Published: May 4, 2016 |

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For Kentucky’s coal industry, the news gets worse each quarter.

The latest from the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet:

•  As of April 1, an estimated 6,900 people were employed at Kentucky coal mines. That’s the lowest level recorded since 1898, when there was an average of 6,399 coal miners.

•  There were 19,422 people working at Kentucky coal mines as recently as 2009.

•  That’s a 65 percent decline in seven years.

•  During the first quarter of 2016, the rate of Kentucky coal production is the lowest statewide since 1939, and the lowest in eastern Kentucky since 1917.

•  Western Kentucky coal mines decreased production by 5.7 percent, to produce 6.8 million tons for the quarter.

•  Eastern Kentucky mines decreased production by 21.6 percent to produce 4.5 million tons.

Read the full report here.

The Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign tracks and maps the closure of coal-fired power plants.

Source: (May 2, 2016) Courier-Journal

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