"The Obama administration has announced a review of existing regulations and Rep. George Miller publicly released a list of the 48 mines with a pattern of serious safety violations. Only one from Arizona made the list.

Arizona being the top copper-producing state in the country, you might think it was one of the numerous copper mines. Or maybe one of the gold or silver mines that dot the state.

In fact, it was the Kayenta Coal Mine, located way up on the Navajo Reservation, just a few miles from where I grew up.

A brief look through the citations from the Mine Safety and Health Administration in just the past month reveals an "accumulation of combustible materials," heavy machinery in disrepair, lack of adequate first-aid equipment and much more. An immediate investigation of the Kayenta Mine is needed to protect the workers.

But the safety concerns of the Kayenta Mine go beyond the dangers of tunnel collapse or explosion. In 1967, the Peabody coal company began operating two strip mines on top of Black Mesa: the Kayenta and Black Mesa mines."

Get the Story:
Marshall Johnson: Navajo Nation must move away from coal mining (The Arizona Republic 6/22)