MSHA orders withdrawals at Leslie County mine 

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has issued 10 withdrawal orders at Abner Branch Rider Mine in Leslie County related to mine safety violations. Here’s an excerpt from the MSHA press release: 

ARLINGTON, Va. -The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that it has issued 10 withdrawal orders at Bledsoe Coal Corp.'s Abner Branch Rider Mine, just one month after the Leslie County, Ky., operation received a notice of a pattern of violations. These orders mark an unprecedented use by the agency of an enforcement action under Section 104(e) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.

Under Section 104(e) of the Mine Act, a mining operation on a POV is subject to a withdrawal order each time MSHA issues a significant and substantial, known as an S&S, violation. The order remains in place until the violation is abated. An operator can be removed from POV status only after undergoing a complete inspection without receiving an S&S violation. 

To read the full release, click here.

Report describes Upper Big Branch culture

In other mine safety news, an independent team of investigators released a report on the Upper Big Branch mine disaster of 2010. The report blames a corporate “culture in which wrongdoing became acceptable, where deviation became the norm” for the deaths of 29 Massey Energy mine workers. 

To read more, click here.

The Washington Post reported recently that, despite a crackdown on mine safety violations, nine miners have died in U.S. mines in the six months since the Upper Big Branch disaster claimed the lives of 29 miners in April.

Federal regulators have increased inspections at 89 mines with poor safety records and exercised their power to shut down mines until problems are resolved. Yet five men were killed by heavy machinery and four by falling rock.

According to the article, a backlogged appeals system and lack of penalties for repeat offenders have hampered enforcement efforts.

Read the full article here.

Governor Steve Beshear has declared September Kentucky Coal Mine Safety Month. The proclamation, announced September 13 at the capitol in Frankfort, is in conjunction with the Kentucky Coal Academy's campaign to promote mine safety. Titled "Bring Them Home Safe!", the campaign will include public service announcements, posters and fliers that will be made available to coal operators and organizations.

To read the governor's proclamation, click here.

To read the press release, click here.

Five miners have died in Kentucky as a result of mining accidents in 2010.

By Randy Wilson, KFTC Member, Clay County

From July 19th-26th, a delegation of 5 from Kentucky - including Randy Wilson and two other KFTC members - participated in a Witness for Peace trip, which was focused on "The People Behind the Coal in Kentucky and Colombia." We spent the week learning about the impacts of the coal industry on communities in a northern coastal region called La Guajira.

    We got up @ 5:30 am and were on the bus by 6:00....another day on the road in the Guajira region of northern Colombia.  I don't think I saw more than 12 tourists the whole 7 days we were in that region....perfect for mining coal....nobody comes up there.  But we were there as a part of Witness for Peace observing what the mines were doing to the region.  Everywhere we went leadership said, "They promised prosperity and jobs...."and then the long list of economic, environmental, and health problems they had inherited from the coal companies.

Tabago Open Pit Operation at Cerrejon Mine

This day we had to leave the tour bus and take a four wheel van back into those villages directly effected by a coal pit the size of Long Island!   Thirty five miles long and five miles wide.  We pitched to and fro through rutted roads, crossed a swelling river once...then got caught in the rising river a second time.  Locals rustled up a long rope and a bus pulled us out to safety.  At one time all these villages were joined by a convenient trade route.  They traded tobacco, garden vegetables, goat and cattle.  They had no clear boundaries.  Their cattle ranged fair and wide.  Some indegenous tribes lived in the region before the European invasion in 1499.   But here was a different kind of invasion led by mining multinationals, supported by the US and Colombian governments, and strong armed by military and paramilitary thugs....displacing folks right and left in their path. 

Dancers in the Tamaquito Village

Some villagers were united.  Some were not.  The company picked off some, divided others.  All were in negotiations for removal.  One such village was Tomaquito, home of the indigenous Wyhuu people.  Once lord of thousands of hectares, now they were reduced to ten and bound within the confines of their village, dependant on food sources from town some 25 miles of treacherous road away.   They lived under a cool canopy of trees in mud huts with palm thatched roofs.  They performed for us a dance where the women covered from head to ankle in flaming red capes circled the open ground to the sound of a drum.  They told us of their life there.  "Once we fished, we hunted, we grew crops, we tended goats and cattle.  We had no boundaries.  We traded with nearby villages.   There was no need for electricity.   When the sun sets and night falls it is dark, but we know where we are.  We are not lost.  Once we lived in peace."

   Every year 132 million tons of Colombian coal goes to fire coal fired plants in places like Mobile,Ala, Tampa, Fla., and Salem, Ma.  These plants put us all at risk.  The very people who know how to live sustainably, who figured this out long, long ago, are being displaced by a society whose principles and policy don't have a clue.

News agencies all over the country have written about the April 2010 mine disaster that claimed the lives of 29 miners in West Virginia and other mine accidents.

KFTC has established this space to provide news, analysis, and opinions about these events and other mine safety issues. We'll periodically update the list as new articles and reports become available.

NPR series:

National Public Radio has produced an ongoing investigative series about the Upper Big Branch mine disaster of April 2010. To access these stories, click here.

Sign On To Support Mine Safety

Our friends at ILoveMountains.org are collecting signatures for a letter to West Virginia Congressman Nick Rahall to show support for his strong stance on mine safety. Lorelei Scarbro, whose husband died of black lung and who has relatives working at Upper Big Branch Mine, will hand-deliver the letter to Congressman Rahall. To read more about this effort and sign on to the letter, click here.

KFTC sends our sympathy to the families of miners killed in the West Virginia mine explosion Monday afternoon.

At least 25 miners are thought dead and four are still missing at Massey Energy subsidiary Performance Coal’s Upper Big Branch Mine near Charleston. The search for the four missing miners has been suspended as crews work to drill holes into the mine to ventilate the poisonous methane gas that caused the explosion so rescue workers can resume searching.

The situation is evolving, so accuracy of news accounts will vary. The news source that appears to be the most current is Ken Ward Jr. with The Charleston Gazette. 

Here are links to other news stories about this tragedy:

• The New York Times
• The Washington Post

Our friends at Coal River Mountain Watch in West Virginia sent this email today:

Dear Friends,

Tragedy has struck the Coal River Valley. 25 men are confirmed dead and 4 missing, after an explosion ripped through the Upper Big Branch underground mine at 3:00 PM Monday. In the wake of yesterday’s events our thoughts and prayers go to the miners of Upper Big Branch and their families. Like everyone in Coal River, we are waiting to hear about the fate of family, friends, and neighbors.

The Upper Big Branch Mine is in the Coal River Valley, three miles south of Whitesville. It is operated by Performance Coal, a subsidiary of Massey Energy. The mine lies beneath a vast expanse of Massey-operated mountaintop removal surface mines. This is the worst mine disaster to strike the Coal River Valley and the worst mine disaster in the USA in 25 years.

The Upper Big Branch mine's history is riddled with safety violations. In 2009, the Upper Big Branch mine had 458 safety violations, incurring a total of $897,325 in fines. Since January 1, 2010, the Miner Safety and Health Administration has issued the Performance Coal 115 safety violations for the Upper Big Branch mine. For six of the past ten years, it has exceeded the national average in safety violations.

As yesterday's tragedy makes all too clear, coal mining is dangerous work. Its impacts shape every aspect of modern life: from the energy infrastructure that powers our homes, work, and gadgets, to the exploitation of miners and coalfield communities. The men and women who go underground deserve our respect and solidarity. At Coal River Mountain Watch, we are devoting growing energy to diversifying the local economy so that men and women no longer need to risk their lives for their livelihoods.

Our friends at the Whitesville restaurant and craft shop, Nuttin’ Fancy, are at work cooking food to serve rescue workers and family members. Please make a donation to support their volunteer efforts – make checks payable to Nuttin’ Fancy and mail them to P.O. Box 452 Whitesville, WV 25209.

Today, we ask that you keep the families of the lost miners, and the four still missing, in your hearts. Pray for them and pray for all coalfield communities. Reflect on your connection to coal, and work for a diversified economy and energy infrastructure in Appalachia and across America. The past cannot be undone, but the future is yet to be made.

For in depth reporting and up to date information, check the Coal Tattoo blog.

Solidarity,

Coal River Mountain Watch

The Louisville Courier Journal has a stunning story by James Carroll today detailing how the coal industry in Kentucky and around the country appears to be systematically challenging federal safety violations in order to avoid or delay paying fines for serious violations.

A hearing will be held today in the US House Education and Labor Committee, whose chairman Rep. George Miller was quoted in the article saying, "These appeals are clogging the system and putting miners in danger."

According to the article:

In Kentucky, 80 percent of 536 high-dollar fines for the “significant and substantial” safety violations — the most serious kind — are being contested by the mine operators, according to federal Mine Safety and Health Administration records.

The story goes on to point out that mining companies aren't just challenging the most serious cases, but are appealing less serious citations, and they are challenging repeated violations for the same offense at the same mine. While coal operators are supposed to correct violations as soon as they receive a citation, they can avoid paying financial penalties until challenges are resolved. 

The problem has grown much worse in recent years. According to the story, the industry appealed an average of 2,307 cases per year between 2000 and 2005. That number quadrupled to 9,230 last year, contributing to an agency backlog of more than 15,000 unsettled cases.

The spike in challenges to mine safety violations apparently began under the previous administration. The Courier-Journal story quotes from a letter written by Solicitor of Labor under President George Bush, Gregory Jacob, to the National Mining Association in June of 2008. He stated that there is “a concerted effort to impede the statutory enforcement and penalty assessment process.”

The entire article is recommended reading.

About 200 people attended the dedication of the Miners' Memorial in Cumberland.  Stella Morris spearheaded this effort following the death of her husband.  The ceremony included music and various speakers including Rep. Charlie Siler, Rep. Rick Nelson, and Co. Judge Grieshop.  Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers, gave a rousing speech about the history of the labor movement and the need for more support for mine safety for all miners.

Check out the news coverage about the event:

Lexington Herald-Leader news story

WYMT TV

Knoxville TV

Harlan Daily

To view more photos, click here.