WASHINGTON, June 7 — Responding to a spate of accidents that have killed 33 coal miners this year, the House gave final approval Wednesday to the most sweeping overhaul of mine safety regulations since the federal mine safety agency was created nearly three decades ago.þþThe measure, approved by a 381-to-37 vote, requires mine operators to provide a second hour's worth of air for miners along escape routes (they now carry one hour's worth). They will also have to provide communication and tracking devices for miners within three years. The maximum civil penalty for violations of mine-safety regulations will rise to $220,000, from $60,000.þþÿLet's not delay anymore,ÿ Representative Howard P. McKeon, the California Republican who is chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said before the measure passed. ÿThis is an issue that has cut across party lines, enjoys rare support from both labor and industry, and deserves overwhelming support from the House.ÿ þþThe law, which President Bush is expected to sign, was unanimously passed by the Senate in May and is backed by the National Mining Association, which represents mining companies.þþCecil E. Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, applauded the measure's passage. ÿThis legislation is a strong step toward making mines safer,ÿ Mr. Roberts said. He added that it was incumbent upon the Mine Safety and Health Administration ÿto quickly promulgate the regulations it requires, and then vigorously enforce themÿ as well as laws and regulations already on the books.þþUnder the law, mine operators are required to report any life-threatening accident within 15 minutes of when they realize the incident occurred, subject to fines of $5,000 to $60,000 for violations.þþÿI just don't think we can wait anymore on this because to do so would be to gamble with miners' lives,ÿ said Representative Nick J. Rahall II, Democrat of West Virginia. þþRepresentative George Miller of California, the senior Democrat on the workforce panel, disagreed. ÿIf another Sago Mine disaster were to happen, this bill doesn't ensure that we wouldn't have the same tragic deaths,ÿ he said of the Jan. 2 mining accident on that left 12 miners dead.þþMr. Miller sought to amend the bill to set a tighter deadline for mine operators to begin using communication and tracking devices. He also pushed to require operators to provide no less than a two-day supply of oxygen for trapped miners. All but one of the 12 Sago miners who died were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning as they waited more than 40 hours for rescuers to arrive.þþThe current legislation does not define a minimum amount of breathable air for trapped miners who cannot make it to escape routes and have to wait for rescue.þþÿThere's more to do, but this legislation moves us significantly ahead,ÿ said Senator Robert C. Byrd, who is working with his fellow West Virginia Democrat, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, to add $35.6 million to a supplemental measure to enhance mine safety efforts. ÿFor too long, the federal mine safety agency has allowed safety enforcement to drag downward, and America's coal miners have paid a terrible price.ÿþþ
Source: NY Times
