Miller releases list of 48 mines regulators said warranted more oversight

Rep. George Miller (D-CA) released a list of 48 mines that federal mine safety officials said last August warranted increased oversight but did not receive it because of unresolved appeals by mine operators. Here's the list.

The list includes the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia where 29 miners lost their lives in an explosion on April 5, Miller’s office said in a release. Miller is the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, which oversees the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

The issue of mine companies appealing safety citations has gained greater prominence since the mine disaster, the deadliest in 40 years. Miller’s office said there is a backlog of 16,000 operator appeals.

“Mine operators who game the system to avoid tough scrutiny by federal safety officials must be held accountable,” Miller said in a statement.

Carol Raulston, a spokeswoman for the National Mining Association, said the trade group supported efforts to reduce the backlog of appeals. She said part of the problem was insufficient staff at MSHA to handle the appeals and changes to the law that ended a more informal dialogue between federal regulators and mining companies.

Federal law empowers MSHA to issue a letter to mine operators that have a number of safety citations to warn them that the mines may be sanctioned for a “‘pattern of violation.” Once a mine is so notified, the mine operator must take actions to reduce future violations or face drastic sanctions including mine closure for any future significant and substantial violation, the press release states.

The list released by the committee are those 48 mines that would have received this notice of a potential pattern of violation sanctions in October 2009 but for contested citations that had not been resolved, according to the committee.