Details about this story

• Source: Louisville Courier-Journal
• Date: January 29, 2006
• URL: Read the story
• Bylines: James R. Carroll
• Topics: Business , Disasters
• Data Types: Federal Data
• Description/Excerpt: Most of the major fines levied against operators of underground coal mines in Kentucky in the last 10 years remain unpaid because of bankruptcies and a lengthy appeals process, reports James R. Carroll of the Washington bureau of The Courier-Journal. "Since 1995, Kentucky mines have been assessed nearly $4.7 million in fines of $10,000 or more, according to government data. The Kentucky mine operators have paid almost $1.9 million of those penalties," the Louisville newspaper reports. "Nearly $1.7 million in penalties that can no longer be contested remains uncollected from Kentucky mine operators, according to records" of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. "And $1.1 million in fines is still being contested."