1 [4 articles count as 1 reading for Rdgs Notes and RDP’s] Donald Blankenship Sentenced to a Year in Prison in Mine Safety Case By ALAN BLINDER http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/us/donald-blankenship-sentenced-to-a-year-in-prison-inmine-safety-case.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=storyheading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0 APRIL 6, 2016 CHARLESTON, W.Va — Donald L Blankenship, whose leadership of Massey Energy Company transformed him into one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Appalachia, was sentenced on Wednesday to a year in prison for conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards The sentencing, in Federal District Court here, came six years and one day after an explosion tore through Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine, killing 29 people Although Mr Blankenship was not accused of direct responsibility for the accident, the deadliest in American coal mining in about 40 years, the disaster prompted the federal inquiry that led to Mr Blankenship’s indictment In addition to the year in jail, Mr Blankenship was fined $250,000 and is subject to a year of supervised release… [Dunn cut rest for space reasons] Ex-Massey CEO faces criminal trial for fatal mine explosion: A first in coal country By Claire Zillman http://fortune.com/2015/09/30/massey-ceo-mine-explosion-coal/ September 30, 2015 In America’s long, dangerous history of mining, not once has a coal mine owner been charged criminally for a worker’s death Coal miner fatalities, in some ways, have been considered a business expense—tragic, but an unavoidable cost in an industry that harvests the mineral from stubborn earth All of that changed with the indictment of Donald Blankenship The former CEO of Massey Energy will stand trial on Thursday at a federal court in Charleston, W.Va He faces up to 31 years in prison for allegedly conspiring to violate safety laws and lying to regulators about safety practices at the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W.Va., where a 2010 explosion killed 29 workers—the nation’s deadliest mining accident in 40 years Blankenship is facing criminal charges when other mining executives have not—in large part —because federal prosecutors say he was intimately involved in Upper Big Branch’s output to an extraordinary degree He demanded reports every half hour on its production—they were sent to his home by fax on nights and weekends “One important factor is there’s a long paper trail indicating Blankenship’s deep involvement in minute decision-making in individual mines in the Massey empire,” says Patrick McGinley, a law professor at West Virginia University who worked on an independent investigation of the 2010 accident The level of detail that Blankenship demanded from his subordinates isn’t something you find from a chairman of the board or CEO of many major corporations—coal or otherwise, McGinley says Because of Blankenship’s extensive knowledge of the day-to-day operations of Upper Big Branch, federal prosecutors have sought to hold him personally responsible for the 835 violations of federal mine safety standards they found at the mine from January 2008 through the time of the fatal explosion… An investigation by the Mine Safety and Health Administration in November 2011 reached a conclusion similar to those of two other inquiries—that the 29 miners perished because Massey disregarded hazards that resulted from “a series of basic safety violations at [Upper Big Branch]” that were “entirely preventable.” The indictment of Blankenship that a federal grand jury handed down in November 2014 characterizes him as a money-hungry executive who micromanaged Upper Big Branch to grow profits, even if it meant disregarding safety measures “Blankenship knew that [Upper Big Branch] was committing hundreds of safety law violations every year and that he had the ability to prevent most of the violations that [Upper Big Branch] was committing,” the indictment says “Yet he fostered and participated in an understanding that perpetuated [Upper Big Branch’s] practice of routine safety violations, in order to produce more coal, avoid the costs of following safety laws, and make money.”… Blankenship, who’s credited with transforming Massey into an industry giant, stepped down as CEO with a $12 million retirement package in December 2010 just before Alpha Natural Resources’ $7.1 billion acquisition of the company He has denied wrongdoing and maintains that an inexplicable flood of natural gas caused the deadly blast… The indictment has helped chip away at a longstanding culture that doesn’t hold mining companies responsible for workers deaths or injuries, McGinley says The prosecution, along with more vigorous, surprise safety examinations of mines, “is a deterrence to future conduct— not just with regard to the person who’s been indicted but it’s sent a message to similarly situated corporate managers that flouting the law can have consequences even when historically it never has,” he says “Whether that’s a lasting message, that has yet to be determined.” Mine Owner to Pay $200 Million in Death of 29 Men By SABRINA TAVERNISE New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/07/us/mine-owner-to-pay-200-million-in-west-virginia-explosion.html? _r=1&hpw December 6, 2011 In what officials say is the largest ever settlement in a government investigation of a mine disaster, Alpha Natural Resources agreed to pay $209 million in restitution and civil and criminal penalties for the role of its subsidiary, Massey Energy, in a 2010 mine explosion that killed 29 men in West Virginia That amount includes $46.5 million allocated to the families of the victims and those who were injured in the blast, and includes terms that protect Alpha — but not individual Massey executives — from prosecution, said Steven Ruby, an assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia The settlement, first reported by the Charleston Gazette, follows months of investigative work by federal officials from the Departments of Justice and Labor, as well as an independent commission appointed by the former West Virginia governor The findings that had been made public placed the blame for the blast squarely on Massey and what investigators said was its reckless disregard for safety standards, but had stopped short of assigning criminal blame… [Dunn cut some for space reasons] “It’s a record-level settlement,” said a former federal mine safety chief, J Davitt McAteer, who conducted the independent state investigation, which issued the first findings about the explosion this year “This is an amount that will get companies to pay attention It has to affect their bottom line, otherwise it doesn’t mean anything.” The settlement does not protect individual Massey managers, including the former chief executive, Don L Blankenship, who have not been charged In all 18 executives refused to be interviewed by federal investigators, invoking their Fifth Amendment rights… The agreement also required Alpha to put in place a plan that guarantees it has enough safety equipment, ventilation and methods of clearing potentially explosive rock dust out of its underground mines within 90 days… The report released in March by the independent team appointed by former Gov Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and led by Mr McAteer determined that the disaster could have been prevented if Massey had observed minimal safety standards That finding was in line with previous inquiries by federal officials who have said that in the year prior to the explosion, Upper Big Branch was cited by safety inspectors 515 times and ordered to shut down operations on 52 occasions The McAteer report accused Massey of having engaged in a pattern of negligence, which allowed a “perfect storm” of poor ventilation, equipment whose safety mechanisms were not functioning and combustible coal dust 4 The investigators dismissed Massey’s claims that the blast had occurred because a sudden burst of methane had bubbled from the ground, saying evidence contradicting that theory included the bodies of the miners found near the main explosion Only two had methane in their lungs Federal investigators have also said that Massey kept two sets of books so that accounts of hazardous conditions in Upper Big Branch would be kept hidden from inspectors Safety rules limited for small fertilizer plants by Jack Gillum and Ramit Plushnick-Masti Daily Times (Salisbury) http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=2013304210023 Apr 21, 2013 WEST, TEXAS — There were no sprinklers No firewalls No water deluge systems Safety inspections were rare at the fertilizer company in West, Texas, that exploded and killed at least 14 people this week This is not unusual Small fertilizer plants nationwide fall under the purview of several government agencies, each with a specific concern and none required to coordinate with others on what they have found The small distributors — there are as many of 1,150 in Texas alone — are part of a regulatory system that focuses on large installations and industries, though many of the small plants contain enough agricultural chemicals to fuel a major explosion This aerial photo taken Thursday shows the remains of a nursing home, left, apartment complex, center, and fertilizer plant, right, destroyed by an explosion in West, Texas, that exploded and killed at least 14 people this week. / AP The plant in West had ammonium nitrate, the chemical used to build the bomb that blew up the Alfred P Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995, killing 168 people According to a document filed in 2012 with the Texas Department of State Health Services, the maximum amount of this “extremely hazardous substance” the plant had on hand at any time was 90 tons It was also authorized to handle up to 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, a substance the Texas environmental agency considers flammable and potentially toxic “This type of facility is a minor source of air emissions,” Ramiro Garcia, the head of enforcement and compliance at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, told The Associated Press “So the inspections are complaint driven We usually look at more of the major facilities.” No federal agency determines how close a facility handling potentially dangerous substances can be to population centers, and in many states, including Texas, many of these decisions are left up to local zoning authorities And in Texas, the state’s minimal approach to zoning puts plants just yards away from schools, houses and other populated areas, as was the case in West That plant received a special permit because it was less than 3,000 feet from a school The damage from the blast destroyed an apartment complex, nursing home and houses in a four-block area State and federal investigators have not yet determined the cause of the disaster, which occurred Wednesday night after a fire broke out at the site after work hours The explosion that followed could be heard miles away and was so powerful it registered as a small earthquake The West Fertilizer Co stored, distributed and blended fertilizers for use by farmers around the Central Texas community The plant opened in 1962 outside the rural town of 2,800, but development gradually crept closer Wednesday night, residents and rescue workers tried to evacuate the area as the fire consumed the plant Donald Adair, the plant’s owner, said in a statement Friday he was cooperating with the investigation and expressed sympathy for the victims He has not returned phone calls seeking comment Throughout the years, the fertilizer company was fined and cited for violations by federal and state agencies Last summer, the U.S Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration assessed a $10,000 fine against West Fertilizer for improperly labeling storage tanks and preparing to transfer chemicals without a security plan The company paid $5,250 after reporting it had corrected the problems The U.S Environmental Protection Agency also cited the plant for not having an up-to-date risk management plan That problem was also resolved, and the company submitted a new plan in 2011 That plan, however, said the company did not believe it was storing or handling any flammable substances and didn’t list fire or an explosion as a danger David Gray, an EPA spokesman in Dallas, said the company’s plan identified a worst-case scenario as an accidental release of all 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, which at room temperature is a gas “This scenario is a plausible worse-case scenario as gaseous anhydrous ammonia can be lethal,” Gray said The risk management plan also did not cite a possible explosion of ammonium nitrate, the solid granular fertilizer stored at the site But that would not be unusual, he said, because ammonium nitrate is not regulated under the Clean Air Act The plant’s plan said there was no risk of fire or explosion and noted they had no sprinklers, ... yet to be determined.” Mine Owner to Pay $200 Million in Death of 29 Men By SABRINA TAVERNISE New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/07/us /mine- owner-to-pay-200-million-in-west-virginia-explosion.html?... for small fertilizer plants by Jack Gillum and Ramit Plushnick-Masti Daily Times (Salisbury) http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=2013304210023 Apr 21, 2013 WEST, TEXAS — There... Safety inspections were rare at the fertilizer company in West, Texas, that exploded and killed at least 14 people this week This is not unusual Small fertilizer plants nationwide fall under the