California Representatives George Miller and Lynn Woolsey are asking Kentucky coal mine operators of K and D Mining and Kentucky Darby Mine No. 1 in Harlan County to submit a plan by Monday for paying $1.5 million in overdue fines. Five miners were killed in 2006 at the Kentucky Darby Mine, and K and D Mining was closed for nine days last month after federal Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors found dangerous conditions. Miller is the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Woolsey is the ranking Democrat on that panel's workforce protections subcommittee. They have been outspoken advocates for tougher mine-safety laws.
