Massey To Close Ky. Mine That Regulators Wanted Seized

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Massey Energy is shutting down a Kentucky mine that is targeted by federal regulators for the toughest enforcement action ever, the company confirms to NPR.

The Freedom Energy Mine No. 1 in Pike County is the focus of an unprecedented federal court action in which the Labor Department is seeking to have the court seize control of the mine. Labor Department officials argue that conditions at the facility are so dangerous that a judge's intervention was required.

But now, Massey's decision to close the mine would seem to make moot Labor's effort, which the department touted as part of its get-tough response to April's deadly explosion at Massey's Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. Twenty-nine miners died there.

In a late response to this story, the Labor Department says it "will continue to seek a court order to ensure that miners who continue to work in any capacity at Freedom are safe." That's a reference to some workers who will stay on the job removing equipment from the mine. The rest will be transferred to other mines.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/12/01/131725252/massey-to-close-ky-mine-that-regulators-wanted-seized