New Mine Safety Commission starting with rite to laud miners

The job of the new Utah Mine Safety Commission is to ensure the state does "everything that is reasonably possible" to protect miners, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. told commission members at their first meeting Monday.

The governor also announced a Sept. 15 event in Huntington to celebrate the mining communities in Emery and Carbon counties and to honor the miners, rescuers and families affected by the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster.

The event, "A Celebration of Heroes," will feature country musician Collin Raye and former Utah Jazz player Karl Malone. Donations will be requested for the families of the six miners trapped underground and their rescuers.

The commission, created by the governor after a failed rescue attempt left three rescuers dead and six injured, met briefly via telephone to discuss what the state's role should be in inspecting mines as well as in preventing and responding to mine accidents.

Utah ceded mine safety to the federal government in 1977. One of the first areas the commission will examine is how other states handle mine safety, including West Virginia, site of last year's Sago Mine explosion that left 12 miners dead.

One commission member, Senate Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich, D-Price, said it could be expensive for the state to take on mine safety, given the size of mining operations in the state.

He said 25 million tons of coal are mined annually in Utah, compared to 300 million tons in West Virginia.

But another commission member, Dennis O'Dell, administrator of occupational health and safety for the United Mine Workers of America, said mine safety has not kept up with technological improvements in production.

"This is a real opportunity for this group to take a major step forward," O'Dell said.

Led by the Republican governor's former political rival, Democrat Scott Matheson Jr., the commission is expected to deliver its findings this fall. Huntsman said he wants enough time to ready proposals for the 2008 legislative session that begins in January.

Commission members won't investigating the cause of the mine disaster, the governor said. That will be left up to the Mine Safety and Health Administration and other federal agencies.

Matheson, who ran against Huntsman in the 2004 gubernatorial race, said the commission will closely follow the MSHA investigation. Commission members were invited to attend a MSHA briefing for legislators at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Capitol.

Other members of the volunteer commission are former U.S. Sen. Jake Garn, Huntington Mayor Hilary Gordon, Price Mayor Joe Piccolo, Rep. Kay McIff, R-Richfield, and David Litvin of the Utah Mining Association.

The next meeting of the commission will be Sept. 10 in Price.

---

E-mail: lisa@desnews.com