Reuters: A program that has allowed U.S. coal companies to forego cleanup insurance on massive western mines is flawed and needs to be fixed, Wyoming officials have told federal regulators.
Coal companies must restore the land around spent mines, but roughly $3.6 billion in liabilities could fall to taxpayers under a subsidy called 'self bonding' that allows large coal companies to go without some cleanup insurance, federal officials have warned.
Coal operator Alpha Natural Resources Inc left behind...