Press Room
Coal producers legally must restore damaged land, but some are dodging obligations
Article by A Martínez, Josh Saul, Zach Mider, Dave Mistich for NPR Morning Edition, October 17, 2022.
Excerpt: A Bloomberg News/NPR investigation found large U.S. coal companies used bankruptcy and asset transfers to move old mines to shaky new owners, putting at risk federally mandated land reclamation.
Strip mining aided deadly Kentucky flooding, ex-regulators say. They want an investigation
Article by James Bruggers for Inside Climate News, August 8, 2022. Excerpt: Two former state and federal mining regulators say state and federal authorities should investigate the role strip mining played in last month's devastating and deadly flooding in Eastern Kentucky and the condition of the mines after the torrential rainfall.
'Out of control': Sinking coal industry swamps Kentucky with 'zombie' mine violations
Article By James Bruggers for the CourierJournal, April 19, 2022. Excerpt: As the coal industry collapses in Kentucky, companies have racked up a rising number of violations at surface mines — yet state regulators have failed to bring a record number of them into compliance, internal documents show.