NewsMine — cabal-elite — corporate — slurry — Viewing Item

Ex official says gov covered up spill cause Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=4730285 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=4730285 Ex-Official Says Govt Covered Up Spill Cause Thu Apr 1, 2004 05:54 PM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - A whistle-blower has accused the Bush administration of trying to protect the company responsible for a 2000 coal slurry spill for political reasons, according to CBS Television's "60 Minutes." Jack Spadaro, former head of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy, said on the show to be aired on Sunday that the Department of Labor whitewashed a report that held mining company Massey Energy Co., a contributor to the Republican Party, responsible for the spill. The Oct. 11, 2000, spill from the mining company's containment pond poured 300 million gallons of coal sludge into water supplies in Kentucky and West Virginia. "The Bush administration came in and the scope of our investigation was considerably shortened," Spadaro, who helped investigate the spill for the Mine Safety and Health Administration, said on the CBS show. He called it "interference with a federal investigation of the most serious environmental disaster in the history of the eastern United States." CBS said the Richmond, Virginia company was a "generous" contributor to the Republican Party. The official said his investigation found Massey Energy, which owned the impoundment, knew the containment was weak and had leaked once before. He said the company could have faced large fines and criminal charges. But he said the MSHA curtailed his report and cited the company for two violations rather that the eight he sought. Spadaro said he refused to sign the report and resigned from the investigation. This year, a judge with the federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission set a fine for the company at $5,500. It faced a possible fine of $55,000 by the Labor Department. In 2002, the company agreed to pay $3.25 million to the state of Kentucky and a $225,000 fine to its Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The company also reached an undisclosed settlement with residents who said their property was damaged in the spill. CBS said Massey Energy, the head of the mine administration and Secretary of Labor declined to be interviewed. Representatives for the Labor Department and Massey were not immediately available for comment on the CBS report. © Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.

Bush administration covers up slurry catastrophe { April 4 2004 } Ex official says gov covered up spill cause Former mine inspector speaks out on 60 minutes Spill inquiry was halted { April 4 2004 } Files Listed: 4

Correction/submissions

CIA FOIA Archive

National Security Archives

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.