At the second day of hearings that adjourned late on Tuesday, individuals from industry and labor, as well as state mining officials and independents, all spoke of improvements needed to make mining in the state safer.
According to the Associated Press, independent investigator J Davitt McAteer told representatives that coal operators must be held accountable for negligence and misconduct so an accident like the Upper Big Branch mine explosion, that killed 29 workers in April 2010, doesn’t happen again.
He urged legislators to examine a newly enacted Pennsylvania law that placed the responsibility for accidents on mine managers – West Virginia statutes currently target mine foremen.
“I know of no mine foreman who ever bought a longwall or a continuous miner for that matter,” the news service quoted McAteer as saying.
“They don't have that kind of authority. They shouldn’t have that kind of responsibility.”
In response to a Mine Safety Bill recently introduced by state governor Earl Ray Tomblin, McAteer said the potential mandates were not enough.
“I don't believe the bill is comprehensive enough to address the problems that we found in the Upper Big Branch mine disaster,” McAteer reportedly said.
The AP reported that United Mine Workers of America administrator Dennis O’Dell also commented on the bill, as well as another one pending passage by the state’s judicial arm.
The two in combination, O’Dell said, offered a good kick-off point as each offered good provisions.
One area in which he was critical was Tomblin’s outlines on drug testing.
He said he questioned the law’s necessity since most producers already had such programs implemented.
“We're not druggies and we're not alcoholics,” he reportedly said.
“I don't think mine inspectors need to be drug and alcohol police to take them away from what their duties really are.
“It’s only those operations that are not reputable that have no alcohol or drug policies in place, because they don't care – all they care about is production.
“Punish them, don't punish the rest of us.”
As for the UBB blast, McAteer said the state should not wait for Congress to respond.
“If there is to be any result coming out of the Upper Big Branch disaster and the loss of these 29 plus one miners, that result will be from this chamber and nowhere else,” McAteer was quoted by the AP.
“So, you have an awesome responsibility and a burden. Deal with that.
“If there is to be correction, if we are to prevent any more, it is to come from here.”
McAteer was commissioned to head an independent investigation into the blast and found then-owner Massey Energy allowed a build-up of methane and coal dust which was subsequently sparked by worn equipment.
Non-functional water sprays also made what could have been a minor flare into a major explosion that killed the workers instantly.
McAteer and later the United Mine Workers of America, both pointed to state and federal officials for their oversights of the operation before the blast, which McAteer said had a historically poor safety record.
Earlier this week, he told MetroNews TalkLine that a good provision in Tomblin’s proposal was to prohibit pre-notification of a mine inspector’s presence at a minesite, making that action a felony crime.
“We have such dangers underground that we need to have the inspectors know what the actual situation is, not one created about 15 minutes before the inspector gets there,” he said.
