Oct. 24, 2005
 
Byrd, Rockefeller Press for Tougher Mine Safety Penalties
 
By HNN Staff from Byrd and Rockefeller Press Releases
 
Washington, DC (HNN)--. U.S. Senators Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va., Monday, Oct. 23, 2006 expressed concern about the Department of Labor’s proposal to revise the process for assessing penalties when federal mine health and safety laws are broken.
 
“When coal operators blatantly disregard mandatory mine health and safety standards, they must pay a price -- a price that will curb the reckless actions. Mine safety laws are on the books for a reason and that reason is to save lives. Too often penalties are mere slaps on the wrist, and the result is that our mines are still dangerous and deadly places to work,” Byrd said.
 
“I remain deeply concerned that this Administration is not taking the safety of our miners seriously enough,” Rockefeller said. “We have taken steps in Congress to provide for stricter penalties for safety violations and stronger regulations, but it's going to require MSHA to enforce the law.
 
The recess appointment of Richard Stickler is further evidence that this Administration is not prepared to enforce the law, and is in fact prepared to abandon its own mandate and responsibility to protect miners' safety.”
 
The Senators wrote Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and the newly appointed Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health (MSHA) Richard Stickler and urged them to reconsider several aspects of the agency’s proposal to change the way that mine safety penalties are imposed.
 
“We are seeing record-high deaths in the mining industry, with 65 miners killed on the job already this year. A critical part of reversing this trend must be rigorous enforcement of the law to ensure that mining companies eliminate hazards that endanger miners lives,” the Senators wrote.
 
“We are concerned that the proposed regulations, as drafted, could in some cases weaken penalties, particularly for repeat violations. The draft provides scant empirical support and no case studies as to how these new penalties would apply to real-life scenarios,” the Senators wrote. “First and foremost, we are concerned that the revised schedule set forth by MSHA imposes lower penalties than under current regulations.”
 
Byrd and Rockefeller led the effort to craft the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006, which was signed into law in June after the tragic and preventable accidents at the Sago and Alma mines.
 
Under the MINER Act, Congress directed MSHA to issue revised penalties regulations in an effort to spur a strengthened and targeted penalties regime. Existing standards have permitted many mine operators to escape the consequences for serious health and safety violations.
 
“I don't know what more it will take to make the Administration get serious about mine safety -- another miner died in West Virginia this past weekend in Preston County and there was a fatal mine accident today in Pennsylvania.
 
It's past time for MSHA to take action on mine safety by strictly enforcing the letter and the law of the MINER Act,” Rockefeller added.
 
The Senators noted that any enforcement regime must also focus on companies that pose the most serious threats to worker safety, and that companies with a history of violations need stronger deterrents. The letter also questions MSHA’s proposal to eliminate additional penalties when an operator who had been issued a violation does not address the danger in a timely matter, and urges the agency to respond quickly and aggressively when operators fail to abate violations or pay assessed penalties.
 
The bipartisan letter was also signed by Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa.