Pubdate: Tue, 03 May 2005
Source: Courier-Journal, The (KY)
Copyright: 2005 The Courier-Journal
Contact:  http://www.courier-journal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/97
Note: Only publishes local LTEs
Author: Alan Maimon
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

COAL MINE OPERATOR SENTENCED TO PRISON SAFETY VIOLATIONS CITED IN FATAL 
BLAST IN 2003

PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- In a rare move, a federal judge sentenced a former coal 
mine operator yesterday to 60 days in prison for safety violations that led 
to an explosion in 2003, killing a miner and injuring two others.

Robert Ratliff Sr., 52, is the first miner convicted of safety violations 
in Eastern Kentucky sentenced to prison in more than a decade, said 
Assistant U.S. Attorney Davis Sledd, who prosecuted the case.

The sentence comes after Ratliff's company, Cody Mining, was fined $536,050 
last year -- the largest federal penalty ever in Kentucky -- for safety 
violations related to the explosion.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning denied Ratliff's request for probation, 
citing the severity of the violations at Cody Mining in Floyd County.

"I was weighing probation requests against sending an adequate message to 
others who may choose to do this type of thing. There's no doubt you didn't 
desire this result," Bunning told Ratliff.

Ratliff, who had no criminal record, declined to make a statement in court 
or to comment as he left the courthouse.

But Ratliff's lawyer told the judge that Ratliff took responsibility for 
what happened.

"He has remorse for the accident, not only for the Blair family but for his 
own," said Ratliff's lawyer, Billy Shelton. Ratliff has waived his right to 
appeal and must complete a year of probation after his release.

Paul Blair Jr., 21, was killed June 13, 2003, when he was hit by debris 
from an underground wall during blasting to clear an area for mining.

His father, Paul Blair Sr., said he was surprised but pleased that Ratliff 
is going to prison.

"I thought for sure he'd get probation and that was it," Blair said. "But 
nothing's going to make me feel better about losing my son."

Bunning ordered Ratliff to report to prison by June 20. He said he would 
request that Ratliff be allowed to serve his term at a federal prison camp 
in Martin County, which is close to Ratliff's home. Reaction

Steve Earle, Kentucky political director of the United Mine Workers union, 
said Ratliff's prison sentence "should be a deterrent to other operators 
who think they're above the law."

According to Earle, three coal company executives in Western Kentucky were 
sentenced to prison in 1996 for violating federal mine safety laws.

Bill Caylor, president of the Kentucky Coal Association, an industry group, 
said the sentence would put a scare into mine owners who blatantly violate 
safety laws.

"It shows when people break the law, they have to pay the price," Caylor 
said. Guilty of four misdemeanors

Federal investigators said the safety violations at Cody contributed to 
Blair's death and injuries to two other miners, including Ratliff's son.

Cody Mining has been out of business since the explosion.

Last year, Cody Mining was fined for violations including failure to 
identify obvious hazards, detonation of an excessive amount of explosive 
and allowing miners to bring smoking materials underground.

In January, Ratliff pleaded guilty in federal court to four misdemeanor 
charges, each carrying a maximum sentence of a year in prison.

Two days after his guilty plea, he agreed to a settlement with state mining 
regulators in which he lost his mining certificates for five years.

Four other miners, including Ratliff's son, who is still recovering from 
his injuries, also have had their certificates revoked or probated by the 
state.

Robert Delong, who set the explosive used in the mine and also was injured, 
had his certificate permanently revoked in October 2003.

None of the other miners has been charged with crimes.

Just before the explosion, Blair, the younger Ratliff and Delong took 
shelter behind a wall in a cross-tunnel. But because the tunnels were 
improperly cut, the miners were too close to the explosion, investigators 
determined.

Blair was killed instantly when he was hit by the debris from the 
explosion. Drugs in mine

After the explosion, investigators found a plastic bag in the mine 
containing 0.3 grams of marijuana.

Blair tested negative for marijuana, but a urine test showed trace amounts 
of the painkiller hydrocodone in his system.

The miners who survived were not tested for drugs because state and federal 
regulators have no authority to perform such tests, even after a fatal 
accident.

But the Cody explosion and two deaths at other mines prompted the Kentucky 
Mining Board to endorse legislation to give state inspectors the authority 
to conduct drug tests after fatal or serious injury accidents.

A proposed bill to that effect failed to get a sponsor before the General 
Assembly adjourned earlier this year.

A state task force has met twice to discuss the issue and consider whether 
the state should legislate drug testing.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom