WV Coal control: How safety board members get picked (a must read)
I can't possibly do justice to this article by providing this small excerpt. Read it and see for yourself.
The Charleston Gazette
Coal control: How safety board members get picked
July 24, 2014 by Ken Ward Jr.
When we last left the West Virginia Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety, board members had just managed to somehow pass a rather watered-down version of a rule to eventually require mine operators to install life-saving proximity detection systems on at least some underground mining equipment in our state’s coal industry. Board members did this after months of pleas from the widow of a miner whose life could have been saved by such technology, and after struggling with something the board wasn’t used to — and didn’t seem to care for — public involvement in its deliberations and transparency of its discussions and decisions.
That was more than three months ago. Fast-forward to Monday, when the board had a regular monthly meeting scheduled over at the Charleston Civic Center.
When the meeting started, there was a new face at the table: Brian Keaton, a safety official with Alpha Natural Resources. Keaton had been appointed to the seat that had previously been held by Arch Coal official Charles Russell. Now, there was no indication that I’ve heard of that Mr. Russell wanted off the board. And it appeared that even some fellow board members were surprised — or at least acted surprised — at the change. When board member Terry Hudson of Patriot Coal came into the room, for example, he said, “Where’s Charlie?”
MORE at http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2014/07/24/coal-control-how-safety-board-members-get-picked/
