Coal

Mine Safety

Senator Rockefeller has a long history of efforts to improve mine safety in West Virginia and throughout the country. He has fought to ensure funding for the implementation of the MINER Act, and to make sure that the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has the financial resources it needs to carry out its important mine safety inspection mission. Rockefeller has also urged the United States Labor Secretary to review federal mine inspector staffing levels, and to hire, train, and deploy enough inspectors to maintain proper safety in coal mines. He continues to push to make sure that MSHA has the manpower and resources they need so that miners and their families can have a greater peace of mind.

In the wake of the Sago and Alma mine tragedies, Senator Rockefeller spearheaded a bipartisan congressional coalition to pass the most sweeping changes to mine safety in a generation. The MINER Act reflects new agreements between mine workers and industry officials on a number of issues critical to mine safety. The MINER Act requires coal companies to provide each miner with at least 2 hours of breathable air, and to maintain additional stores of self-rescuers every 30 minutes along escape routes, as well as at the working face of the mine.

In addition to the increase in breathable air supplies, the bill requires coal operators to submit plans detailing their mine's use of the most current communications, tracking, and breathing apparatus technologies - and they must, upon acceptance of their new safety evacuation plans, continue to introduce and use the best technology. Within three years, all mines are required to have state-of-the-art two-way wireless communications and electronic tracking systems in place.

The bill also demands quicker incident notification, more local rescue teams, stricter fines, and tougher fine enforcement. Senator Rockefeller continues to monitor implementation of the MINER Act. West Virginia tragedies have taught us we must be vigilant and work together with miners and with industry to make ongoing safety improvements.

For a detailed summary of the MINER Act, click here.