Editorial: Act swiftly on new mine laws

Monday, Jan. 30, 2006 | 9:23 a.m.

Following the deaths of 14 coal miners in his state this month, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin crafted several mine-safety proposals that the state Legislature passed unanimously into law in one day. Now, if only the federal government could act that quickly in upgrading its own mine-safety laws and procedures.

The priority of mine safety was considerably lowered after President Bush took office in 2001, according to an investigation by Knight Ridder newspapers. After examining federal records and conducting interviews with past and present mine-safety officials, the newspaper group found that "relaxed mine-safety enforcement is widespread."

Federal fines exceeding $10,000 for safety violations dropped 10 percent after 2001, and more than half of the fines that were levied have yet to be paid, the newspaper group found.

Also reported was that the staff of federal coal-mine inspectors was cut by about 9 percent under Bush, reducing their numbers from 1,181 to 1,080, and that another 37 inspector positions are slated for elimination in Bush's current budget. Additionally, criminal convictions for serious mine safety violations averaged 3.5 a year during Bush's first four years, compared with 7.75 in the last four years of the Clinton administration, the report noted.

Another report, by the Associated Press, revealed last week that initiatives begun by the Mine Safety and Health Administration in the late 1990s were dropped during Bush's first term. Among them were studies aimed at improving oxygen packs worn by miners and reviews of the response times by mine-rescue teams, both of which were factors in the West Virginia tragedies. The AP reported that, in withdrawing the initiatives, the Bush administration cited "changing priorities and resource concerns."

Last week a congressional subcommittee chaired by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., responded to the mining deaths in West Virginia, and another mining death this month in Kentucky, by holding a hearing. A low point was when the acting head of the mine-safety administration, David Dye, walked out after the first hour, infuriating Specter. Another low point came from Specter, who said he would try to get legislation similar to West Virginia's new laws passed this year. Why not this winter?

The nation's 15,000 mines are in urgent need of new federal safety laws and enforcement procedures. West Virginia showed the way in getting state laws passed swiftly. Congress should follow its lead.