Two congressional Democrats want the U.S. Labor Department to investigate how West Virginia law firm Jackson Kelly has handled black lung benefits cases for its coal industry clients.
Reps. George Miller of California and Joe Courtney of Connecticut cite an investigation of the federal program by the Center for Public Integrity and ABC.
Miller is ranking Democrat on the House committee that oversees the program.
The reports say Jackson Kelly withheld medical records that could have helped miners prove they have the disease.
Jackson Kelly has represented coal companies since the mid-1800s.
The company declined comment to the Charleston Daily Mail but says in court documents it has no duty to turn over certain information.
Jackson Kelly says its obligation is to prepare the best case for its clients.
Tag: Coal
Breaking down the Consol-Murray sale
Consol Energy is selling five of its long wall coal mines in West Virginia to Murray Energy. It’s a deal slated to cost more than $3 billion.
In the deal, Consol will get:
$850 million in cash;
Almost $200 million in value of future payments;
The acquisition of $2.4 billion in Consol’s liabilities, to Murray Energy.
In return,
Murray Energy will receive:
Almost 4,000 new employees;
6 more coal preparation plants;
5 more active mining complexes;
6 more longwall mining systems;
23 more continuing mining units;
1 reverse osmosis plant;
609 barges;
23 harbor boats and tow boats;
5 additional coal transloading facilities.
Sens. Joe Manchin and Jay Rockefeller have requested a meeting with Murray Energy to discuss the transition. Among the liabilities picked up by Murray are retiree health care plans by mining employees.
Four things you need to know about the UMWA-Peabody/Patriot deal
The United Mine Workers of America has reached a settlement with Peabody Energy and Patriot Coal that will help to cover health care benefits for retired miners.
- Magnum Coal Company purchased certain Arch Coal operations in 2005
- Patriot Coal purchased Magnum Coal Company in 2008
- Patriot Coal was spun off from Peabody in 2007
- Patriot Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on July 9, 2012
- In May of this year, a ruling allowed Patriot to quit paying health care benefits for retirees and established a VEBA account with initial Patriot contribution of $15 million
Here are four things you need to know about the new deal:
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The agreement provides more than $400 million to provide health coverage for retirees affected by the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal.
The money will go into the Voluntary Employee Benefit Association or VEBA account.
Peabody will make payments totaling $310 million over the next four years, and proceeds will be applied to future retiree health care benefits.
Patriot has agreed to contribute $15 million to the VEBA in 2014, with up to an additional $60 million to be paid into the fund over the following three years.
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The union has agreed to give up its 35 percent stock as part of this new deal.
UMWA was given 35 percent equity stake in Patriot in May as part of a ruling. The same ruling established the VEBA account.
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UMWA continues to look to Congress to assist in securing additional funds for health care benefits.
Rep. David McKinley introduced a bill in the house that currently has 24 co-sponsors from both parties and a bill introduced by Sen. Jay Rockefeller currently has six co-sponsors.
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UMWA is still hoping to come to an agreement with Arch Coal, another company that formed Patriot.
Patriot has reached a final deal with Arch Coal. According to a release, Patriot will receive $5 million in cash and a release of a $16 million letter of credit posted in Arch’s name as part of the deal.
In a release issued just after midnight Thursday morning, UMWA president Cecil E. Roberts said he was pleased.
“This is a significant amount of money that will help maintain health care for thousands of retirees who earned those benefits though years of labor in America’s coal mines,” Roberts said.
“This settlement will also help Patriot emerge from bankruptcy and continue to provide jobs for our members and~thousands of others in West Virginia and Kentucky.”
Patriot President and Chief Executive Officer Bennett K. Hatfield echoed the union’s satisfaction.
“I am pleased that we have been able to reach agreements that provide the UMWA with hundreds of million of dollars in retiree healthcare funding,” Hatifield said.
“The best result for the UMWA and its members is for Patriot to emerge from bankruptcy as a healthy company that will continue to provide jobs and benefits, and we are now on track to achieve that goal.”
This deal still needs approval by federal bankruptcy judge Kathy Surratt-States. The judge is expected to make that decision early next month.
Federal court orders EPA-revised coal ash regulations
The Environmental Protection Agency will soon be expected to move forward revising coal ash regulations, according to a federal court ruling.In April…
The Environmental Protection Agency will soon be expected to move forward revising coal ash regulations, according to a federal court ruling.
In April 2012, nearly a dozen environmental groups filed a lawsuit challenging the EPA’s inaction to revise coal ash regulations.
Coal ash, often referred to as fly ash, is a byproduct of burning coal. Anything that doesn’t burn up, usually inorganic matter in the coal like shale, is left behind in boilers and is usually disposed of in landfills and settlement ponds.
Power plants in the U.S. produce about 140 million tons of the ash each year and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, about 1,000 active coal ash storage sites exist. West Virginia is home to more than twenty sites.
In their lawsuit, environmentalists said the EPA is in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) because they haven’t revised coal ash regulations in over a decade.
But coal ash has been an active subject of concern because of recent slurry spills and research into the chemical makeup of the waste product.
West Virginia’s Republican Congressman David McKinley saw a bill he introduced pass through the House this past summer. The Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act limits the EPA’s authority to regulate coal ash and instead transfers that authority to individual states.
McKinely issued a statement in response to the court’s ruling saying the decision should motivate action from Congress. He says he’s concerned that his bill continues to be stalled in the Senate despite the Democratic support for the bill in the House.
The order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia offered few details about the timing or substance of the EPA’s rulemaking. It should be noted the court did deny one of the environmentalists claims regarding testing procedures for coal ash contamination. The order says th court will issue a Memorandum Opinion within the next 30 days.
The EPA isn’t able to comment on these developments because the EPA is currently closed.