Saturday, December 18, 2010
Safety Practices Targeted At Massey Operation
WEST VIRGINIA...
A potentially groundbreaking lawsuit over Massey Energy safety practices apparently survived the company's initial legal challenge on Friday and is headed for a full hearing in early January, officials said.
U.S. Department of Labor officials are seeking a federal court injunction against Massey subsidiary Freedom Energy's Mine No. 1 in Pike County, Ky.
Lawyers for the department's Mine Safety and Health Administration are for the first time using more than 30-year-old enforcement authority in asking U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar to shut down the Freedom operation. MSHA inspectors and supervisors allege the mine has committed a "pattern of violations" that poses a "continuing hazard" to miners' health and safety.
Separate legal authority allows MSHA to seek a federal court injunction against mines with repeated violations and where miners are at a continuing risk. MSHA had never used that authority either, but agency chief Joe Main launched the Freedom Energy case as part of an Obama administration crackdown following the deaths of 29 miners in an explosion April 5 at Massey's Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County.
A potentially groundbreaking lawsuit over Massey Energy safety practices apparently survived the company's initial legal challenge on Friday and is headed for a full hearing in early January, officials said.
U.S. Department of Labor officials are seeking a federal court injunction against Massey subsidiary Freedom Energy's Mine No. 1 in Pike County, Ky.
Lawyers for the department's Mine Safety and Health Administration are for the first time using more than 30-year-old enforcement authority in asking U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar to shut down the Freedom operation. MSHA inspectors and supervisors allege the mine has committed a "pattern of violations" that poses a "continuing hazard" to miners' health and safety.
Separate legal authority allows MSHA to seek a federal court injunction against mines with repeated violations and where miners are at a continuing risk. MSHA had never used that authority either, but agency chief Joe Main launched the Freedom Energy case as part of an Obama administration crackdown following the deaths of 29 miners in an explosion April 5 at Massey's Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 8:23 AM 
