Last month, Richard Stickler was reappointed Head of MSHA just days after his temporary term expired. He vows to continue the implementation of Congress’ safety improvements.
The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) again voiced concerns over Stickler’s long history as a coal company supervisor, manager and executive. They would prefer a person that has less industry ties, and you may remember the Senate never did confirm Stickler’s original appointment. Anyway, he will remain at the helm for now.
February 4th
Today, Sticker submitted a $332 Million budget request for fiscal year 2009. The budget would allow the agency to add 55 metal/non-metal inspectors and the goal is to complete all mandatory inspections for the first time since the inception of the agency.
President Bush is proposing to cut federal spending on coal-mine safety enforcement by about 6.5 percent, according to a new budget plan released Monday. But lawmakers, led by Byrd, increased MSHA's budget for the current 2008 financial year from Bush's proposed $313.5 million to nearly $334 million. So the real comparison between current year spending and Bush's proposal amounts to a cut from $334 million to about $332 million, or about 0.6 percent.
The agency continues to issue Pattern of Violation (POV) notices to mine operators. From all indications we can expect this trend to continue.
Conferencing changes
On February 4, MSHA also issued Procedure Instruction Letter No. I08-III-01, providing District Managers and Conference and Litigation Representatives ("CR's") discretion to refuse to go forward with any informal conference unless the citations alleged an unwarrantable failure or alleged that "high" negligence was involved. It goes on to say that, although the CLR or the District Manager may go forward with a conference "at their discretion", any pending requests for conferences that do not involve unwarrantable failures or high negligence violations should be cancelled. Here is a link to the Procedure Instruction Letter http://www.msha.gov/regs/complian/PILS/2008/PIL08-III-1.pdf
MSHA did not cite a reason for this change, however the increasing number of citations and the dramatic increase in penalties have prompted a matching increase in conference requests.
What does all this means to you:
All miners, mine operators and contract employees need to do all they can to ensure worker safety and regulatory compliance. The monetary penalties have increased dramatically and some operations have seen a serious increase in the number of citations issued. One operator recently received over $600,000 in citations and small operations have seen penalties in excess of $1,000 for PPE violations. However in some districts the amount of paper written has changed very little. As we round each corner, the road appears to keep getting tougher...and we still have the S-miner Act looming in the distance (although Pres. Bush is promising a veto). Keep your head up and throw your shoulders back it could get ugly.
What you can do:
Work with management to ensure that all supervisors are enforcing MSHA regulations and company policy. Conduct routine audits of the facility and spot check employees. Correct unsafe conditions and stop unsafe acts.
Work with MSHA and Industry Professionals:
Utilize Educational Field Services (EFS) or Small Mine services to improve safety at your operation. Bring in these professionals for the Training Makes a Difference (TMD) initiative or request a Compliance Assistance Visit when appropriate (although I hear some districts are not offering CAVs as they are trying to get all of the mandated inspections completed). You can also start or join a local Holmes Chapter and share best practices with local operators. Industry professionals need to communicate so that we can work together and learn from one another.
Bottom Line:
Maintain your focus on worker safety but don’t forget regulatory compliance (whether it improves miner safety or not) is a requirement if you want to avoid citations. Many of the seasoned inspectors are retiring, which means the agency has lost a lot of experience. Work with the new inspectors but don’t be afraid to fight bad paper. Let’s do what it takes to protect our miners…and remember nobody said it would be easy!
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