Judge decides to keep Crandall Canyon mine investigations closed to news media

The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration can continue to bar the media from its special meetings related to the Crandall Canyon mine collapse in Utah, a federal judge ruled this week.

A number of news outlets — including The Associated Press, CNN, the Salt Lake Tribune and The Deseret News — filed suit Oct. 1 against Labor Secretary Elaine Chao for access to MSHA's fact-finding meetings, Nate Carlisle of the Tribune reports. The news outlets cited the precedent of access in criminal investigations, but U.S. District Judge Dee Benson disagreed, saying, "The court cannot make the leap that plaintiffs suggest by concluding that because the public has a First Amendment right of access to hear witnesses in a criminal trial, they also have a right of access to private government investigatory interviews." Tribune editor Nancy Conway said the news outlets had not decided if they would appeal.

Since Sept. 17, the MSHA panel — made up of MSHA employees and Utah Labor Commissioner Sherrue Hayashi — has worked to issue a public report about the Aug. 6 and Aug. 16 collapses at Crandall Canyon mine that killed nine people. The panel is interviewing people knowledgeable about the mine and the collapses, and it reviews related documents. The meetings occur at various locations around the state, and many interviewees are under oath. (Read more)