Crandall Canyon Mine hearing starts today in Washington

WASHINGTON — The rescue effort at the Crandall Canyon Mine may have ended, but questioning by Congress is just getting started, with the first hearing on the disaster to take place today.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education will look at the disaster that claimed the lives of six miners and three rescuers almost a month to the day after the coal mine collapsed on Aug. 6.

Murray Energy chief and Crandall Canyon Mine co-owner Bob Murray will not appear at the Senate subcommittee hearing examining the mine, but Richard Stickler, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health, will, according to the committee.

Rob Moore, vice president of Murray Energy Corp., said via e-mail that Murray is still "deeply involved in the aftermath of the rescue efforts" and working with the families affected by the accident.

"The work of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education and related agencies is extremely important," Moore said. "However, at this time, Mr. Murray cannot give the situation in Utah the proper attention it needs if he travels to Washington to testify."

The House and Senate already have passed the fiscal year 2008 spending bill for the Labor Department, which funds the Mine Safety and Health Administration, but a conference committee still needs to work out differences between the bills. Once an agreement is reached, the final bill needs to be passed by each chamber again before going to the president. This means there could be a chance to put more money toward MSHA or other labor programs.

Also scheduled to testify at today's hearing, which will focus on "the Utah Mine Disaster and Preventing Future Tragedies," are Cecil Roberts, international president of the United Mine Workers of America; J. Davitt McAteer, a former MSHA official and now vice president of sponsored programs at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia; and Bruce Watzman, vice president of safety and health for the National Mining Association.

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E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com