Employment in the nation’s mining industry is at a 14-year high, reports the Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail.

According to data from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, the number of coal jobs across the country is at its highest level since 1996, with 90,354 jobs in 2011.

West Virginia, one of the nation’s biggest mining states, has seen coal employment reach its highest level in 20 years, with 23,353 jobs.

This comes despite concerns around the environmental and health dangers of mining, and resultant regulation and legislation, the paper notes.

West Virginia University law professor Pat McGinley told a subcommittee of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee on Friday: “There is evidence that strictly regulated coal mining is producing more jobs while protecting the environment.”

“The hysterical reaction of coal companies to any and all regulations to protect the safety of workers and communities near their mines is about profits, not jobs.”