Mar 1 Energy & Environment Defendant Wants To Change Plea In Kentucky Coal Dust Fraud Case One of the Kentucky mine workers charged in a coal dust fraud case last year wants to change his “not guilty” plea to “guilty,” a possible indication that the defendant will cooperate with prosecutors in the case. Court documents show defendant Ron Ivy, a former employee of Armstrong Coal, is scheduled to change his plea […] By Becca Schimmel Mar 1 Energy & Environment Defendant Wants To Change Plea In Kentucky Coal Dust Fraud Case Becca Schimmel
Feb 27 Energy & Environment Federal Prosecutor Adds Charges In Kentucky Coal Dust Fraud Case A federal prosecutor announced new charges against a senior coal company official for conspiring to falsify the required monitoring of coal dust. The case comes amid a surge in cases of black lung disease and widespread allegations from miners that cheating on dust monitors is common in the mining industry. Western Kentucky District U.S. Attorney […] By Becca Schimmel Feb 27 Energy & Environment Federal Prosecutor Adds Charges In Kentucky Coal Dust Fraud Case Becca Schimmel
Feb 20 Energy & Environment West Virginia Coal Miners Rally For Black Lung Legislation Miners and advocates rallied Wednesday at the West Virginia Capitol in support of a series of bills aimed at preventing and treating severe black lung disease. Five bills introduced by lawmakers would make it easier to make qualify for state benefits and provide benefits to miners who have early-stage black lung. The bills come at […] By Brittany Patterson Feb 20 Energy & Environment West Virginia Coal Miners Rally For Black Lung Legislation Brittany Patterson
Feb 1 Economy Coal Comeback? Coal At New Low After Two Years Under Trump It’s been two years since President Donald Trump took office and began rolling back environmental regulations on the coal industry. At a November rally in Huntington, West Virginia, the president took credit for a coal comeback in front of a cheering crowd. “We’ve ended the war on beautiful, clean coal and we’re putting our coal […] By Brittany Patterson Feb 1 Economy Coal Comeback? Coal At New Low After Two Years Under Trump Brittany Patterson
Jan 28 Energy & Environment Black Lung Clinics Call For Action But Top Regulator Plans No New Measures In the wake of an NPR and PBS Frontline investigation into the surge in cases of black lung disease, a coalition of black lung clinics is calling for action to better protect coal miners from dust exposure. NPR reports that more than 2,300 miners in central Appalachia are sick with the most serious form of […] By Jeff Young Jan 28 Energy & Environment Black Lung Clinics Call For Action But Top Regulator Plans No New Measures Jeff Young
Jan 8 Energy & Environment Ohio Valley Senators Again Aim to Shore Up Shaky Pension Plan For Coal Miners Following a failed attempt to address a looming crisis in many multi-employer pension programs, two Ohio Valley lawmakers have introduced a bill in Congress to shore up the shaky pension plan for coal miners. The bill also aims to protect health benefits and restore funding for the federal trust fund providing benefits for thousands of […] By Becca Schimmel Jan 8 Energy & Environment Ohio Valley Senators Again Aim to Shore Up Shaky Pension Plan For Coal Miners Becca Schimmel
Jan 3 Energy & Environment Three Miners Dead In Eleven Days: Grim December Caps Year In Coal Mine Safety Just a few months ago, the U.S. coal mining industry was on track for its safest year in history. But in an eleven-day span in late December, three miners died after separate incidents, bringing the total number of fatalities in 2018 to 12, even as coal mining employment continued its decline. “It is a reminder […] By Jeff Young Jan 3 Energy & Environment Three Miners Dead In Eleven Days: Grim December Caps Year In Coal Mine Safety Jeff Young
Dec 19 Energy & Environment Still, They Persist: Black Lung Advocates Demonstrate At McConnell’s KY Office With just days left before a Congressional deadline, advocates for black lung treatment are still pushing Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell to secure funding for miners’ benefits. About two dozen people demonstrated Wednesday near McConnell’s regional office in London, Kentucky, carrying placards reading “Black Lung Kills” and singing along with a banjo tune modified for the […] By Sydney Boles Dec 19 Energy & Environment Still, They Persist: Black Lung Advocates Demonstrate At McConnell’s KY Office Sydney Boles
Dec 18 Energy & Environment Data Dives And Shoe Leather: How NPR’s Howard Berkes Investigated Appalachia’s Black Lung Epidemic NPR is reporting that more than two thousand coal miners are now suffering from the most severe form of black lung disease, Progressive Massive Fibrosis, or PMF. And despite clear warnings, investigative reporter Howard Berkes shows, the mining industry and government regulators did little to stop it. Data loom large in this story: Berkes took a […] By Jeff Young Dec 18 Energy & Environment Data Dives And Shoe Leather: How NPR’s Howard Berkes Investigated Appalachia’s Black Lung Epidemic Jeff Young
Dec 18 Energy & Environment Amid Black Lung Surge Pulmonary Rehab Brings Hope To Disabled Miners Marcy Tate grew up in southwest Virginia in a coal mining family. “My father-in-law was a coal miner, my father was a coal miner, my grandfather was a coal miner, my great-grandfather was a coal miner,” she said. Tate knew what black lung disease looked like. In 2003, her father-in-law passed away from what Tate […] By Sydney Boles Dec 18 Energy & Environment Amid Black Lung Surge Pulmonary Rehab Brings Hope To Disabled Miners Sydney Boles