Capito said that streamlining the conference and appeals process and improving regulation implementation both served as an impetus for the bill’s development. Additionally, the proposal holds law violators accountable by increasing penalties — both financial and criminal.
“As we’ve come to learn through official reports, the [Upper Big Branch] mine disaster that claimed 29 lives in West Virginia in April 2010 was stoppable; the catalysts of the explosion could have been addressed,” she said Friday.
“In an effort to address serious shortcomings in current mine safety standards, I have introduced a mine safety bill that I hope will ignite a fruitful debate on how we can improve the effectiveness of mine safety laws, as well as create tougher penalties for those who don’t play by the rules.”
Capito, who also serves as the co-founder of the Congressional Coal Caucus, said she hopes her colleagues on both sides of the nation’s political aisle will pass what she calls a “common sense, effective bill” that will protect miners from future preventable disasters.
“Mine safety is not a partisan issue,” she said.
“We can work together across party lines and across the Capitol to give everyone involved in mine safety, from inspectors to operators to the miners themselves, the resources they want, need and deserve to run a safe mine.”
News of the bill comes just days after the US Mine Safety and Health Administration released its final investigation report into the Upper Big Branch explosion in April 2010 in West Virginia.
Federal regulators determined that the blast was caused by the violation of standard safety laws and a “corporate culture” that then-owner Massey Energy had created at its mines.
Alpha Natural Resources acquired UBB when it took over Massey in June.
In April, California representatives George Miller and Lynn Woolsey introduced HR 1579, also known as the Robert C Byrd Mine and Workplace Safety and Health Act of 2011.
The sister bill includes greater protections for whistleblowers, more oversight and accountability by the US Mine Safety and Health Administration, and improvements for the agency’s pattern of violations process.
