Tag: Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center

Black Lung Benefit Rates Lag Behind Rising Inflation

Miner benefit levels are tied to the federal pay scale rather than the cost of living. Therefore, though inflation levels have risen, miners’ black lung benefits have not.

The Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center and Appalachian Voices released a report Wednesday, that shows benefits paid to miners with black lung, and their families, have fallen behind the cost of living and rising inflation.

According to a press release from Appalachian Voices, when the federal black lung benefits program was created in 1969, single miners with zero dependents received $144.50 per month.

The report released today shows that with inflation adjustments that figure today should be $1,204.70. However, miners with zero dependents actually receive $738 per month under current law.

Miner benefit levels are tied to the federal pay scale rather than the cost of living. Therefore, though inflation levels have risen, miners’ black lung benefits have not.

Chelsea Barnes is the legislative director at Appalachian Voices, an environmental organization.

“This report that we’ve released today makes it clear that the status quo is not sustainable for miners with black lung or their families as the cost of food, medicine and rent goes sky high and their benefit levels remain stuck in the past,” Barnes said. “Congress can make a simple fix and disconnect miner benefits from the federal pay scale and tie them to inflation. This is a change that will not break the bank. Instead, it will ensure that coal miners and their families have the basic safety net they deserve to survive.”

The new report finds that at the beginning of 2023, inflation rates hit 8 percent, but benefit levels increased by just 4 percent, leaving many miners and their families to struggle to make up the difference as the price of food, gas and medicine continue to rise.

Rebecca Shelton is the director of policy for Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center and spoke about the struggles miners and their families face without support.

“After sacrificing their health and well-being to power our country, miners and their families struggling with a black lung diagnosis shouldn’t have to pinch pennies to survive,” Shelton said. “But the current law ignores inflation and ignores rising prices, leaving disabled coal miners behind. This report should be a clarion call to Congress that, in their efforts to tackle inflation, they must take urgent action to ensure black lung benefits can truly support the people who have earned and deserve them. Anything less is a failure to support our communities during the ongoing cost of living crisis.”

RECLAIM Act To Boost Coal Communities Passes House As Part Of Infrastructure Bill

The House of Representatives Wednesday passed a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that includes two provisions that would specifically help coal-reliant communities in the Ohio Valley.

The bill, called the Moving Forward Act, includes funding for roads and bridges, rural broadband, drinking water system repairs, renewable energy, and affordable housing, all of which Democrats say would create millions of jobs and help the economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

But Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky indicated he would not bring the bill to a vote, calling it “political theater” too focused on cutting carbon emissions.

“That kind of rhetoric from our senator is really damaging to years of collaboration across party lines,” said Rebecca Shelton, the coordinator of policy and organizing for the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, which represents coal miners. “Ultimately, failure to move these bills forward in the Senate would be of true detriment to Kentuckians.”

The components specifically geared towards coal communities are the RECLAIM Act and the reauthorization of the Abandoned Mine Lands Fund, both of which have long been on the wish list for regional advocacy groups. The RECLAIM Act would invest $1 billion in cleaning up land and water polluted by coal mining, and would help turn old mine lands into economic engines in a region long marked by poor job prospects. The RECLAIM Act has passed the House in previous years with bipartisan support, but has stalled in the Senate.

The reauthorization of the AML program would help states and tribal governments reclaim mine land that has been abandoned for decades.

More than 100 organizations, including Shelton’s ACLC, the AFL-CIO, the Sierra Club, and the Union of Concerned Scientists, signed a letter this March urging McConnell and other leaders to adopt both measures, saying, “Rebuilding regional economies takes many years. Coal communities and workers have powered American homes and businesses for more than a century, and they deserve support as America’s energy landscape changes.”

Joanne Hill, a retired nurse who lives in Pulaski County, Kentucky, has been urging McConnell to pass the measures for years. “We’ve knocked on Senator McConnell’s door time and time again seeking his support for the RECLAIM Act and funding for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund,” she said. “Up to this point we’ve been left out in the cold. It’s time for that to change.”

In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for McConnell called the bill a “multi-thousand page cousin of the Green New Deal, which faces a veto threat from the White House.” The spokesperson went on, “Senator McConnell continues to advocate for pro-coal, pro-family policies and remains committed to ensuring funding is secured to reclaim abandoned mine lands as well as for economic development efforts in Central Appalachia.”

Environmental Groups Tell Bankruptcy Court Blackjewel Continues To Skirt Obligations

A coalition of conservation and environmental groups is once again calling attention to pollution and unmet environmental obligations at mines controlled by now-bankrupt coal operator Blackjewel LLC. 

In a letter submitted to the bankruptcy court on Wednesday, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center and eight other groups said the majority of the companies’ surface mine permits in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia have not been transferred to new operators as the company promised. 

The mines also continue to amass environmental violations, despite assurances by Blackjewel that mine reclamation and other environmental obligations would be taken care of by the new owners of the mines. 

“It is unfortunately very clear that Blackjewel is allowing the mining operations for which permits remain in its possession to deteriorate and accrue mounting numbers of permit violations,” the letter states. 

In Kentucky, the groups say the company has failed to transfer 149 of the company’s 213 permits. Fifty-nine transfers have been submitted. Only five permits have been transferred to new owners. 

In Virginia, 34 transfers have been completed, while eight are in process. Of the 29 permits where no action has been taken, the groups note four were slated to go to Kooper Glo Mining. 

In West Virginia, five of the 12 permits have been transferred. 

“We are therefore very concerned that Blackjewel will seek to abandon those permits during the course of this bankruptcy,” the groups write. 

According to their analysis of state and federal databases, Blackjewel mines continue to wrack up environmental violations, including complaints about water quality, sediment control and pollution exceeding discharge limits. 

In Kentucky, the groups found the number of on-the-ground violations jumped from 42 in the first quarter of 2019 to 119 in the first quarter of 2020. The bulk of the violations occurred at mines where there have been no moves to transfer the permit to a new owner. 

In West Virginia, the Department of Environmental Protection has issued 13 violation notices at Blackjewel mines still controlled by the company, the letter details. That includes serious issues reported at the Rush Creek mine complex near the Kanawha State Forest.

In a Tuesday filing, Kentucky environmental regulators echoed some concerns raised by the environmental groups. The state’s Energy and Environment Cabinet asked the court to force Blackjewel to bring its mining operations into compliance. The agency said the problem has escalated even after two court hearings addressed the issues earlier this year. It cited 606 outstanding violations of Kentucky’s mining laws and 13,125 violations of their state water quality permits, primarily the result of failing to submit discharge monitoring reports.

“Yet, instead of using the Estate’s limited resources to maintain their operations necessary to avoid causing harm to the affected land and water, the Debtors continue to spend millions of dollars on professional fees – an amount in excess of five million dollars ($5,000,000.00) for the third quarter calendar year 2019 alone,” the agency said. 

In an email, a spokesperson for FTI Consulting, which is representing Blackjewel, said the company had no comment at this time. 

 

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