Mines Carry Backlog Of $90M In Violations - USAToday

[WillyT]

Mines carry backlog of $90M in violations
By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY

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WASHINGTON — Coal mine operators have paid just 7% of the fines they have received for major health and safety violations in the past three years, a USA TODAY analysis of federal records shows.

The low payment rate is eroding the government's ability to pressure mining companies to improve safety, particularly at coal mines with repeated serious violations, officials and advocates say.

Unpaid fines mean coal companies "may keep on doing (unsafe) things because it hasn't really hit their pocketbook," said Tony Oppegard, a former mine-safety prosecutor in Kentucky.

The Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia, where 25 miners died Monday, has paid just one major fine since 2007, which cost $10,750. It has appealed or is delinquent on 21 major fines worth $505,000, records show.

The number of unpaid fines began growing after the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) tried to improve safety following a series of fatal coal-mine accidents in 2006. MSHA in 2007 stepped up inspections, increased fines and vowed to close mines with chronic hazards.

Coal companies responded by routinely appealing major fines, which are those costing $10,000 or more. They have paid just $8 million of the $113 million in major penalties since April 2007 when fines were increased, USA TODAY found.

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More: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-04-08-mine-fine_N.htm

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