In a letter to federal regulators, the director of the Alabama Surface Mining Commission wrote she has “indefinitely suspended” methane monitoring requirements her agency agreed to in 2024. Experts say the “astonishing and reckless” move leaves residents at risk.

By Lee Hedgepeth

OAK GROVE, Ala.—Alabama officials charged with protecting residents from surface impacts of underground coal mining have notified the federal government that they’ve suspended plans to require that expanding mines monitor for potentially explosive methane gas.

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