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Ky. mine operators owe $29M in delinquent fines

A published report says Kentucky coal operators owe more in delinquent fines to federal authorities for mine safety violations than any other state.  The Louisville Courier-Journal reports the finding from an analysis of records from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.  Records show Kentucky mine operators owe MSHA just over 29 million dollars, 40 percent of the total seventy-three and a half million owed to the agency in mine safety fines. Operators in West Virginia rank second, owing 14 point seven million.  The analysis showed many of the fines are years old, some stemming from violations in 1993.  MSHA chief Joseph Main says the agency has "a very high collection rate," and it is taking a "hard look" at operators who haven't paid penalties.

Todd Hatton hails from Paducah, Kentucky, where he got into radio under the auspices of the late, great John Stewart of WKYX while a student at Paducah Community College. He also worked at WKMS in the reel-to-reel tape days of the early 1990s before running off first to San Francisco, then Orlando in search of something to do when he grew up. He received his MFA in Creative Writing at Murray State University. He vigorously resists adulthood and watches his wife, Angela Hatton, save the world one plastic bottle at a time.
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