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act).

“The 13 coal mines and two metal/nonmetal mines represent the fourth round of mine operators to receive these letters under MSHA’s enhanced enforcement initiative,” said Michael A. Davis, MSHA’s deputy assistant secretary for operations. “Hopefully, these operators will use this opportunity to incorporate needed improvements into their safety and health programs.”

A mine operator that has a potential pattern of recurrent significant and substantial (S&S) violations at a mine receives written notification from MSHA. An S&S violation is one that could reasonably be expected to lead to a serious injury or illness. The operator has an opportunity to review and comment on the documents upon which the potential pattern of violations is based and to develop a corrective action plan to reduce S&S violations in order to reverse the potential pattern.

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New York Times: President Obama Can Stop Mountaintop Removal

Mike Roselle and James Guin McGuinness carry their banner across the mountaintop removal site on Cherry Pond Mountain on February 16, 2009. photograph (c) antrim caskey, 2009
Mike Roselle and James Guin McGuinness carry their banner across the mountaintop removal site on Cherry Pond Mountain on February 16, 2009. photograph (c) antrim caskey, 2009

Editorial

Appalachia’s Agony

Published: March 16, 2009

The longstanding disgrace of mountaintop mining is now squarely in President Obama’s hands.

A recent court decision has given the green light to as many as 90 mountaintop mining projects in Appalachia’s coal-rich hills, which in turn could destroy more than 200 miles of valleys and streams on top of the 1,200 miles that have already been obliterated. The right course for the administration is clear: stop the projects until the underlying regulations are revised so as to end the practice altogether.

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