© 2024 WMKY
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

West Says Federal Regulations Hurt Coal Industry

Mining Global

State Senator Steve West says federal coal policy has been very unfair to the industry, even as it has worked to deliver its product in much cleaner ways.

The Bourbon County (Kentucky) Republican, whose district includes Morehead, says new regulations on coal-fired plants have severely impaired the market for coal.       

West says, as a result, the employment of miners has fallen from about 14,000 in 2009 to fewer than 7,000 today.

“In just a six year time span, we’ve lost over half of the coal mining jobs in eastern Kentucky. And this at a time when our emissions from coal-fired plants are at their lowest level, they’ve cut emissions by 85 percent.”

In addition to implementing cleaner technologies, West says, the coal industry has also adopted new safety practices that curb the threat of death or injury.

Related Content