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Federal Regulators Fault Operator Of Collapsed Mine

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The Associated Press

Published: July 25, 2008

PRICE, Utah - The operator of a collapsed Utah mine violated safety protocols by cutting coal pillars that should have been left standing to prevent cave-ins, federal regulators said Thursday.

The officials said a subsidiary of Ohio-based Murray Energy Corp. undermined other pillars by excavating coal from tunnel floors. They also faulted the company's engineering firm, Agapito Associates Inc. of Grand Junction, Colo., for conducting a flawed evaluation of mining dangers.

Murray Energy chief Bob Murray has insisted that taking down the pillars, a practice called retreat mining, had nothing to do with the collapse. He argued from the start that it was caused by an earthquake.

At a news conference Thursday, Mins Safety and Health Administration chief Richard Stickler disputed that, instead blaming poor engineering.

"First of all, it was not - and I'll repeat not - a natural occurring earthquake, but in fact it was a catastrophic outburst of the coal pillars that were used to support the ground above the coal seam," Stickler said.

The agency is fining Murray Energy $1.6 million and Agapito $220,000 for the disaster, he said.

The Aug. 6 collapse trapped six miners whose bodies haven't been recovered. Three others were killed during a rescue attempt.

The agency said Murray Energy misled regulators about the dangers and violated its approved mining plan. The company said it was preparing a response.

Scott Matheson, chairman of Utah Mine Safety Commission, said he had doubts about the federal agency's ability to assess its own performance policing Murray Energy and thinks an independent agency should have conducted the investigation.

"I just think as a matter of good government and policy, having some independence would make sense," said Matheson.

A second report by the U.S. Department of Labor will take a critical look at MSHA's performance, department spokesman Rich Kulczewski said.

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