The new laws, which impact more than 4200 underground coal miners in the state, came to fruition Monday thanks to recommendations made following the Quecreek mine accident in 2002.

“This industry and its dedicated workers have been a cornerstone of our economy for more than 200 years,” Rendell said.

“Thanks to the hard work of the legislature and representatives of labour and industry, we have enacted one of the nation's strongest mine safety laws, which completes the work begun following the Quecreek mine accident."

While Pennsylvania began regulating worker safety in 1869, it was some years later in 1883 that the first mine laws were written. The last update to the regulations was nearly 50 years ago in 1961.

The most significant change to the laws calls for the creation of a Board of Coal Mine Safety, a seven-member group to be led by the Department of Environmental Protection secretary and made up of mine owners and workers. The group will have the authority to do something currently impossible through the department – write new regulations for industry safety.

Mine owners and operators will also now be primarily responsible for mine safety compliance, and the DEP will be given the ability to assess appropriate penalties and fines. Under current statutes, only certified individuals, such as foremen, can be held responsible in an incident.

SB 949 – named for then-governor Mark Schweiker’s “Nine for nine!” exclamation with the news that all nine Quecreek miners trapped underground had survived – also brings to law a regulation directly attributed to that accident by increasing the distance between advanced drilling for active workings and a neighbouring abandoned mine that may be filled with gas or water from 200ft to 500ft.

Additionally, the department can now utilise “emergency contracting provisions”, as it has been termed, to pay for mine safety activities and rescue efforts.

“Mining can be a dangerous profession and we need to be able to protect against the realities of 21st century mining if we're to keep our miners safe," said Rendell.

“Our old mine safety law contained outdated language that had little to do with modern coal mining, including references to animals and stables in mines.

“This bill makes substantial improvements to ensure that owners and operators are responsible for the safety of their mines and allows us to adapt quickly to changing mining methods and technologies."

The passage of the new regulations supplements changes made since Quecreek by the DEP’s Bureau of Mine Safety group, including the ability of mine safety officials to review permit applications for safe conditions and the requirement for all underground maps to be validated and verified before new mining commences.

Thirty-year-old equipment will also be replaced for mine rescue teams in the state, including 84 new self-contained self-rescuers, at a cost of $US745,000. The new units have been placed at rescue stations in three counties across the state.

Development, implementations and training for mine inundation issues are also part of the agency’s recommendations, as are continuing education opportunities in mine safety topics for miners, managers and inspectors.

On the home front, the salaries of engineers, inspectors and training staff will go up to be more in line with the standard for recruitment and retainment of safety professionals.

“With Governor Rendell's signature on the new mine safety legislation, the Department of Environmental Protection has followed through on every recommendation made by the Governor's Commission on Mine Safety, DEP's Bureau of Mine Safety, the state Attorney General's Office, the US Attorney's Office, and the US Mine Safety and Health Administration in the wake of the Quecreek accident,” state officials said.

Union responds

While Pennsylvania's United Mineworkers Union, the Pennsylvania Coal Association and the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO were on hand at the bill signing Monday afternoon, the nation’s largest industry union spoke out in support of the landmark amendments.

“Rendell’s signing of the new Pennsylvania mine safety and health legislation will mark July 7 as an historic day for coal miners in the commonwealth for years to come,” said United Mine Workers of America president Cecil Roberts.

“Pennsylvania coal miners have long deserved the kind of safety and health protections miners in other states have, and for the first time in nearly 50 years they will enjoy those kinds of protections.

“The UMWA is pleased that an agreement was reached between all parties that allowed this legislation to finally move through the Legislature and get to the governor’s desk.”

He pointed out, however, that new legislation and oversight for the coal mining industry is moot if not “enforced vigorously” for the good of the state’s workers.

“There are more than 6000 coal miners who go to work every day in the state of Pennsylvania who need to know that their government is on their side. The work to convince them of that has just begun,” he said.

Added UMWA secretary-treasurer Daniel Kane: “Rest assured that our local union safety committees will do their part to ensure the law is implemented to its fullest in mines where the UMWA represents the miners. We will be holding the state agencies charged with enforcing the law accountable for doing their part to implement and enforce it as well.”