MSHA chief says he will shut scofflaw mines; UMW seeks public hearing on Big Branch disaster

The director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration promised Tuesday that the agency will start using its power to shut down mines for repeated safety violations. Joesph Main, who is also an assistant labor secretary, also "said his agency will also be asking Congress to give it new authority -- such as subpoena power and tougher criminal penalties," Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette reports. Main's comments came during Capitol Hill testimony about this month's disaster at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine that killed 29 West Virginia miners. (Read more)

The testimony evolved into a duel between Massey and federal regulators about the company's pattern of safety violations. "The 'catch-me-if-you-can' model of workplace safety and health appears to have been at work at Upper Big Branch," Main said in testimony to the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee. "The company that owns this mine, Massey Energy, has a troubling record when it comes to protecting its workers." Massey countered that it had a safety record "better than the average underground mine, and that it had won three safety awards from MSHA last year," Siobhan Hughes and Mark Peters of The Wall Street Journal report.

Bruce Watzman, the National Mining Association's senior vice president of regulatory affairs, told the committee that the spotlight on Massey may be unfair, when asked why his group put up with the frequent violator. "I'm not sure there's much value gained in ostracizing an individual or an organization," he said. Massey CEO Don Blankenship is on the NMA's board. (Read more)

Cecil Roberts, the president of the United Mine Workers of America, used part of his testimony to call for regulators to hold a public hearing investigating the disaster. That position was echoed by the Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the Press, which hand-delivered a letter to Main calling for a public hearing or that MSHA immediately provide transcripts of investigative interviews to the public and media, Ward reports on his blog Coal Tattoo.