The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee held an informational meeting on legislation that would update the state’s deep mine safety law. Rep. George, Chair of the Committee, announced the Committee will vote on the bill next Tuesday.

Senate Bill 949 (Kasunic-D-Somerset) was passed by the Senate in February and is now in the House Committee for action. The bill makes hundreds of changes in the Bituminous Coal Mine Safety Act, some designed to prevent accidents like the one that occurred in the Quecreek Mine in 2002.

The Committee heard an overview of the legislation from Scott Roberts, Deputy Secretary for Mineral Resources Management, and Joe Sbaffoni, Director of the Bureau of Deep Mine Safety, both from the Department of Environmental Protection.

"Our Commonwealth has a rich mining history," DEP Bureau of Mine Safety Director Joseph Sbaffoni told the panel, "but we have learned the hard way that safe mines are a reality only when miners, mine operators and government make safety a priority every minute of every day.

"Senate Bill 949 marks a critical step forward in our efforts to strengthen Pennsylvania's deep mine safety law, which is woefully outdated."

Sbaffoni said the bill would eliminate obsolete language in Pennsylvania's mine safety statutes to remove references to animals and stables in mines and references to transporting miners into the mines on conveyer belts, among other outdated provisions.

"We need the ability to implement 21st century technology quickly to protect our miners and not be hampered by a 19th century law," said Sbaffoni. "All of us want Pennsylvania's world-class mining industry to be profitable and successful, but there should be no compromise when it comes to giving our miners the protections they deserve."

Senate Bill 949 incorporates recommendations to improve safety conditions for Pennsylvania's 4,200 underground coal miners that were made following the 2002 Quecreek accident in Somerset County.

Among the most significant changes, Senate.Bill 949 creates a seven-member Board of Coal Mine Safety that would be chaired by the secretary of DEP, with equal representation among mine owners and mine workers. The board would have the authority to write new mine safety regulations—something the department is currently unable to do through existing statute.

In addition, the proposed law would:

· Make the mine owner or operator primarily responsible for safety compliance at the mine and allow DEP to assess fines and penalties for noncompliance. Currently, only individual certified employees or supervisors, such as foremen, can be held responsible for an accident, not the mine company or its executives;

· Increase to 500 feet from 200 feet the distance from which a bituminous underground operator must conduct advanced drilling when approaching an adjacent mine that may contain water or gas to provide an extra measure of security so miners don't accidentally breech an abandoned mine pool, as happened at Quecreek; and

· Authorize the department to use emergency contracting provisions to pay for mine rescue and other mine safety activities.

Sbaffoni also outlined the administrative improvements made to strengthen mine safety under Gov. Rendell.

The Administration has developed and implemented training for managing mine inundation, as well as continuing-education programs for mining professionals, managers and inspectors. The Commonwealth has also increased salaries for engineers, inspectors and training staff in order to be more competitive when recruiting and maintaining quality safety professionals.

DEP invested $415,000 to purchase 48 new, self-contained breathing units for underground mine rescue teams. The purchase replaced equipment that was more than 30 years old. The units are housed at three mine rescue stations in Cambria, Fayette and Schuylkill counties.

Once the legislation is enacted, the Department of Environmental Protection will have followed through on every recommendation made by the Governor's Commission on Mine Safety, DEP's Bureau of Mine Safety, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration in the wake of the Quecreek accident.

Mr. Sbaffoni’s remarks are available online.

Rep. Bud George (D-Clearfield) serves as Majority Chair of the Committee and Rep. Scott Hutchinson (R-Venango) serves as Minority Chair.

4/4/2008