The House this week voted 182 to 13 to approve Senate Bill 949 (Kasunic-D-Somerset) updating the Bituminous Coal Mine Safety Act to, in part, prevent accidents like the one that occurred in the Quecreek Mine in 2002.

It now goes back to the Senate for a concurrence vote.

“It has been more than 40 years since those who toil within the earth’s recesses have had improvements made to the law which governs their daily safety. Since the Bituminous Coal Mine Act was last updated in 1961, the mining industry has changed immensely. These operations employ state-of-the-art equipment and technology that was never conceived as possible by the authors of the 1961 law. The legislature’s intent should be to provide the hardworking miners of the Commonwealth with the best mine safety law in the nation,” said House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese (D-Greene).

Rep. DeWeese said Senate Bill 949, as passed by the Senate, contained many advancements in coal mine health and safety; however, it lacked the language necessary to offer miners the best protections possible.

“Considering the impact the 1961 law had not only on miners of the Commonwealth, but also miners across the nation, it is essential to ensure the new legislation achieve such a standard. We have a duty to protect those miners who travel underground to provide light above for Pennsylvanians and Americans,” he said.

As amended by the House, the improved legislation would:

· require a pre-operational check of trailing cables;

· provide walk-around rights for the representative of miners, which allows the representative of miners to accompany the state mine inspector during an inspection of the mine;

· provide more stringent qualifications for certification reflecting the 1961 Bituminous Coal Mine law;

· require a mine examination to be conducted three hours before the start of any shift, defined as “the scheduled period of work assigned to four or more miners by the operator;”

· require miner transport systems to be maintained within 500 feet of the working face of the mine; and

· require no fewer than two separate and distinct intake openings or outlets to the surface from every seam of coal being worked and include distance requirements for the openings and outlets.

“Without the guidance and leadership of Rep. DeWeese at the helm of this important legislation, the amendments to Senate Bill 949, which are so critical to the safety of underground miners, would not have been a part of this mine law reform,” said UMWA International District 2 Vice President Ed Yankovich Jr.

Generally, Senate Bill 949 would:

· create a Coal Mine Safety Board to promulgate regulations and continually review and recommend the use of new mine safety technologies. The board would be composed of representatives from the coal industry, labor and the state Department of Environmental Protection;

· provide the specifications of emergency shelter chambers in bituminous underground mines;

· better ensure the availability and transfer of maps to the DEP, as well as give the DEP statewide authority to copy all mine maps; it also enables the DEP to establish a central map repository database;

· bring state law more in line with federal standards where appropriate and

· provide greater responsibility on mine operators to ensure safety.

“We look forward to working with the Senate to ensure swift passage of the best mine safety law in the nation,” Rep. DeWeese said.

5/16/2008