CHARLESTON —
Federal mine inspectors were told Monday to step up their enforcement of coal mine ventilation regulations to ensure companies are complying with standards designed to protect underground miners.
The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration also issued notices reminding the nation’s mining industry to follow laws regarding underground mine ventilation and not to tamper with methane monitoring equipment.
MSHA director Joe Main said the notices were prompted by testimony presented in May during a congressional hearing on the Upper Big Branch mine explosion. The April 5 explosion killed 29 workers.
Testimony from family members during the House Education and Labor Committee hearing raised questions about how the Massey Energy mine was ventilated.
“These standards are not voluntary, and every mine operator in the country is on notice that MSHA will not tolerate violations of ventilation standards,” Main said in an agency release.
“Mine inspectors are being instructed to beef up enforcement of ventilation standards.”
State and federal investigators are looking to see if ventilation played a role in the April explosion. They are also looking at the mine’s methane monitors to see if they had been tampered with. Preliminary reviews show the monitors had not been electronically altered.
Massey contends that MSHA forced it to change its ventilation plan at the Upper Big Branch mine. The company has said the change reduced the amount of air flowing through critical areas of the mine.
West Virginia
Feds step up ventilation enforcement
To ensure coal mine companies comply with safety standards
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Veterans cemetery dedicated on Memorial Day
West Virginia’s new $14.1 million veterans cemetery has been dedicated at a Memorial Day ceremony in Institute.
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Big outside spending may await W.Va. races
West Virginia can expect some hefty spending by non-candidates on some of its major general election races, if recent history is any guide.
And just in time for this potential flood of political ads, a new court case is challenging the state’s rules on the topic. -
Big outside spending may await W.Va. races
West Virginia can expect some hefty spending by non-candidates on some of its major general election races. And just in time for this potential flood of political ads, a new court case is challenging the state’s rules on the topic.
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Man gets life sentence for ex-wife’s death
A man was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in the beating death of his ex-wife.
Thomas Charlie Lee Runner, 46, of Galloway, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday at the Barbour County Courthouse in Philippi. -
State campaign finance limits challenged in court
A political group formed to aid West Virginia incumbents this November won a partial victory Thursday after suing over the state’s limits on campaign contributions and a policy addressing corporate spending.
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Relatives other than parents raising kids
Sharon Davis jumped in and obtained custody of her young grandson when her daughter got tangled in a web of drugs. A decade later, her daughter is straightened out and now has her own little girl, while her son remains with Davis.
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Project aims to get West Virginians active
A new wellness project aims to motivate West Virginians to get off their couches and be healthy.
LiveWell West Virginia is a collaboration of the West Virginia University Extension Service and the Charleston Gazette. -
Missing girl’s mother gets eight months for welfare fraud
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the mother of a 3-year-old girl who vanished eight months ago this week to spend eight months behind bars for welfare fraud.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey ruled that Lena Lunsford must begin serving her sentence June 28. -
West Virginia seventh in death rates for accidents, violence
Drug overdoses and motor vehicle crashes helped push West Virginia’s death rate involving accidents and violence to the seventh-highest in the nation, according to a report on injury prevention released Tuesday.
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W.Va. could add hurdles to primary ballot
West Virginia officials have several options if they want to avoid repeating an outcome of this month’s primary election, when imprisoned felon Keith Judd attracted nearly 41 percent of the vote against President Barack Obama.
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Veterans cemetery dedicated on Memorial Day
