Tony Oppegard Coal Quotations

We're not getting everything that we think coal miners need in this bill.

With the price of coal so high, you have operators coming out of the woodwork, trying to get into any seam of coal they can to make a quick buck, opening up a lot of little dog holes.

You can mine 4 tons of coal in a couple of minutes. It's cheaper to exceed the dust limits, expose a miner to black lung and pay the fine than it is to do the right thing.

Far too many mines receive the minimum assessment of $60, which is less than what a ton of coal goes for these days.