Statement of Jack Spadaro, Former Director of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy, Regarding Senate Bill S.3512, the Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2012

Former National Mine Health and Safety Academy Director Jack Spadaro opposes Senate Bill S.3512, claiming that relying on independent engineers employed by operators—rather than strict federal regulations—creates a dangerous risk of dam failure. He cites historical disasters in Buffalo Creek and Martin County to illustrate the failure of inadequate oversight and notes an EPA study finding 25% of over 400 coal ash dams are in 'poor' condition without legal requirements for owners to remedy deficiencies.

• The 1972 Buffalo Creek disaster, which killed 125 people and left 4,000 homeless, was attributed by a Governor's Commission of Inquiry to a lack of clear and enforceable federal and state laws regarding the safety of mine-refuse banks and impounding structures.
• Existing OSM and MSHA regulations for coal refuse dams are more stringent than the proposals in S.3512 because they require specific engineering standards and approval from regulatory authorities rather than leaving criteria to an independent engineer.
• Relying on independent engineers employed by operators is dangerous, as evidenced by the October 11, 2000, failure of a coal slurry impoundment in Martin County, Kentucky, which released 300 million gallons of toxic waste despite being certified as safe by an independent professional engineer for six years.
• An EPA study of over 400 coal ash dams found that approximately 25% were in "poor" condition, yet there is currently no law or regulation requiring owners to remedy these deficiencies.

APA

Spadaro, J. (2012). Statement of Jack Spadaro, Former Director of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy, Regarding Senate Bill S.3512, the Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2012. Earthjustice. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/statementofjackspadaro-2012-11-13-1.pdf

Chicago

Spadaro, Jack. Statement of Jack Spadaro, Former Director of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy, Regarding Senate Bill S.3512, the Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2012. Earthjustice, 2012. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/statementofjackspadaro-2012-11-13-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Spadaro |first1=Jack |title=Statement of Jack Spadaro, Former Director of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy, Regarding Senate Bill S.3512, the Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2012 |publisher=Earthjustice |date=13 November 2012 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/statementofjackspadaro-2012-11-13-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{spadaro2012statement, author = {Spadaro, Jack}, title = {{Statement of Jack Spadaro, Former Director of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy, Regarding Senate Bill S.3512, the Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2012}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2012}, month = nov, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/statementofjackspadaro-2012-11-13-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }