Durbin Asks Safety Agencies and Coal Company to Report on Safety Conditions at Illinois Mine
DURBIN ASKS SAFTEY AGENCIES AND COAL COMPANY TO REPORT ON SAFETY CONDITIONS AT ILLINOIS MINE
Following the terrible mine disaster in West Virginia earlier this week, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to state and federal agencies responsible for overseeing mine safety asking them to address safety conditions at the Viper Mine in Williamsville, Illinois. Durbin also sent a similar letter to the owners of the Viper Mine, the International Coal Group (ICG). ICG also owns the Sago Mine in Tallmansville, West Virginia where 12 miners lost their lives.
"What happened at the Sago Mine is a tragedy, and we must do everything possible to ensure that it does not happen again," said Durbin. "The same company that operated the Sago Mine in West Virginia, also operates a mine in Williamsville, Illinois known as the Viper Mine. According to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, that mine has incurred a number of serious safety violations in the past year. I have written letters to the company and to the state and federal agencies that oversee mine operations and asked them to examine conditions at Viper and, if necessary, immediately implement improvements."
According to Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) records, since ICG purchased the Viper Mine in Illinois a year ago, there have been 124 safety violations, 42 of which carried a "significant and substantial" risk of death or injury.
Durbin also noted that President Bush has proposed cuts to the federal coal safety inspection budget in four of the five years he has been in office. Analysts say that those reduced budget numbers have accounted for the loss of 190 mine inspectors since 2000.
"I hope we can learn some important lessons from the disaster in West Virginia - that safety violations must be taken seriously and that an adequate number of government inspectors are on the job to make sure coal mines are safe," said Durbin. "When serious safety concerns are repeatedly raised, when we reduce the number of mine inspectors, when we lose our zeal for enforcing the law, unfortunately we invite tragedy."
Illinois currently has 18 underground and nine surface mines. The Viper Mine, located in northern Sangamon County, is working the Illinois No. 5 seam, also referred to as the Springfield seam. ICG estimates that Viper controls approximately 29.6 million tons of coal reserves, plus an additional 38.5 million resource tons. The Viper Mine is a room and pillar operation, utilizing continuous miners and shuttle cars. The mine employs approximately 235 workers.
On January 2, 2006 an explosion trapped 13 men in a West Virginia coal mine resulting in the death of 12 of the 13 workers. Last year, the operators of that mine received 205 citations for health and safety violations, 96 of which were "significant and substantial" according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration. In 2005 the mine was forced to halt operations 16 times after failing to comply with safety rules.
January 8, 2006
David 0. Dye
Acting Administrator
Mine Safety and Health Administration
U.S. Department of Labor
1100 Wilson Boulevard, 21st Floor
Arlington, VA 22209-3939
Dear Administrator Dye:
I am writing to you to determine the safety condition of the Viper Coal Mine in Williamsville, Illinois, that is owned by the International Coal Group (ICG). As you know, the ICG also owns the Sago Coal Mine in Tallmansville, West Virginia, where a mine accident recently killed 12 employees.
I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life in West Virginia. Like many others, I also am disturbed by the egregious number of citations issued to the Sago Coal Mine in the year prior to the mine accident for "serious and significant" violations of federal safety laws. Coal miners accept that their occupation is risky. But they have a right to expect that their employer will put safety ahead of other considerations, and the ICG has a moral obligation to ensure that unsafe practices are scrupulously identified, promptly corrected, and proactively avoided. The ICG's safety record raises questions about the company's commitment to safety. Moreover, federal regulators appear to be unable to prevent companies from amassing large quantities of safety violations.
According to Mine Safety and Health Administration records, the Viper Mine in Illinois was cited for 42 "serious and significant" violations out of 124 total citations in 2005, which was the first full calendar year in which the ICG owned the mine. It is my hope that the Sago disaster was an isolated incident and does not reflect a pattern of mismanagement by the ICG and unsafe conditions at the Viper Mine.
At a time like this, the burden is on the ICG and our nation's regulatory authorities to ensure that the ICG is properly and safely managing its mines in Illinois. Please provide to me and the people whose lives are affected by operations at the Viper Mine a safety status report on the Viper Mine. In addition, please include the safety record of the mine since ICG purchased the operation and the extent of any steps the ICG has taken to address past safety violations and prevent them in the future.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing from you within the next month.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=250310&&