Chris Hamilton, senior vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association, testified on behalf of the Association at two public hearings held this week in Charleston by the US Dept of Labor’s MSHA on the agencies’ Pattern of Violation POV and “Examination of Work Areas” proposed rules.
Concerning the “Examination of Work Areas” proposal, Hamilton cited the improprieties of MSHA requiring state certified mine examiners who are presently required to cite hazardous conditions as part of their fire boss runs in underground coal mines, to additionally be responsible for enforcing federal law and citing federal violations.
“To require mine examiners to identify all violations would effectively render the job of MSHA inspector obsolete while placing an impossible burden on “state trained and certified” examiners. The upshot, and perhaps an unintended consequence, of this proposed section would place MSHA is an oversight capacity with direct line authority over mine examiners. This practice must not be permitted.”
Hamilton argued against the POV proposal, which allows violations that have been issued by federal inspectors to be factored towards a pattern, as opposed to those which are “final”, by alleging the rules “…violates mine operators’ due process rights and principles of fundamental fairness…” This proposed rule is nothing more than an irresponsible attempt by MSHA to clean up its own inconsistencies while leaving operators no chance at being heard.”
Hamilton also called upon the agency to establish a panel of industry experts and stakeholders to have a professional dialogue on the POV program in order “to get it right” and to consider a version of the SIP Index or the Penn State/Grayson Model as part of the qualifying criteria so that the program will consider a mine’s safety performance in totality as opposed to the mere issuance of certain violations.
John Gallick (ALPHA) and Kenny Murray (Alliance) also testified at the public hearing, as did the State of Illinois and the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety & Training testified on the rule citing numerous problems with the rule. The UMW expressed support for both rules.
Special thanks again to Mark Heath & Seth Gaskins of Spilman Thomas & Battle who assisted in the formulation of our comments.