Reducing the Growing Backlog of Contested Mine Safety Cases
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REDUCING THE GROWING BACKLOG OF CONTESTED MINE SAFETY CASES HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, FEBRUARY 23, 2010 Serial No. 111–45 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 54–828 PDF WASHINGTON : 2010 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 COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR GEORGE MILLER, California, Chairman Dale E. Kildee, Michigan, Vice Chairman John Kline, Minnesota, Donald M. Payne, New Jersey Senior Republican Member Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin Robert C. ‘‘Bobby’’ Scott, Virginia Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon, California Lynn C. Woolsey, California Peter Hoekstra, Michigan Rube´n Hinojosa, Texas Michael N. Castle, Delaware Carolyn McCarthy, New York Mark E. Souder, Indiana John F. Tierney, Massachusetts Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Judy Biggert, Illinois David Wu, Oregon Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania Rush D. Holt, New Jersey Joe Wilson, South Carolina Susan A. Davis, California Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington Rau´ l M. Grijalva, Arizona Tom Price, Georgia Timothy H. Bishop, New York Rob Bishop, Utah Joe Sestak, Pennsylvania Brett Guthrie, Kentucky David Loebsack, Iowa Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Tom McClintock, California Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania Duncan Hunter, California Phil Hare, Illinois David P. Roe, Tennessee Yvette D. Clarke, New York Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania Joe Courtney, Connecticut Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire Marcia L. Fudge, Ohio Jared Polis, Colorado Paul Tonko, New York Pedro R. Pierluisi, Puerto Rico Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, Northern Mariana Islands Dina Titus, Nevada Judy Chu, California Mark Zuckerman, Staff Director Barrett Karr, Minority Staff Director (II) CONTENTS Page Hearing held on February 23, 2010 ....................................................................... 1 Statement of Members: Kline, Hon. John, Senior Republican Member, Committee on Education and Labor: Letter, dated March 8, 2010, from the Industrial Minerals Associa- tion-North America ................................................................................ 105 McMorris Rodgers, Hon. Cathy, a Representative in Congress from the State of Washington, prepared statement of .............................................. 54 Miller, Hon. George, Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor ......... 1 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 4 Questions submitted for the record ......................................................... 54 Additional submissions: Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission: Table: ‘‘Performance Measurement Matrix, Office of Admin- istrative Law Judges’’ ............................................................. 95 Table: ‘‘Appropriations History’’ ................................................ 96 Table: ‘‘Selected Workload Data’’ ............................................... 97 Followup on MSHA ERP Stats .................................................. 98 PowerPoint slides ........................................................................ 99 Table: ‘‘Mine Operators Notified by MSHA of a Potential Pattern of Violations (POV)’’ .................................................. 100 Letter, dated June 3, 2008, from the National Mining Associa- tion ................................................................................................... 102 Thompson, Hon. Glenn, a Representative in Congress from the State of Pennsylvania ............................................................................................. 5 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 5 Additional submissions: Statement of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association ....... 108 Paper, dated January 25, 2010, ‘‘What About That Case Back- log?’’ ................................................................................................. 109 Statement of Witnesses: Jordan, Hon. Mary Lu, Chairman, Federal Mine Safety and Health Re- view Commission .......................................................................................... 16 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 18 Responses to questions for the record ..................................................... 55 Main, Joseph A., Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor .............................................................. 7 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 9 Responses to questions for the record ..................................................... 57 Additional materials submitted: Chart: ‘‘Proposed Civil Penalties v. Penalty Contest Rate’’ ............ 59 Tables: FY2006–2009 assessment data ............................................ 59 Tables: FY2008–2010 contested penalty data .................................. 60 Table: ‘‘Number of Violations Assessed and Contested by Oper- ator FY2009’’ ................................................................................... 61 Table: ‘‘Companies Contesting Largest Number of Citations’’ ....... 63 Table: ‘‘Detail Summary by Mine’’ .................................................... 64 Roberts, Cecil E., president, United Mine Workers of America ................... 21 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 22 Watzman, Bruce, senior vice president, regulatory affairs, on behalf of the National Mining Association ................................................................. 25 Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 26 Responses to questions for the record ..................................................... 94 (III) REDUCING THE GROWING BACKLOG OF CONTESTED MINE SAFETY CASES Tuesday, February 23, 2010 U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor Washington, DC The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:00 a.m., in room 2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. George Miller [chair- man of the committee] presiding. Present: Representatives Miller, Payne, Scott, Woolsey, Tierney, Kucinich, Holt, Bishop of New York, Loebsack, Altmire, Hare, Shea-Porter, Fudge, Polis, Sablan, Titus, Platts, and Thompson. Staff present: Aaron Albright, Press Secretary; Tylease Alli, Hearing Clerk; Andra Belknap, Press Assistant; Jody Calemine, General Counsel; Lynn Dondis, Labor Counsel, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections; Patrick Findlay, Investigative Counsel; David Hartzler, Systems Administrator; Broderick Johnson, Staff Assistant; Gordon Lafer, Senior Labor Policy Advisor; Sadie Mar- shall, Chief Clerk; Richard Miller, Senior Labor Policy Advisor; Revae Moran, Detailee, Labor; Alex Nock, Deputy Staff Director; Meredith Regine, Junior Legislative Associate, Labor; James Schroll, Junior Legislative Associate, Labor; Michele Varnhagen, Labor Policy Director; Michael Zola, Chief Investigative Counsel, Oversight; Mark Zuckerman, Staff Director; Kirk Boyle, Minority General Counsel; Ed Gilroy, Minority Director of Workforce Policy; Richard Hoar, Minority Professional Staff Member; Ryan Murphy, Minority Press Secretary; Jim Paretti, Minority Workforce Policy Counsel; Molly McLaughlin Salmi, Minority Deputy Director of Workforce Policy; Linda Stevens, Minority Chief Clerk/Assistant to the General Counsel; and Loren Sweatt, Minority Professional Staff Member. Chairman MILLER [presiding]. A quorum being present, the com- mittee will come to order. The Education and Labor Committee meets this morning to ex- amine how a growing backlog of contested mine safety cases at a small federal agency is putting our nation’s miners at risk. For years, this committee has worked to protect our miners while on the job. We have met many family members who have suffered the tragic loss of a loved one. On behalf of the committee, I prom- ised that we would do everything we can to keep miners safe. I in- tend to keep that promise. (1) 2 Since the tragedies like Sago, Darby, Crandall Canyon, both the Congress and the Mine Safety and Health Administration have worked to prevent similar disasters, in part by increasing enforce- ment. Inspections are up, as are citations and fines. This stronger emphasis on safety is saving lives and reducing in- juries. In 2006, 76 miners died on the job. In 2009, that figure was reduced to 35 fatalities—still 35 deaths too many, but we must rec- ognize that it is a record low. Despite the progress, some of the largest mining operations have responded by challenging these tougher sanctions at a staggering rate. When MSHA, the Mine Safety Health Administration, cites the mine operator for a safety violation, the owners can appeal the vio- lation to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. But with increased penalties for unsafe conditions, there are sig- nificant incentives for mine operators to abuse the appeals process. The mining industry trots out a litany of excuses as to why their members are contesting