From a Yahoo! AP article, W.Va. Lawmakers Approve Mine Safety Rules :
W.Va. Lawmakers Approve Mine Safety Rules By LAWRENCE MESSINA, Associated Press Writer [/] Tue Jan 24, 4:57 AM ET
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - West Virginia lawmakers approved a wide raft of measures aimed at improving safety in the mine shafts beneath the nation's second-largest coal producing state, an overhaul triggered by the deaths of 14 miners in two accidents this month. [/] In a span of eight hours Monday, the state Legislature reviewed and passed Gov. Joe Manchin's proposals to better track miners underground, prompt faster emergency responses and stockpile oxygen for stranded miners. [/] "These 14 miners have not died in vain," [Governor] Manchin said afterward. "No miner's family is going to have to endure what we all endured for 90 hours over the past three weeks."
The measures, passed unanimously in a single bill, came too late to potentially help Ellery Hatfield, 47, one of two miners killed in a conveyor belt fire at the Aracoma Coal Alma No. 1 mine. [/] "I just wish they would have done it before and maybe I'd have my daddy here with me," said his daughter Brittany Hatfield, 18. "He was a hero before he even was in the mine."
[…] Once the governor signs the bill, coal companies will have to comply by the end of February. While the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration enforces federal safety laws, states can pass more stringent mining regulations if they want to.
[…] The deaths of the two workers at the Alma mine occurred three weeks after 12 miners died after an explosion at the Sago Mine, about 180 miles away. In addition, a coal miner died in Kentucky on Jan. 10. [/] John Groves, whose brother Jerry was among the miners who died after the Sago explosion, said he believes his brother would have been alive if the measure had been in place earlier. [/] "To know that everybody's working to get this passed this way is amazing. Government doesn't usually work this way," Groves said. "It's sad to say, but you learn from your mistakes."
[…] Manchin's proposal creates a new rapid response system for mine and industrial accidents, and requires coal operators to issue emergency communicators and personal tracking devices to all underground miners.
[…] Manchin also wants all mining companies to store extra oxygen canisters throughout the mines, something that some companies already do. Miners would be directed to the storage areas by battery-operated strobe lights in emergencies. [/] Manchin also proposed fining coal companies $100,000 if they fail to report an emergency within 15 minutes. At Sago, company officials placed the first calls to state and federal safety officials more than an hour after the explosion. It was not immediately clear when the first calls were placed in the Aracoma fire. [/] "We're not blaming anybody," the governor said. "We're saying there hasn't been enough emphasis on getting the properly trained men and women and the equipment moving quickly enough." [/] Associated Press Writer Kelley Schoonover contributed to this report. [My ellipses and emphasis]
