Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Sam Penrod reportingA bill that was passed by the Legislature in an attempt to make coal mining safer is now law. Gov. Jon Huntsman signed the bill today in Utah's coal country
The new Coal Mine Safety Act is the result of the state's mine safety commission, which was established after the Crandall Canyon mine tragedy to try and improve safety in Utah mines.
"I'm here to tell you that mining is here to stay. It is a part of who we are, it is a part of how we fuel our economy, and our only hope is that through legislation like this, that we can focus even more on safety," Huntsman said.
The governor traveled to Carbon County to sign the bill into law while the bill's sponsors looked on.
The Coal Mine Safety Act provides funding for a state mine safety inspector and a hot line to report safety concerns. It also provides some funding to help educate Utah's coal miners about safety.
It's not everything the mine safety commission had hoped for, but members believe it is a good start. "Hopefully we have taken the voices of the men who risk their lives every day to go into the mines and we have made it safer for them in some way or another. And also this extra training, these were some of the things that we had seen that were needed as a commission," said Hilary Gordon, mayor of Huntington.
Today's event was held at the Western Energy Training Center outside of Helper. It is a new trade school that focuses on training for energy-related careers, from coal mining to power plant operations, providing more career opportunities in Carbon and Emery counties.
On the same day this bill was signed into law, the families of six men killed at Utah's Crandall Canyon mine filed lawsuit against the owners.
The families are asking for monetary damages that are the maximum allowed by law. They say the owners of the mine cared more about making money than the safety of their loved ones working inside the mine.
"There is an overarching attitude that suggests to us, and we allege, that greed, that profits took a higher priority in these operations than safety and the sanctity of human life," said Edward Havas, attorney for the miners' families.
The lawsuit alleges that mine bosses were aware of problems inside the mine, from the retreat mining, and that the tragedy could have been prevented. Specifically, attorneys point to a mountain bounce inside the Crandall Canyon mine last March, which the plaintiffs accuse Murray Energy of purposely not reporting to the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).
The families also say the mining company should have known the mine was not safe. "It's our contention that in addition to other items, that gave them plenty of notice that this was likely to happen again, particularly that bounce in March and their decision to then continue to mine in July and August. The south barrier pillars absolutely was a predictable event. That it was going to happen again," said Colin King, also an attorney for the families.
The lawsuit names Murray Energy, the Intermountain Power Agency and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power as defendants.
So far, the families of the six miners are the plaintiffs and the family of one of the rescuers killed plans to join the lawsuit.
Murray Energy reacted strongly to news of the lawsuit. A statement reads: "We can unequivocally say that it contains false statements of fact included to simply sensationalize this matter and vilify the companies and Mr. Robert E. Murray."
You can read Murray Energy's full response to the lawsuit by clicking on the related link.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
