Feds fine Emery County mine $342,800

The owners of an Emery County coal mine were ordered Tuesday to pay $342,800 in fines for safety violations stemming from an incident that left a miner seriously hurt late last year.

The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration said it had levied penalties totaling $342,800 to Hiawatha Coal Co. for a powered haulage accident at the Bear Canyon Mine near Huntington.

On Oct. 16, 2008, a miner suffered severe head injuries when the personnel carrier he was operating rolled over on a steep grade after the brakes failed, the agency said in a news release.

The driver had intentionally steered into the mountainside to stop the vehicle. MSHA's accident investigators discovered that the vehicle's rear brake linings were worn to metal-on-metal contact, and the front braking system leaked brake fluid.

"It is inexcusable that a mine operator would allow such obvious defects to go unaddressed, and the outcome could have been even worse," said Michael A. Davis, MSHA's deputy assistant secretary for operations.

MSHA issued citations for failure to correct the defects and to equip the personnel carrier with adequate brakes. The agency also cited the mining company for negligence for failing to post warning signs along the road, to inspect and record defects affecting safety, to maintain control of the vehicle and to operate the vehicle at a safe speed.

Bear Canyon Mine is located on the eastern edge of the Wasatch Plateau Coal Field, approximately 9.5 miles west of Huntington, according to the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining.

Calls to the Hiawatha Coal Co. from the Deseret News were not immediately returned.

According to the state, the Bear Canyon Mine has a current permit area of 1,531 acres and produces about 500,000 tons of coal annually, using the "room and pillar" mining method. "Room and pillar" is the same form of "retreat" mining that was used in Murray Energy's Crandall Canyon Mine in Emery County.

In August 2007, six miners died in the Crandall Canyon Mine after a collapse, and three rescuers died 10 days later trying to reach them. The mine was permanently shuttered, and the miners' bodies were never recovered.

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