FYI...

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8533350

Outlook fuzzy for mine bills

WASHINGTON - It's been more than seven months since members of Congress pledged to change mining laws in the wake of the Crandall Canyon tragedy in Utah, but much-touted legislation to boost safety requirements is still on hold.

While Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., inserted several mining provisions into a spending bill late last year, only one resulted from questions raised out of the Utah disaster that killed six miners and three would-be rescuers.

And House legislation meant to improve miner safety remains stuck in a Senate committee.

In fact, it appears that the political will for tweaking mining lawsmay have ebbed as the August disaster becomes more of a memory than breaking news.

"That's always been one of our frustrations," says Phil Smith, the spokesman for the United Mine Workers of America. "To us, mine worker safety is a front-burner issue every single day. It is somewhat frustrating that it takes people getting killed, not just in one's and two's - which happens all too frequently - but in bunches for there to be attention paid to this."

However, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's scathing report last week on the events leading up to the Utah mine disaster has put the issue backbefore Congress, and two other committees also plan hearings this spring looking at the disaster and mining regulations.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the HELP Committee, plans to move on Supplemental Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act, or S-MINER Act, which would add additional regulations to mining laws.

The House passed the measure in January, but the Senate committee has yet to hold a hearing on the bill that would add more restrictions on retreat mining - the method being used at Crandall Canyon at the time of the collapse - establish a clear line of communication between rescue managers and family members and also create an ombudsman to collect safety concerns from miners.

"Senator Kennedy remains committed to moving comprehensive mine safety reform this year," spokeswoman Melissa Wagoner said last week. "That effort will necessarily include addressing the serious lapses at [the Mine Safety and Health Administration] that are highlighted by the report."

Still, even if approved by the committee, the measure could face a potential blockade on the Senate floor. Several Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about passing more mining legislation while an act passed in 2006 is being implemented. It could take 60 votes in the Senate to get the bill to final passage and Democrats only hold 51 seats.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, cautions against moving ahead with more mining reform before all the facts are known about the Crandall Canyon disaster. Several other reports are expected to detail what happened or led to the disaster, including an internal review by MSHA and one by the House Education and Labor Committee.

"While we await full implementationof the 2006 law, we need to ensure we have all the facts before enacting additional mine-safety regulations that may not address the real problems or prescribe the right solutions,"Hatch said in a statement last week.

Sen. Mike Enzi, of Wyoming, the ranking Republican on the HELP Committee, agrees.

"While we work to prevent another tragedy like this in the future, it's important to recognize that not every accident requiresalegislative solution," Enzi said. "As we strive to improvemine safety, we must gather all the facts before we determine what course to take."

The National Mining Association, the lobbying arm and trade group of mine owners, has opposed the S-MINER Act, arguing that provisions in the 2006 law are still being put in place and adding additional requirements before the initial ones are implemented will prove challenging.

"This bill is far more likely to impede rather than improve our ongoing efforts to enhance mine safety," NMA President Kraig R. Naasz said last year.

MSHA head Richard Stickler says his agency backs some provisions of the SMINER Act, but those are "offset by potential harm."

Agency spokesman Matthew Faraci says while Congress is debating what action to take, the agency has moved forward in several ways to improve miner safety. Those actions include publishing a final rule on mine rescue teams, approving an emergency response plan, mandating post-accident breathable air availability, training family liaisons, increasing civil penalties for violations and approving the first-ever wireless tracking device.

"The agency has rapidly worked to implement the provisions of the miner act and has been successful so far in doing so," Faraci said.

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