US studying coal mining firms' cleanup programme for shortfalls

Baltimore

THE federal government is examining whether struggling US coal companies still qualify for an exemption that allows them to avoid having to fully insure against billion-dollar mine cleanup costs, the top regulator for the mining industry said.

Within the last several weeks, federal officials have begun to scrutinise the "self-bonding" programmes that allow financially qualified mining companies to leave part of their potential cleanup costs uninsured, said Joseph Pizarchik, director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) on Monday.