While the residents of Eastern Kentucky dig out from the mud and landslides that destroyed their homes and communities after heavy rains hit the area, many are pointing to irresponsible mining practices as an exacerbating the problem, NBC News reports.

Coal companies had literally shifted mountains in the region, with stripped mountaintops becoming hills of compacted soil after the companies harvested the coal from the land.  The heavy rain turned these into massive flows of mud wiping out everything below them.

Lawyers point out that many of the coal mines that operated in the eastern Kentucky region did not comply with the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, which required coal companies to restore areas impacted by strip mining or mountaintop removal mining to conditions prior to their mining operations.

However, over time, finding the companies responsible for complying with SMCRA because some declared bankruptcy to avoid paying and others have been sold time and time again, muddling ownership.  Enforcement of SMCRA falls to the states which licensed the mines, and Kentucky has historically been unwilling to track responsible stakeholders.

Still, their damage is being felt.  Abandoned mine tunnels, filled with water, can collapse and force waves of water downhill or develop into sinkholes that can swallow homes.  The heavy rains that hit the area last week have left at least two dozen dead, two still missing and scores homeless.