Yeah, those contributions might have a lot to do with the accident.

The Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) is a division of the Department of Labor. That organization, as well as sister groups in the states, set mining safety regulations and inspect for compliance. The MSHA also has the legal authority to assess fines and even shut down a mine to force compliance with their federal regulations.

Other federal laws with significant impact are the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act, all of which apply to the operation of a mine.

Bucco, I think you can see that some well-placed campaign finance contributions to the people who are elected and appoint the people who run these agencies, establish the regulations and inspect for compliance might be an "investment" that a special interest group like a mine owner or group of mine owners might wish to make. This mine owner appears to have taken the "investment" idea even a step farther by making a big contribution to an appeals court judge running for election, knowing that his company had a $50 million appeals case which would be argued in front of that judge if he were to be elected. Nice to know you might have one out of three judges on the appeals court already in your pocket, don't you think?

By mentioning it in my post, I made the assumption that anyone reading it would understand that. Sorry.