Reclaiming mountains

Federal mine safety head pushes for tougher tools during Kentucky trip

Regulators need tougher tools to go after coal operators who thumb their nose at health and safety laws, putting miners at risk, the nation's top mine-safety official said during a trip to Kentucky this week.

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Archive by category ''Reclaiming mountains

PUBLIC SAFETY

3 Harlan coal company Manalapan mine employees indicted

A Harlan County coal company and three supervisors willfully violated federal health and safety rules, exposing employees at an underground mine to the danger of being hurt or killed, a federal grand jury charged Wednesday.

83 days ago
GREENSPOT

Appeals court strikes down regulation restricting surface mining in Ky. watershed

An appeals court has struck down a rule that state regulators used to restrict surface mining in a Floyd County watershed where some residents fought to block coal companies from stripping the hills.

85 days ago
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Hundreds decry mountaintop removal at Capitol rally

FRANKFORT — Several hundred people gathered on the front steps of the Capitol on Tuesday in a cold, steady drizzle to send a message to coal executives and public officials that "what you do to the land, you do to the people."

92 days ago
U.S. SENATE ELECTION

Senate defeats Rand Paul's bid to curb EPA rules on power plant emissions

Republicans Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee strongly disagreed on Paul's plan to curb EPA rules.

187 days ago
RECLAIMING MOUNTAINS

Federal inspectors issue imminent-danger citation at Harlan coal mine

Federal inspectors issued an imminent-danger order at an underground coal mine in Harlan County last month after finding a cigarette lighter in the mine, according to a news release.

202 days ago
RECLAIMING MOUNTAINS

Lawsuit blames coal company for flooding death in Knox County

Improper surface-mining practices caused or worsened flooding that killed a man and destroyed or damaged numerous homes in Knox County in June, more than 70 people affected by the disaster have claimed in a lawsuit.

218 days ago
FOOTBALL

Friends of Coal to sponsor Saturday's UK-U of L football game

An offshoot of the Kentucky Coal Association will be the "signature sponsor" of the University of Kentucky-University of Louisville football game on Saturday. With the sponsorship, Friends of Coal will be represented across Commonwealth Stadium, including billboards and video clips on the video ...

244 days ago
GREENSPOT

Hearing about coal companies' pollution reports opens in Frankfort

FRANKFORT — A commissioner in the state Energy and Environment Cabinet told a judge Wednesday the cabinet had not done enough to ensure that mining companies were submitting accurate water pollution discharge reports.

258 days ago
GREENSPOT

Environmental groups accuse coal company of filing false reports

FRANKFORT — Environmental groups say one of the state's leading coal companies has submitted an additional 5,000 possibly false water pollution discharge reports.

265 days ago
RECLAIMING MOUNTAINS

100 years of coal mining in Harlan County

TERRY'S FORK — On Aug. 25, 1911, a Friday, a Louisville & Nashville locomotive steamed away from a tipple in a hollow in Harlan County with a load of coal bound for Western Kentucky, and the county changed dramatically, forever.

269 days ago