Pit & Quarry, December 2011

Accident aftermath I n a floor speech on Nov 2 Rep George Miller a leading advocate of new and tougher mine safety legislation argued to Congress that the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act should be amended to allow the prosecution of mine safety violations as felonies In support of this position Miller referred to the recent 90 page report of the United Mine Workers of America UMWA and its focus on alleged actions of company management and managements alleged contribution to the Upper Big Branch explosion that killed 29 coal miners in 2010 The union contends that upper management was guilty of disregarding known violations in favor of maximizing coal production The UMWAs report is entitled Industrial Homicide Report on the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster The union has employed the term industrial homicide to draw attention to its charges against company management The union seeks more sweeping investigations and prosecutions Although the unions charges were directed at a specific disaster at a specific coal mine they cannot help but cast aspersions on the whole industry Lost in all of this is the excellent safety record of so many mines especially aggregate mines The fact is when it comes to legislation regulations and public image all mines are linked together Tougher laws and procedures Aggregate operators know only too well that the series of coal mine disasters that began in 2006 and continued through the Upper Big Branch explosion in 2010 have precipitated multiple changes in laws and regulations Not least among these are those brought BY MICHAEL T HEENAN about by the MINER Act of 2006 the Dodd Frank Act MSHAs new civil penalty regulations that have elevated penalties to six times what they were prior to these serious accidents and MSHAs increasing focus on pattern of violations enforcement Metal and nonmetal mines far more numerous than coal mines have been subjected to the same legal provisions intensified inspections and escalated enforcement Many in the mining industry argue that there is no justification for all mines to be subjected to the same elevated enforcement mechanisms and investigative procedures that have been created to deter violations that could cause coal mine disasters A call for change In an effort to further escalate enforcement against all mines the UMWA is now calling for MSHA to conduct public hearings as a way of investigating accidents The union wants MSHA to use subpoena power in all investigations but the way the law is written MSHA has subpoena power only when it convenes a public hearing If such public hearing type investigations were adopted across the board by MSHA it would represent a significant change in agency procedure Currently most accident investigations are conducted by MSHA at the mine site Investigators make every effort to determine facts fully before information is released to the public or media There has long been recognition that information in fragments may be misleading and not representative of what actually happened In the traditional format MSHAs investigation is detailed and methodical There may be participation by state The United Mine Workers of America wants MSHA to use subpoena power in all investigations but the way the law is written MSHA has subpoena power only when it convenes a public hearing investigators and miners representatives but all information to the public is withheld until facts are ascertained In every case MSHA brings in as many inspectors investigators and technical personnel as the agency believes it needs to complete a fully informed investigation A major investigation into complicated facts and circumstances can go on for months before the cause of accident is determined Only after the investigation is complete does MSHA issue a public report and that report is not issued until the agency is satisfied that all facts have been properly described and evaluated Those who argue that investigations are not sufficiently effective in the traditional form and that MSHA needs the subpoena power in all investigations to ensure the availability of every document and witness are not taking into account how effective MSHAs investigations have been throughout the years In practice investigators typically get complete cooperation from mine operators who are as anxious as the government to ascertain accident causes Agency officials for the most part have not felt a need to convene public hearings to invoke agency subpoena power except in those few cases where the agency did conduct public hearings Continued on page 79 74 PIT QUARRY December 2011 www pitandquarry com