"The Kentucky coal industry's compliance with U.S. surface mining regulations dropped sharply from 2008 to 2010, while the environmental impact of the violations has worsened, federal records show.

A U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement report analyzing state enforcement of the federal surface mining and reclamation law shows the industry's compliance rate in Kentucky dropped from 87 percent of surveyed mining sites in 2007 and 2008 to 65 percent in 2010.

The most common violations involved water quality, permit administration, and backfilling and grading, the report said — often harming water, land, structures and people beyond the mining site."

James Bruggers reports for the Louisville Courier-Journal June 5, 2011. [2]