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.