MSHA’s wrongdoings in the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster that killed nine people were so obvious that even Elaine’s own self-appointed independent commission couldn’t sweep the truth under the rug. But don’t just take our word for it…read the report made to order by the Labor Department.  Utah’s Deseret News points out some of the specifics:

The report “blasted MSHA itself for what it called multiple failures of the agency during the Crandall Canyon plan approval process, inspection activities and rescue attempt.”

Additionally, MSHA “failed to fully meet its responsibility by approving the roof control plans for mining the north and south barriers” within the mine. “MSHA’s failure to adequately evaluate the roof control plans contributed to the occurrence of the Aug. 6th accident.”

The Charleston Gazette also chimed in on Elaine’s cold reaction to the report:

In a short prepared statement, Chao noted that the review ‘reported on the circumstances surrounding the tragedy and steps that should be taken to help prevent a recurrence.’

Over the last two years, MSHA has implemented numerous improvements to better protect the safety and health of America’s miners, the statement said.

Rather than an apology or admission of neglect, Elaine once again recycled her old talking points and tried diverting attention away from the painful reality that her own Department of Labor’s agency, MSHA, was responsible for the Crandall Canyon mine collapse. What a shame.

You’d really think that after the many high-profile and tragic mine disasters that have occurred in the past couple years, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) would take every opportunity to protect mine workers by preventing further tragedies.  Not so, apparently.  As the Louisville Courier-Journal reports, there’s a scary loophole in MSHA’s new mine safety rules:

New federal regulations aimed at strengthening the seals that protect coal miners from dangerous inactive sections of underground mines are inadequate because they ignore a key congressional directive, a lawmaker says.  The problem: they don’t cover the 14,000 existing seals in mines — and thus limit the protection for miners.

Frankly, your Shame on Elaine bloggers are getting pretty tired of writing the same story over and over: Elaine’s agency ignores recommendations and directives, protects industry, and shirks its responsibility to protect workers’ health and safety.  But our frustration is nothing compared to that of mine workers and their families:

Melissa Lee, widow of Darby miner Jimmy Lee, said MSHA needs to be held accountable for not dealing with existing seals.

A miner could work near a weak and leaking seal today, she said.

“It’s going to be Kentucky Darby all over again,” Lee said. “It’s going to be another husband taken away from his wife or another father taken away from his child.”

Please, Elaine.  Don’t just ride out the rest of your term fundraising and campaigning for political allies and your husband’s colleagues.  Take worker health and safety seriously.

The Louisville Courier-Journal slammed Elaine’s MSHA today in an editorial criticizing the agency for failing to properly implement safety requirements and regulations while disingenuously claiming it’s doing everything it can.  The paper calls out Elaine and President Bush for “finding the time and manpower to put industry’s favorite items atop its ‘to do’ list” while cutting the budget for coal mine enforcement, failing to fully implement the MINER act and opposing follow-up safety legislation:

When congressional hearings open soon, somebody should check the implementation claims made by federal Mine Safety and Health Administration officials on the second anniversary of the MINER Act.

They bragged about hiring 332 coal mine inspectors, but that was a net increase of only 163, since so many of those filled vacant positions. Remember, under the leadership of President Bush and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, the number of inspectors was cut by 18 percent, at a time when the number of mines rose by 9 percent.

In the new fiscal year, Mr. Bush proposes a 6.5 percent reduction in coal mine enforcement funds…Earlier cutbacks are blamed for MSHA’s failure to complete mandatory mine inspections in some areas.

And as we’ve noted:

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said in April that MSHA has been inconsistent in telling mine operators what their emergency response plans should include and enforcing safety laws across the country.

Some legacy, Elaine.

There’s a growing consensus among political and opinion leaders that a criminal investigation into the Crandall Canyon disaster is in order—but is Elaine listening? Separate investigations by the House, Senate and even the DOL’s own Office of the Inspector General found evidence of negligence by Crandall Canyon’s managers and owners—including Elaine & Mitch’s friend Murray Energy. They also found negligently insufficient oversight from Elaine’s MSHA. Now the New York Times has joined the chorus of voices calling for a criminal inquiry into the disaster.

Despite all this, Elaine’s MSHA thinks it’s “premature” to call for criminal inquiries. And Elaine herself? She hasn’t said a word about the mine collapse since it happened in August of last year. Isn’t that something?

In the wake of last week’s Inspector General report faulting Elaine’s MSHA for its negligence in preventing the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster that killed 9 people, the Salt Lake Tribune is now questioning Elaine’s deafening silence:

Seven months since the Crandall Canyon mine disaster and two damning investigative reports later, the head of the federal department overseeing the Mine Safety and Health Administration isn’t talking.

Labor Department Secretary Elaine Chao hasn’t commented publicly about the Utah disaster, or criticisms of MSHA’s actions before and during the disaster, since she set up an independent panel in August to investigate the agency.

Why is Elaine so silent? Perhaps because she knows she’s somewhat responsible for the highly-publicized mine tragedies that have occurred under her watch. Elaine’s PR mouthpiece, however, has a different take:

Election-year partisan attacks go with the territory, but this zeal for exploiting tragedy, politically interfering with enforcement investigations, and making baseless smears ignores the truth.

Nice try, but we think two investigations that have placed the blame on MSHA are more credible than the spin gyrating out of Elaine’s public affairs office. As Utah’s leading newspaper asks:

Has Chao read the reports? Held meetings or talked with MSHA boss Richard Stickler? Is she concerned with the flaws ticked off in those reports? Does she plan to change any of the leadership of the agency, or leave those under fire as is?

The families who lost loved ones, and the American people who have watched the tragedies unfold in shock and awe, are waiting for an answer.

We’ve spent quite some time detailing Elaine’s refusal to protect workers from combustible dust, particularly OSHA’s negligence in issuing an emergency standard after the wave of recent refinery explosions throughout the United States.

Witnessing the Labor Department’s continued stonewalling on worker safety, a Kentucky miner is now suing MSHA to tighten the limit on coal miners’ exposure to coal dust that causes the fatal black lung disease.

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The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Labor, Education and Pensions, chaired by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), recently issued a report calling for the prosecution of Robert Murray, co-owner of the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah where 9 people died in 2006 and one of Mitch McConnell’s political contributors.

You remember Murray - one of Mitch McConnell’s “five finest men in America.” Murray has a history of bullying MSHA so he can get his way. As the Salt Lake Tribune reported:

Most egregiously, the report alleged, Murray Energy was mining into what little was left of the south barrier pillar after being told directly by an MSHA inspector not to cut that coal. The company also violated its mining plan by taking several feet of coal out of the mine’s floor, elongating the pillars and making them extra vulnerable to failure.

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Our mine safety campaign demanding accountability from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) over mine deaths has been quite successful. We sent 10,000 letters to Richard Stickler, Elaine’s mine safety czar, and he responded with a letter overflowing with the spin typical of Elaine’s minions.

With so much negative media attention aimed at MSHA, Richard Stickler wants to set the record straight - he has no responsibility in the continued incompetence of the agency he manages.

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Back in October, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller called out the Department of Labor and Bob Murray of Murray Energy Corporation for refusing to aid the investigation into the deaths of nine men at Crandall Canyon Mine, and issued an ultimatum:

Let me be very clear: this committee will not be deterred from getting all of the information we need to do our independent investigation. We will not tolerate obstruction or delay by either the Department or by the company in pursuit of that information and this investigation.

He wasn’t kidding. The committee announced today that it issued subpoenas for two top officials at Murray Energy, including Mr. Bob Murray himself.

Murray has been confronted about safety problems at his mines before, and had some choice words about why he shouldn’t be held accountable. The Herald-Leader tells the story best:

Millionaire coal magnate Bob Murray knew the name to drop in September 2002, when Mine Safety Health Administration inspectors confronted him about safety problems at his mines: Sen. Mitch McConnell.

Murray, a large man with a fierce temper, is a huge donor to Republican senators. McConnell, R-Ky., rose through the ranks by raising money for those senators. And McConnell is married to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, whose agency oversees MSHA.

Shouting at a table full of MSHA officials at their district office in Morgantown, W.Va., Murray said: “Mitch McConnell calls me one of the five finest men in America, and the last I checked, he was sleeping with your boss,” according to notes of the meeting.

Ahem. We’ll just let that speak for itself.

Many of us watched in horror last summer as miners lost their lives in the Crandall Canyon mine collapse in Utah, and before that, the disasters at Sago, Darby and Aracoma mines. After multiple debacles, you’d think the government would make mine safety a top priority. Think again. We’ve brought you recent reports uncovering a huge failure at the federal agency in charge of mine safety. We’ve learned that the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) did not impose fines on more than 4,000 safety & health violations over the last six years for mines that broke regulations.

Richard Stickler is now Elaine’s assistant secretary for mine safety. Given what you know about Elaine’s Labor Department, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that Stickler used to be a coal mining executive. The mines he managed had injury rates that were double the national average. Senators didn’t find him to be very qualified for the job, and twice rejected his nomination. President Bush twice bypassed the Senate to appoint Stickler, despite loud protests from anyone familiar with his egregiously anti-safety record.

As the man responsible for mine safety in this country, Richard Stickler needs some help. Send a note to MSHA Administrator Richard Stickler.

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