Answers sought at mine hearing

WASHINGTON — Mining families deserve better treatment from the government in the wake of the Crandall Canyon Mine accident, senators said Tuesday as they discussed communication problems among federal agencies regulating the mine before the tragedy and management of information during the aftermath.

At a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, the committee's chairman, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., wanted answers on why the Mine Safety and Health Administration allowed a mining plan to go through when there were problems at Crandall Canyon. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash, said she plans to introduce legislation to give better assistance to families in the event of another accident.

At least 30 family members representing eight of the nine people killed in the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse sat in the audience. They wore white ribbon loops secured to lapels and dresses with a pin of a pick ax crossed with a shovel and name tags showing their relationship to those who died in the accidents.

Six miners were trapped and their bodies were never recovered after the Aug. 6 mine collapse in Emery County. Three rescuers were killed days later while trying to reach them.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration and the United Mine Workers of America said late Tuesday that some Crandall Canyon miners have opted to designate the union as their representative in the accident investigation.

Although the Crandall Canyon Mine was a non-union mine, UMWA spokesman Phil Smith said the union agreed to serve as an "independent voice" for the workers as the investigation continues.

Under federal law, two or more miners can designate a representative on safety issues. Smith declined to disclose the names of the miners who decided to have UMWA represent them.

The union acted in a similar capacity for miners after the 2006 Sago Mine accident that killed 12 miners in West Virginia. The International Coal Group, which owns the mine, sued — and lost — a case objecting to the union's involvement, even attempting to bar union representatives from going onto the mine property.

At the congressional hearing Tuesday, Kevin Stricklin, MSHA's administrator for coal mine safety and health, said the agency did not know about some previous problems the mine had before the accident, and a federal investigation will have to determine where evaluations and reviews of the mine failed to turn up problems that led to the collapse.

Kennedy could not understand why MSHA did not know of problems in the mine despite Bureau of Land Management warnings before the collapse.