Illegal Advanced Notice of Mine Inspections Still a Problem, Puts Lives in the Crosshairs, Rep. Miller says
WASHINGTON – Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement today after the Mine Safety and Health Administration outlined recent incidents where mine operators and contractors provided unlawful advance notice of impending mine inspections in order to give enough time to cover up or fix hazardous conditions in mines before inspectors were able to arrive in the area where mining was being conducted.
“Recent troubling instances of advance notice of mine inspections outlined by federal mine safety officials show that too many mine operations just don’t get it. As we have seen with the Upper Big Branch mine tragedy, illegal advance notice of an inspection puts miners’ lives in the crosshairs. This dangerous cat and mouse game is unacceptable and must stop. Congress needs to make this type of despicable behavior a felony and those repercussions should be plainly known by everyone from the portal to the corporate headquarters. This is but one lesson learned from the Upper Big Branch tragedy and Congress should be able to work together to fix this weakness in the not too distant future.”
While this kind of notice is illegal, as it impedes on the ability of inspectors to identify health and safety hazards, it is only a misdemeanor and it has been widely ignored. Investigations into the Upper Big Branch explosion and testimony by the mine’s former superintendent at a recent sentencing hearing show that tipping off foremen below ground of impending mine inspections was encouraged by company leadership, despite knowing it was illegal. Legislation coauthored by Rep. Miller, the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act (H.R. 1579), would make this type of illegal activity a felony. Earlier this month, the State of West Virginia made advance notice of a mine inspection a felony.
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