From Deseret News archives:
Mining reform on the docket
Congress considering several safety measures
Beyond the investigations, however, mining-reform legislation pending in Congress may not be finished until next year.
The House and Senate will not call for votes again until the first week of December, and 11 spending bills, tax legislation, conference reports and other measures need to be finished before Congress adjourns for the year.
"It is my experience that things don't work as quickly as you want them too," said Huntington Mayor Hillary Gordon. "I am just glad it is going in a forward direction. It is good to see positive things being done."
After collapses at the Canyon Crandall Mine near Huntington, Emery County, killed nine Utahns six miners and three rescuers in August, lawmakers in Washington began work on several bills to address lessons learned from the tragedy, and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. empaneled the Utah Mine Safety Commission to look into it as well.
In Utah, the Mine Safety Commission is continuing its attempts to get information about the mine collapses from the Labor Department.
Richard Stickler, the assistant labor secretary in charge of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, has had a death in the family and will not be able to make Tuesday's commission meeting in Salt Lake City as planned. Kevin Stricklin, MSHA's administrator for coal mine safety and health, is slated to make the government's presentation in his place, according to the Labor Department.
MSHA had earlier refused to give the Utah commission any Crandall Canyon-related information, citing "grave concerns" that the panel's efforts could jeopardize the Labor Department's own investigation.
In Washington, the second session of the 110th Congress will start in January, picking up mine-related legislation where it left off in December, so bills will not have to be reintroduced.
Among the measures under consideration:
• Rep. George Miller, D-Calif, had introduced a mining safety reform bill before the accident but saw the disaster as a clear illustration for why Congress needs to pass new safety rules.
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