[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 78 (Thursday, June 2, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H3917-H3918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              MINE SAFETY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. George Miller) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker and Members of the 
House, a little more than a year ago, 29 coal miners lost their lives 
in the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. Our Nation watched with 
sadness as a small community felt the lash of the worst coal mining 
tragedy in this country in four decades.
  Shortly after the tragedy, our Nation promised these families to get 
to the bottom of what happened and we promised to make sure that 
something like this would never happen again.
  The good news is that we learned a lot about what caused this tragedy 
in the last year. Last month, an independent panel of experts appointed 
by the Governor of West Virginia released the results of a 13-month-
long investigation. They concluded that the explosion was preventable. 
The panel said that the warning signs about dangerous conditions in the 
mine were ignored leading up to the tragedy. They found that the Massey 
Energy Company ignored basic safety precautions that the mining 
industry has recognized for more than a century. Repeated violations 
had become business as usual, something which the investigation called 
``a normalization of deviance,'' where unsafe behavior and conditions 
became normal at Upper Big Branch mine.
  The report lays out how this tragedy unfolded. It may have ended with 
a sudden explosion, but it was a slow-motion disaster.
  The company's inadequate ventilation system allowed explosive gases 
to build up. Workers were slogging in

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neck-deep water that obstructed the air currents needed to ventilate 
methane gas. The mine's owners routinely illegally changed ventilation 
plans and used faulty engineering.
  In the months before the explosion, miners asked Massey management 
561 times to quench the explosive potential of coal dust by applying 
rock dust, yet Massey only took action 65 times, or 11 percent of the 
time they were requested to do so.
  Water sprays on a mining machine were not properly maintained and 
failed to extinguish sparks, which allowed a fire to ignite.
  Coal dust provided the fuel that allowed a localized fire to trigger 
a massive explosion that ripped through miles of underground tunnels 
where miners were working.
  Finally, the report found intimidation. Miners were afraid to speak 
out about their safety concerns. They dared not stop coal production. 
Anyone who challenged management was considered a nuisance or a threat 
and their jobs were on the line.
  These conclusions are chilling. This report makes it clear that the 
failure to effectively deal with a reckless operator occurred at many 
levels:
  Our Nation's health and safety protections failed these 29 miners 
because of the many loopholes in the law that were exploited by the 
mine industry.
  Regulators allowed the mine to operate in a badly engineered 
ventilation system and failed to force operators to use modern 
technology to prevent coal dust explosions.
  And the mining industry failed these workers because they repeatedly 
refused to speak out against some of the worst actors within their 
industry, and have opposed legislation to curtail their misconduct.
  The State investigation is also a call to action. The panel urges 
Congress to enact reforms to modernize mine safety technology, give 
regulators better tools, strengthen criminal provisions, and improve 
the rights of miners.
  Mr. Speaker, with this report and its recommendations, Congress has 
been warned. We cannot abide by the status quo any longer. We cannot 
let Washington's pay-to-play politics paralyze legislative action once 
again. Congress has been warned. We cannot let mine operators game mine 
safety enforcement by paying lawyers instead of fixing chronic safety 
problems.
  Congress has been warned. We cannot let miners live in fear of being 
fired for speaking out on behalf of their safety. Their voices save 
lives.
  Congress has been warned. We cannot let decisions made in the 
boardrooms to put production over safety go unchallenged any longer.
  There are responsible mining companies that operate without an 
avalanche of violations. There are operators who do not make deviant 
behavior a part of their corporate culture. We want these mine 
operators to join us to rework the rules that govern this industry.
  In the end, though, getting mine reform done depends upon Congress. 
The responsibility rests squarely here. These disasters are 
preventable. This report is a very clear warning. We should not--we 
must not--wait for another tragedy before Congress owns up to its 
responsibility.

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