Kennedy blames Murray Energy and MSHA in Utah mine disaster; calls for criminal investigation

WASHINGTON — Murray Energy and the Mine Safety and Health Administration are to blame for last year's Crandall Canyon Mine disaster that killed nine people, according to a report issued by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., today.

Kennedy, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, known as HELP, released results Thursday of the committee's investigation in the collapse at the mine. But Murray Energy and others were quick to point out this is not the final word on the accident.

"The committee's investigation has revealed that the owner of Crandall Canyon Mine, Murray Energy, disregarded dangerous conditions at the mine, failed to tell federal regulators about these dangers, conducted unauthorized mining and — as a result — exposed its miners to serious risks," Kennedy said. "MSHA also unconscionably failed to protect miners by hastily rubber-stamping the plan. This is a clear case of callous disregard for the law and for safety standards, and hard-working miners lost their lives."

Kennedy calls for a criminal investigation by the Justice Department and says his 75-page report "greatly underscores the urgent need for mine safety reform."

According to a summary of the report from Kennedy's office, the committee found that Murray Energy and its technical consultant, Agapito Associates, ignored the history of the mine's instability and did not make the right engineering assumption for the mine, while MSHA missed flaws in Agapito's analysis and did not submit plans to the agency's technical staff for review. The report says Murray Energy "ignored substantial evidence of instability during mining operation" and continued to mine for coal even in light of evidence there was danger near the north barrier, among several other conclusions.

The Mine Health and Safety Administration reminded Kennedy that the official investigation into the accident is still taking place.

"MSHA's Accident Investigation Team is preparing the official investigative report that will determine the root causes of this accident as well as the appropriate enforcement actions, including any criminal referrals," MSHA spokesman Matthew Faraci said via e-mail. "Until the MSHA Accident Report and the DOL Internal Review are concluded, speculation by Senator Kennedy's staff is inappropriate."

Michael O. McKown, general counsel of UtahAmerican Energy, Inc., a subsidy of Murray Energy that operates the mine, said the report "is politically motivated, irresponsible and unjustifiable."