By Todd Hatton/AP
Hopkins County, KY – A Hopkins County mining company owned by Alliance Coal has received three citations this spring for violating conditions of a mining permit it obtained through a controversial state policy. The Courier-Journal reports the citations against Warrior Coal came in April, May and this month. Warrior is a subsidiary of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Alliance.
The policy by which the permits were acquired has been criticized by environmentalists and former state Director of Mine Permits Ron Mills, who was fired in November. It allows permits for applicants who haven't obtained mining rights for as much as one-third of the property covered by the permit. The state can fine Alliance Coal $5,000 to $25,000 per day for each day a violation existed.