Another Murray mine facing fines

Another Murray Energy-owned mine is facing hefty fines for "flagrant violations" in the safety of its operations, according to the federal government's top coal mine official.

Mine Safety and Health Administration Coal Administrator Kevin Stricklin said Thursday that operators of the West Ridge Mine in Carbon County are being charged with two high-level violations for reckless disregard of safety.

The citations "are going through assessments and then to the Solicitor's Office to make sure all the i's are dotted and all the t's are crossed," Stricklin said. The exact amount of the penalties has not yet been determined.

Stricklin was in Salt Lake City on Thursday to attend a University of Utah presentation and discussion on the state's deep coal mining. In an interview prior to the presentation, he said the West Ridge violations occurred after the Crandall Canyon Mine accident last August.

When the Crandall Canyon Mine in Emery County collapsed last August, six miners were trapped, and their bodies were never recovered. Days later, three rescuers were killed trying to reach them. The mine has since been shuttered.

A U.S. Senate committee report released this month blamed Murray Energy and MSHA for the disaster. In approving the mine's operations plan, MSHA "unconscionably failed to protect miners by hastily rubber-stamping the plan," the report said.

The West Ridge Mine is co-owned by Murray Energy Co. and the Intermountain Power Agency. Stricklin said West Ridge has received two 104-D citations similar to the violations recently imposed on the Andalex Mine, also owned by Robert Murray.

Last week, Murray Energy subsidiary Andalex Resources Inc. was fined $420,300 for "excessive accumulations of hydraulic oil and fine coal particles (that) covered the hoses, electrical conduit and tram motors on electric equipment," according to an MSHA press release.

Stricklin said a 104-D citation is issued when there are repeated violations that the operator was aware of that were so blatant that corrective action must be taken.

"What that does is it shuts mining down until it's corrected," he said.

In the case of Andalex, Stricklin said, the company's three flagrant negligence violations within a 15-month period prompted the severe penalties. The two initial violations occurred prior to the Crandall Canyon disaster last summer.