This article originally provided by The Lexington Herald-Leader

July 26, 2006

Poor choice

OSM nominee lacks competence, integrity

Search high and low for the worst person to head the federal agency that oversees strip mining, and you couldn't top John Correll.

In his former post in the Bush administration, Correll helped roll back safety protections for underground miners, covered up the causes of the Martin County slurry spill and was implicated in improperly awarding government contracts to cronies.

When his nomination comes up today before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Kentucky's Sen. Jim Bunning should vote no, out of respect for his coalfield constituents.

Few offshoots of government have a more direct effect on the quality of life in Eastern Kentucky than the U.S. Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement.

The agency oversees the huge mining operations that dynamite and scrape away mountaintops to extract the coal beneath.

Everything, from the foundations and walls of homes and churches to the region's streams and groundwater, are directly dependent on OSM for protection.

With coal prices soaring, and demand rising for more coal-fired power, OSM needs a leader of unquestioned competence and integrity.

In his last job at the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, Correll was in the thick of making decisions that put workers at unnecessary risk and contributed to the deaths of coal miners this year.

That record should leave no doubt that he's the wrong person to head the Office of Surface Mining.