Senate approves update of mine safety laws
HARRISBURG – The state Senate on Monday unanimously approved the first update of Pennsylvania mine-safety laws in more than four decades despite disagreements between mine owners and a union representing miners about the need for further regulations. Sen. Richard Kasunic, D-Dunbar, said he hopes the two sides will continue negotiating while the state House of Representatives considers the bill.
“We’ve got a good bill, but there’s some work that’s left undone here,” he said. “My call today (to both sides) is don’t give up. This is about the safety of the men and women who earn their living underground in one of the most dangerous professions in the world.”
The bill would affect safety regulations at about 200 bituminous coal mines located primarily in western Pennsylvania.
Kasunic said mine owners and the United Mineworkers of America have been unable to settle differences in three areas:
*Whether miners should be paid for accompanying state inspectors during visits to mines.
*How far mine transporter tracks should be from the areas miners are working. Union officials want the track close to work sites to make it easier to escape cave-ins and other accidents.
*Whether a work shift will be defined as the number of hours worked or the number of miners working in a certain area of a mine. The issue is important because safety inspections must occur before each shift.
One of the major changes that both sides have agreed to is establishing a seven-member Coal Mine Safety Board, Kasunic said.
The panel would have the authority to enact mining regulations without seeking legislative approval.
“This will prevent them from having to come back to the Legislature to beg and plead for changes in the law,” Kasunic said.
The Senate approved the bill more than five years after the miraculous rescue of nine miners trapped 240-feet underground after they accidentally drilled into an abandoned mine Quecreek Mine in Somerset County. The mine is in Kasunic’s 32nd District.