Inaction on Mine Safety Is Shameful, say Reps. Miller and Courtney on 3rd Anniversary of Upper Big Branch Tragedy
WASHINGTON – Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democratic member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, issued the following statement today on the third anniversary of the Upper Big Branch mine explosion in Montcoal, W. Va.
“Three years ago, 29 miners’ lives were taken in an entirely senseless and preventable tragedy at the Upper Big Branch mine. While many on Capitol Hill have turned their attention elsewhere, some of us refuse to forget that horrible day and the promises made to the families that we would act to prevent future tragedies.
“It is clear from the numerous investigations into the explosion that the entire system – from mine safety agencies to the mine industry to Congress – needed to do a better job to protect miners. The Obama administration has taken some promising actions to improve miner safety, but the tools at the administration’s disposal are not enough to overcome the inherent weaknesses of current law.
“Legislation is necessary. Without congressional action, there is no meaningful deterrent for miner operators who criminally endanger the lives of miners, nor is there adequate deterrent for advanced notice of inspections. Miners’ jobs are not sufficiently protected for speaking up on dangerous conditions. MSHA still lacks subpoena power for inspections and investigations and has asked Congress for added authority to shut down mines with chronic safety records in a timely manner.
“Efforts three years ago to make these changes bumped up against a clock and the usual special interest opposition. Since then, Congress has not moved any mine safety reform. The inaction is shameful. On this anniversary, every elected official should remember our responsibility to those miners who make a living in a dangerous job, not to special interests so shortsightedly and recklessly invested in the status quo.”
Last month, House Democrats reintroduced legislation to bring the nation’s mine health and safety laws up to date, give mine safety officials the ability to effectively investigate and shut down habitually dangerous mines, and hold mine operators accountable for putting their workers in unnecessary danger. The Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2013 is similar to legislation introduced in 2011.
Weak penalties in the federal mine safety laws have even been criticized by a federal judge. The Utah federal judge addressing the 2007 Crandall Canyon Mine disaster that took the lives of six miners and three rescuers expressed “outrage at the miniscule amount of penalty provided by the criminal statute.” The subsidiary that operated the mine received a maximum penalty of only a $500,000 fine after pleading guilty to two misdemeanors for willfully violating mine safety laws, the maximum under the law.
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