For the first time ever, the federal government has filed suit in federal court to shut down a coal mine. The mine is owned by Massey Energy, which was responsible for the Upper Big Branch mine that killed 29 workers earlier this year.

 

The Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration insists Mine No. 1 in Pike County, Kentucky, operated by a Massey subsidiary, Freedom Energy Mining Company, is “one accident away from a possible tragedy” due to its history of roof collapses (six in the last three months), failure to clear the mine of excessive accumulations of coal dust, “failure to test and maintain electrical equipment in a safe working condition so as to protect against fire or explosion; and failure to effectively ventilate the mine of noxious and explosive gases.”

 

The Labor Department characterized the legal filing as unprecedented. Until now, the mine safety agency had never before used the courts to close a mine.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Feds Want Massey Coal Mine Shut (Courthouse News Service)

Hilda Solis v. Freedom Energy Mining Company et al. (U.S. District Court, Eastern Kentucky, Southern Division at Pikeville) (pdf)

MSHA Seeks Court Order To Close Massey Mine in Ky. (by Ken Ward Jr., Charleston Gazette)

MSHA Asks for Preliminary Injunction against Freedom Energy Mining Co. (U.S. Department of Labor)

Massey Energy Again Fails Surprise Mining Inspection in West Virginia (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

Mine Safety Administration Evacuates 3 West Virginia Mines (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

Mine Safety Agency Issued Report Warning of Poor Inspector Training 5 Days Before West Virginia Explosion (by David Wallechinsky and Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)