Coal Country Lawmakers (McConnell) Stay Silent on Mine Safety Debate

Coal Country Lawmakers Stay Silent on Mine Safety Debate
Politicians with Ties to Coal Industry Steer Clear of Reform Proposals
By Mike Lillis 4/30/10 6:00 AM


Wednesday’s fatal collapse at a Western Kentucky coal mine is a stark reminder that mine safety is hardly an issue peculiar to one state or one company. But you’d never know it based on the reaction from a long list of coal-country lawmakers.

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That hesitancy to confront the industry — glaring in the wake of the deadly April 5 blast at Upper Big Branch, when West Virginia’s lawmakers were the lone Appalachian voices calling for reforms — remains on display this week, even after a roof fall at Kentucky’s Dotiki Mine killed two more miners Wednesday. Though the companies were different — Virginia-based Massey Energy owns the Upper Big Branch, and Alliance Resource Partners, based in Oklahoma, owns Dotiki — both projects have run up a long list of safety violations this year (see here and here).

A third fatal accident — at a West Virginia mine owned by International Coal Group – occurred April 22. All told, Appalachian coal-mining accidents have claimed the lives of 32 miners in April alone.

No matter.

Although Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) took to the chamber floor Thursday afternoon to offer condolences and prayers, there was nothing in his brief speech to indicate that the nation’s mine-safety policies might be failing miners, or that Congress has any responsibility to intervene. And his office, which had declined to answer questions along those lines in the wake of the UBB blast, went silent again Thursday.

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http://washingtonindependent.com/83591/coal-country-lawmakers-stay-silent-on-mine-safety-debate