From Feb. 24
This is also the case here in W.Va.
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WASHINGTON — Resistance from mining companies in Kentucky and other states against tougher safety sanctions has created a backlog of cases, clogged the appeals process and — in some instances — allowed operators to delay paying hefty fines.
Members of the House Education and Labor Committee took the mining industry to task Tuesday for contributing to a backlog of mine-safety cases amid concerns that such practices put the nation's miners at risk.
After a spate of mine tragedies in 2005 and 2006, the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission stepped up enforcement and issued tougher penalties.
Mine operators counter that a scattershot approach to issuing sanctions and poorly trained inspectors are causing the backlog.
Read more:
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/02/24/1153739/cause-of-mine-backlog-debated.html#ixzz0kHym4Kow