This morning, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement released its final “Ten Day Notice” rule to address how the agency responds to community member complaints about safety, pollution, and other violations at coal mines across the country.
A recent study found that nearly 40% of the “active” surface permits in Kentucky have been sitting idle for the last five years. The coal companies responsible for those mine permits did not produce any coal, nor did they make any progress in cleaning up the sites.
The decline of the coal industry is exacerbating failures of the current federal system to ensure that mines are cleaned up.
The bankruptcy of coal company Blackjewel has exposed many flaws in the current mine cleanup system.
Appalachia’s latest coal bankruptcy looks different than others — mines shut down immediately and paychecks were clawed back from employees’ bank accounts. We take a look at what the Blackjewel and Revelation Energy bankruptcy could mean for mine land reclamation.
Several charts and maps show the enormity of the abandoned mine problems that still need to be cleaned up — and the inadequacy of the current cleanup fund.
As coal mining companies come out of bankruptcy, plans to provide mine cleanup and employee benefits remain unclear.
