UBB: Our Obligation This Anniversary

I will always have haunting memories of the Upper Big Branch disaster and the days that followed the explosion.  The time that I spent with the families was a mix of fear and hope and sorrow and compassion.  Those days in that schoolhouse, awaiting news, made for strong and lasting bonds. 

I remember being so proud of the way the community came together to provide strength to one another -- families arriving with food and comfort and offering prayers.  It was something we just DO in West Virginia, but I know that it made quite an impression on folks from other places, on reporters and others who commented and wrote about the strength of character of the people of West Virginia.  It was a shining example of the qualities that set West Virginians apart and I hope we never lose those precious qualities. 

The one-year anniversary of Upper Big Branch explosion is a time to reflect on the lives of those 29 men who perished.  They deserve to be remembered as individuals, for the good things they did in life and how they touched the lives of so many others.

But that date on the calendar, as anniversaries do, ought to also cause us to pause and think hard about how things might have been different, and about our obligation to all miners – living and deceased.    We need to take stock, to look at what is happening in our national mine safety program, to make sure that everything possible is being done to prevent another mine tragedy.

I have certainly been pressing the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) on that point and I think the agency has made progress in the past year to more fully utilize its existing authorities – through spot inspections, blitzes, following up on whistleblower contacts.  

One other positive note, at a time when much of the focus in Washington is on cutting spending for nearly every program, funding for coal enforcement and inspections remains strong, and has been getting stronger ever since Sago.  

But, the crux of the problem – the bottom line, if you will – was this:  UBB was an unsafe mine.  Safety was not a priority of the management at the Upper Big Branch Mine.  And the government mine safety systems failed to rein it in.     

It seems clear that new legislation is needed to improve on the pattern of violations system that would help MSHA address the worst of the worst violators. 

Last year, I worked closely with miners and mine companies in trying to come to agreements in the mine safety legislation that was eventually passed out of the House Education and Labor Committee.  A number of changes were made to the legislation, and, frankly, the insight of mine safety experts from those companies that engaged in the process made the bill a better product in the end because it took into account the real world situations that these safety experts tackle every day.

My experience is that good operators with solid safety management programs want a level playing field.  They do not want to compete with companies that cut corners on safety to make a profit.  But they also want to ensure that whatever legislation the Congress may pass enables them to continue to operate their mine safety programs effectively.

This is the balanced, moderate approach I will pursue in the Congress as I continue to advocate for mine safety reforms that do justice to the tragedy that occurred one year ago, and the courageous miners who go underground in service to their nation, communities, and families. 

U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) represents West Virginia’s 3rd District
For more information contact: Diane Luensmann (202) 225-3452

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