Many local miners who worked for Mountain Drive Coal have received notification that they are to re-pay several years worth of pensions to BP Retirement Services. According to a group of miners who received the letters, any area miner who has received one of the letters are encouraged to attend a meeting at Jan. 29 at noon at Clear Creek Baptist Bible College Family Life Center.

The Mountain Drive Coal Company has been involved in several transactions over the years and the responsibility for paying benefits to retirees has been passed along as well.

BP Coal acquired the property from Foundation Coal a few years ago and started paying the Mountain Drive retirees an additional pension.

Clyde Smith, a local miner who retired from Mountain Drive 15 years ago, said BP recently sent formal letters to him and others asking them to repay thousands of dollars.

The company claims that because they did not own the coal company at the time that each miner was employed there, they are not responsible for providing retirement funds.

"They are asking me to pay back over $11,000 in a year's time," Smith said. "The letter says that we were paid the pension through a mistake and that it should have been paid by Foundation Coal."

Smith said he knows of several others who received similar letters and estimates that as many as 300 retired miners could be affected.

In the letter BP threatens collection actions against the miners if the money is not repaid.

Smith said the main goal of the meeting is for the retired miners to determine a course of action, whether that means hiring a lawyer, waiting for BP to take further action or setting up payment plans to pay the money back (which they hope to avoid). Smith saidhe, as well as many others, feels that it is not his responsibility to pay anything back to BP because it is their mistake.