Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said he’s deeply troubled by the Labor Department’s revelation Tuesday that a computer problem had prevented stepped-up federal scrutiny of Massey Energy Co.’s Upper Big Branch coal mine last year.

An explosion last week at the mine – which had a lengthy history of safety violations – killed 29 workers, making it the worst U.S. mining accident in decades.

“This is a very troubling revelation. The federal government has a basic responsibility to track and disseminate accurate information – especially when that information is essential to enforcement of worker safety rules. MSHA and DOL have fallen short here – and that is not acceptable,” Rockefeller said in a prepared statement Tuesday night, referring to the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

* A computer problem lowered federal scrutiny of Massey Energy Co.'s Upper Big Branch mine.

A Labor Department computer error prevented the West Virginia mine where 29 workers died in an explosion last week from receiving a warning about safety violations and a demand that the owners improve conditions, Labor Department officials said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

From the AP account:

The director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration said the error discovered Monday night did not have an impact on the accident at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine because improvements had been made even without the warning.

But the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., and two other lawmakers called for an immediate investigation by the Labor Department's inspector general into the computer error. Reps. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., joined Miller in calling the mistake "deeply disturbing."

A computer program used by the MSHA screens mines for patterns of violations. By failing to include eight citations at the Upper Big Branch mine, the program did not flag the mine for a safety notification and an order for improvements, MSHA Director Joe Main told The Associated Press.

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), chairman of a key Senate panel on energy development, is splitting with President Barack Obama over the proximity of oil drilling to U.S. coasts.

Dorgan, who heads the Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, is pushing for a 45-mile buffer zone between oil rigs and a coastline. Obama on March 31 announced he is allowing drilling from Delaware to Florida, plus parts of Alaska, and called on Congress to lift a drilling ban in the eastern Gulf of Mexico — specifically calling for a 125-mile buffer zone in the Gulf.

Dorgan said more oil can be gained by reducing that buffer zone to 45 miles. He acknowledged the disagreement but repeatedly praised Obama for his decision to allow drilling.

"The estimates are that the 125-mile (buffer) would get about two-thirds of the energy that is there. Those are estimates based on 30-year-old studies. I think a more appropriate one is 45 miles but you know, I commend the president for moving as he's moved and I would hope that we have an opportunity to consider even more," Dorgan said. "A 45-mile zone is a better approach because you get more energy out of that and you still have the proper safeguards for a visual line of sight and so on. But again, I think he's moved in the right direction and I commend him for that."

The eastern half of the Gulf of Mexico has long been under a congressional moratorium on drilling, and there are also restrictions near the state's Panhandle beaches because of their proximity to military bases.

Cross-posted from the Briefing Room

Obama administration plans to expand offshore oil-and-gas drilling will soon come under the microscope on Capitol Hill.

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) will convene a hearing on the White House strategy in the “near future,” a spokesman said.

“He views it as an important part of the Committee’s jurisdiction,” Rahall spokesman Blake Androff said.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said Tuesday that he is unlikely to support upcoming Senate climate and energy legislation unless it alters Obama administration plans that open the Atlantic coast to oil-and-gas leasing.

“Let me put it very bluntly: As someone who has been supportive generally of climate change legislation, if we don’t get very significant alteration of the drilling issues, they will probably lose my vote,” he told reporters in the Capitol.

Menendez, a drilling opponent, didn’t specify what changes he is seeking. But Menendez – and New Jersey colleague Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) – have both criticized the the Obama administration leasing strategy rolled out March 31.

One of the main architects of the Senate's climate bill Tuesday met with two House Democrats who helped pass the lower chamber's legislation.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who is crafting the measure with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), said in a Twitter post that he hopes to capture some of the House's "legislative karma." The House approved its climate bill last summer.

Kerry tweeted:

Great meeting with Henry Waxman and Ed Markey today on climate/energy – hope their legislative karma rubbed off

Kerry, Graham and Lieberman hope to roll out their bill next week, which is expected to differ significantly from the House's legislation.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said Tuesday that he’ll convene an April 27 hearing on mine safety and is exploring legislation to toughen federal oversight.

The hearing follows the explosion at Massey Energy Co.’s Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia last week that killed 29 workers. The mine had racked up a substantial number of safety violations.

Harkin said he is exploring potential legislation to toughen inspections, enforcement and penalties for mine safety violations. Harkin said specific issues he’s exploring include whether the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration should have subpoena powers.

Another issue, he said, are the frequent industry appeals of safety violations that prevent MSHA from establishing a “pattern of violations,” a finding that gives regulators authority to take tougher actions, including shutting down a mine.

“Right now, companies are gaming the system by appealing,” Harkin said. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) has called for closing what he calls a "loophole" that prevents regulators from taking stronger actions while violations are under administrative appeal.

Update: Harkin spokeswoman Kate Cyrul provides this description of the upcoming hearing:

The HELP Committee will hold a hearing on April 27th (the day before Worker’s Memorial Day) addressing the Upper Big Branch mine disaster and related workplace safety issues. This hearing will not attempt to explore the specific causes of the recent disaster since the DOL investigation will still be ongoing at the time of the hearing, but will examine the weaknesses in our laws that provide incentives for companies to ignore health and safety – such as inadequate penalties and the excessive delays that employers can create in challenging citations.  

We will also begin looking at ways to strengthen the enforcement tools available to MSHA and OSHA so that they can better enforce the law, and how to change the incentive structure so that companies no longer feel they can ignore health and safety laws with impunity.

Cyrul also said that Harkin will hold a separate hearing next month in the Appropriations Committee. Harkin is chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee that will convene the hearing.

This post was updated at 5:57 p.m. on April 13.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is pushing manufacturers of flame retardant chemicals to cough up information about their products ahead of a hearing next month on use of the compounds in consumer goods.

Waxman and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) sent letters Monday to three chemical companies -- Albemarle Corporation, Chemtura Corporation, and ICL Performance Products -- asking a series of detailed questions.

The lawmakers are seeking a broad amount of environmental and health information -- such as toxicity tests and risk assessments if they exist -- from the companies, as well as many other documents and data on volumes manufactured and sold.

President Obama on Tuesday encouraged Americans to take part in local environmental projects, releasing a message ahead of next week’s Earth Day (April 22) that touts administration policies but adds that “it’s clear that change won’t come from Washington alone.”

“It will come from Americans across the country who take steps in their own homes and their own communities to make that change happen,” Obama said in a videotaped message released by the White House.

“That’s why, as we get ready to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, I want to leave you with a challenge,” Obama continues. “I want you to take action – in your home or your community; at your school or your business – to improve our environment. It can be as simple as riding the bus or the subway to work, making your home more energy efficient, or organizing your neighbors to clean up a nearby park.”

The message promotes a new White House website (www.whitehouse.gov/earthday) that connects visitors to volunteer programs in their communities, such as tree planting projects.