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Evaluating the Effectiveness of MSHA's Mine Safety and Health EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MSHA’S MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAMS HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, MAY 16, 2007 Serial No. 110–38 Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and Labor ( Available on the Internet: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/house/education/index.html U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 35–186 PDF WASHINGTON : 2007 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:58 Mar 13, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 G:\DOCS\110TH\FC\110-38\35186.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR GEORGE MILLER, California, Chairman Dale E. Kildee, Michigan, Vice Chairman Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon, California, Donald M. Payne, New Jersey Ranking Minority Member Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin Robert C. ‘‘Bobby’’ Scott, Virginia Peter Hoekstra, Michigan Lynn C. Woolsey, California Michael N. Castle, Delaware Rube´n Hinojosa, Texas Mark E. Souder, Indiana Carolyn McCarthy, New York Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan John F. Tierney, Massachusetts Judy Biggert, Illinois Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania David Wu, Oregon Ric Keller, Florida Rush D. Holt, New Jersey Joe Wilson, South Carolina Susan A. Davis, California John Kline, Minnesota Danny K. Davis, Illinois Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington Rau´ l M. Grijalva, Arizona Kenny Marchant, Texas Timothy H. Bishop, New York Tom Price, Georgia Linda T. Sa´nchez, California Luis G. Fortun˜ o, Puerto Rico John P. Sarbanes, Maryland Charles W. Boustany, Jr., Louisiana Joe Sestak, Pennsylvania Virginia Foxx, North Carolina David Loebsack, Iowa John R. ‘‘Randy’’ Kuhl, Jr., New York Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Rob Bishop, Utah Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania David Davis, Tennessee John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky Timothy Walberg, Michigan Phil Hare, Illinois Dean Heller, Nevada Yvette D. Clarke, New York Joe Courtney, Connecticut Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire Mark Zuckerman, Staff Director Vic Klatt, Minority Staff Director (II) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:58 Mar 13, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 G:\DOCS\110TH\FC\110-38\35186.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK CONTENTS Page Hearing held on May 16, 2007 ............................................................................... 1 Statement of Members: Altmire, Hon. Jason, a Representative in Congress from the State of Pennsylvania, prepared statement of .......................................................... 87 Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore, a Representative in Congress from the State of West Virginia ............................................................................................ 9 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 11 McKeon, Hon. Howard P. ‘‘Buck,’’ Senior Republican Member, Committee on Education and Labor ............................................................................... 3 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 5 Miller, Hon. George, Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor ......... 1 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 3 Rahall, Hon. Nick J. II, a Representative in Congress from the State of West Virginia ............................................................................................ 6 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 8 Statement of Witnesses: Bertoni, Dan, Director, Education, Workforce and Income Security Team, Government Accountability Office ............................................................... 13 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 16 Grayson, R. Larry, Union Pacific/Rocky Mountain Energy Professor of Mining and Director, Western U.S. Mining Safety & Health Training and Translation Center ................................................................................ 48 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 50 McAteer, J. Davitt, vice president, Wheeling Jesuit University .................. 53 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 55 Attachment 1: List of rules withdrawn by MSHA .................................. 88 Attachment 2: Sago Mine investigation memorandum for the file (July 2006) .............................................................................................. 94 Internet address to the Aracoma Alma Mine report .............................. 100 Internet address to the Sago Mine Disaster report ................................ 100 Snare, Jonathan L., Acting Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor ................. 44 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 46 Stickler, Hon. Richard E., Assistant Secretary of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration .......................................................................... 37 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 38 Responses to questions posed by Mr. Davis of Tennessee and Mr. Kucinich .................................................................................................. 84 (III) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:58 Mar 13, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 G:\DOCS\110TH\FC\110-38\35186.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:58 Mar 13, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 G:\DOCS\110TH\FC\110-38\35186.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MSHA’S MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAMS Wednesday, May 16, 2007 U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor Washington, DC The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:33 a.m., in Room 2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. George Miller [chair- man of the committee] presiding. Present: Representatives Miller, Kildee, Payne, Woolsey, McCar- thy, Kucinich, Wu, Bishop of New York, Sarbanes, Yarmuth, Hare, Clarke, McKeon, Wilson, Kline, Price of Georgia, Kuhl, Davis of Tennessee and Walberg. Staff Present: Aaron Albright, Press Secretary; Tylease Alli, Hearing Clerk; Jordan Barab, Health/Safety Professional; Jody Calemine, Labor Policy Deputy Director; Lynn Dondis, Policy Advi- sor for Subcommittee on Workforce Protections; Michael Gaffin, Staff Assistant, Labor; Peter Galvin, Senior Labor Policy Advisor; Jeffrey Hancuff, Staff Assistant, Labor; Brian Kennedy, General Counsel; Thomas Kiley, Communications Director; Rachel Racusen, Deputy Communications Director; Michele Varnhagen, Labor Pol- icy Director; Mark Zuckerman, Staff Director; Robert Borden, Mi- nority General Counsel; Steve Forde, Minority Communications Di- rector; Ed Gilroy, Minority Director of Workforce Policy; Rob Gregg, Minority Legislative Assistant; Richard Hoar, Minority Professional Staff Member; Victor Klatt, Minority Staff Director; Jim Paretti, Minority Workforce Policy Counsel; Molly McLaughlin Salmi, Mi- nority Deputy Director of Workforce Policy; Linda Stevens, Minor- ity Chief Clerk/Assistant to the General Counsel; and Loren Sweatt, Minority Professional Staff Member. Chairman MILLER. The Committee on Education and Labor will come to order for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of MSHA’s mine safety and health programs. At the hearing on March 28, this committee heard some very strong criticisms of the U.S. Department of Labor and its Mine Safety and Health Administration. We heard from those directly impacted by MSHA’s work that, despite its sweeping authority, the agency moves at a glacial pace and often simply fails outright to enact meaningful and effective safety standards. Debbie Hamner spoke of her husband, Junior, who was killed in the Sago mine. She said: ‘‘If I knew then what I knew today, I would have begged my husband not to work at Sago * * * Con- (1) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:58 Mar 13, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 G:\DOCS\110TH\FC\110-38\35186.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK 2 gress mandated explosive-proof seals, and yet MSHA approved the use of omega blocks at Sago * * * MSHA approved the ventilation system at Sago that did not push the air away from the seals. Therefore, when our miners tried to escape * * * they could not.’’ Scott Howard a miner told us that, in his 28 years experience in the mines, he hadn’t seen any evidence it was safer, despite the more robust laws passed by Congress. He said: ‘‘Outside [of the mine], safety is first. When you go underground, coal is all that matters.’’ It is obvious from the hearings that MSHA must regain the trust of the people who rely on the agency every day, miners and their families. It appears that MSHA is not acting quickly enough to im- plement the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act that Congress passed last year. In today’s hearing, we intend to ex- amine why this is the case. In many ways, it seems that MSHA has chosen to move at a snail’s pace when it could be acting far more aggressively. For ex- ample, MSHA has yet to require mine operators to install emer- gency rescue shelters in all underground mines. Just an hour ago, I toured one of these shelters
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