West Virginia Coal Mine, With More 250 Safety Violations In 2013, Kills Two (VIDEO)

Two workers at the Brody coal mine, located in West Virginia's Boone County, were killed after a structural collapse. The mine was cited by the US Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) more than 250 times, in 2013 alone.

A letter sent to by MSHA to the mine's safety manager, Justin Ray,  in October of 2013 states that MSHA had determined there was a pattern of violations (POV). The POV citation includes:

• 18 citations for ventilation and/or methane hazards
• 20 citations for emergency preparedness and/or escapeway hazards
• 9 citations for roof and/or rib hazards 
• 7 citations for inadequate examinations (inspections)

The letter goes on to state:

"These groups of violations, taken alone or together, constitute a pattern of
violations of mandatory health and safety standards in the coal or other mine
which are of such nature as could have significantly and substantially
contributed to the cause and effect of coal or other mine health or safety
hazards."

The Brody mine is operated by Patriot Coal, which in turn is owned by Peabody Energy,a company that maintains close ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Peabody Energy lobbyist, Wendy Lowe, was named ALEC 'State Chair of the Year' in 2012. In addition, the company's top lobbyist, Kelly Madar, sits on the ALEC advisory council. 

Peabody Energy is a $50,000 a year 'Conference Level Sponsor.' The money is spent wining and dining lawmakers, paying for elaborate trips to 'ALEC' conferences, where lobbyist like Lowe spend their time influencing policy with pay outs to corrupt government officials.

In 2012 Patriot Coal, owned by Peabody, filed for bankruptcy. Company representatives later announced their intention in restructuring debt obligations was to eliminate employee benefits. Peabody spun off this part of their West Virginia operations in order to avoid paying 'legacy liabilities,' benefits owed to employees who put their lives on the line to work in the company's coal mines. 

Peabody Energy was named the 'worst of the worst' by Newsweek Magazine. The company was listed as the number one worst polluter on the planet. Newsweek cited the company's massive impact on the environment in conjunction with it's nearly non-existent environmental policies, as reasons for the rating.

Thanks to ALEC and lawmakers who put lining their own pockets ahead of the good of the citizens they are supposed to represent, companies like this are allowed to continue to operate in the United States, at the expense of the people who work for and live near them. 

Here's more on Monday evening's mine collapse, from the Associated Press. 

photo credit The Raw Story