By STU JOHNSON
file photo CREDIT ECONOMICMODELING.COM
Legislation to reduce the cost of reprocessing old coal is heading to the full Kentucky Senate. Senate Bill 251 would affect a specific refuse fill area in Clay County. If passed, it would eliminate the requirement for a coal company foreman and two emergency medical technicians.
Coal Operators and Associates Board Chair Charles Baird estimated 30 to 40% of material in an eight to ten acre refuse area is coal dumped there over decades because of cleaning inefficiencies.
“That material will be hauled to another preparation plant 50 miles away where it will be washed and the impurities taken out and the coal remain and I’m sure it will be blended with other coal and otherwise be sold, so I don’t know the economics, other than I know this material can be sold with very little costs involved,” said Baird.
Kentucky Resources Council Director Tom Fitzgerald said the bill is being narrowly drawn. He says there will still be federal mining inspection oversight and proper permitting. Fitzgerald said the state environmental cabinet will also review the legislation. “They’re required to the material in a way that’s stable and you’re also going to have to be regulated under MSHA, the federal mine safety and health administration, so there will be people that are trained who know what they are doing, handling this material,” noted Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald added proper removal of the coal can work to make the refuse pile smaller and more stable. In explaining the bill, Baird, an attorney representing coal interests, told committee members thousands of miners are out of work. He said this measure could help keep some miners with employment.
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