Tony Oppegard
Tony Oppegard
accidents failure kentucky problem report serious
We have a serious, serious problem in Kentucky with failure to report accidents.
good
There are some good recommendations. It's a good start.
coal coming dog opening operators price quick trying
With the price of coal so high, you have operators coming out of the woodwork, trying to get into any seam of coal they can to make a quick buck, opening up a lot of little dog holes.
flag problems red safety unusual
That's very unusual and a red flag that there's some safety problems at that mine.
cost deterrent factor high minimal operators pay
Most of the fines are not high enough to have a real deterrent effect. If the operators know they're not going to have to pay the fines, or that they will be minimal fines, they just factor that into the cost of doing business.
coal miners
We're not getting everything that we think coal miners need in this bill.
enviable safety
That is not a very enviable safety record.
affect conditions extremely low mine unsafe
That's extremely low and inappropriate. Most unsafe conditions in a mine would affect more than one person.
finite guys supply
They want guys who are 30 to 35 years old, and there is a finite supply of them.
high indicative poor safety
That is a very high number, and it is usually indicative of a very poor safety record.
black cheaper coal couple dust exceed expose fine lung mine miner pay tons
You can mine 4 tons of coal in a couple of minutes. It's cheaper to exceed the dust limits, expose a miner to black lung and pay the fine than it is to do the right thing.
financial means mining operate safe
To me, if you're under-capitalized and don't have the financial means to operate a safe mine, you shouldn't be in the mining business.
assessment coal far goes less mines minimum receive ton
Far too many mines receive the minimum assessment of $60, which is less than what a ton of coal goes for these days.
next step
It's the next enforcement step and it's never used.