Federal safety inspectors cited the Raleigh County operation thousands of times for dangerous law violations, including buildup of explosive methane and coal dust. But Massey avoided closure of the profitable mine by snarling the U.S. bureaucracy with endless legal appeals. Lifesaving enforcement apparently was obstructed.
As reporter Ken Ward Jr. outlined Monday, stiffer federal fines were mandated after West Virginia's Sago mine tragedy in 2006. But various coal firms used their high-priced corporate lawyers to dispute two-thirds of new fines. Massey exceeded the industry average by appealing three-fourths of them. Thus many safety actions were stalled.
In February 2008, former mine safety chief Richard Stickler complained that coal owners were clogging the appeals process. In June 2008, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., protested in a Senate hearing that energy firms had dramatically increased their appeal rate. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., provided more money "to help shorten the amount of time to litigate these fines."
In June 2009, David Akrush of Public Citizen warned the White House: "Every day that these safety violations go unresolved, the chance that this nation will see another tragic mining accident grows." It was a prediction worthy of Nostradamus.
In February of this year, new U.S. mine safety director Joe Main told a House Labor Committee hearing that skyrocketing company appeals still blocked federal safety efforts. ...
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