Washington D.C. Meeting:

This is from the April 2010 OIAA Newsletter. I am posting it here so that you can use it as an idea for your state or region. ~ Kathy

OIAA Director, Dan Kauffman has been working with Jim Sharpe of Sharpe’s Point: The Newsletter on Safety and Health in Mining regarding a meeting between Matt Bormet of Senator Ron Wyden’s office in Washington D.C. and Mr. Sharpe.

Following is a summary of Jim’s meeting notes, along with suggestions for Mr. Wyden’s office to consider.

“What MSHA is doing today is deeply troubling. The heavy hand of enforcement is hitting the small mines, who do not have deep resources. We are looking for a win-win scenario for everybody involved.

There are unintended consequences to the MINER Act that has been passed by Congress. Mines have become safer, but MSHA has taken enforcement to the extreme. Economic survival is the issue now. Money spent on excessive fines is no longer available for capital investment, job hiring, raises, 401K’s, health benefits, and sometimes even safety improvements. There is also the hidden cost of abatement.

Did Congress intend for any federal agency to exert this level of influence over such a vital sector of the economy? There is anger toward MSHA, and a backlash is coming. MSHA is making the federal government look bad.

To turn this around, we are asking Sen. Wyden’s office to hold a hearing in Washington D.C. that is exclusively for Metal/Non-Metal, and build momentum for changing the civil penalty structure in that area of mining. We ask that you invite Oregon and other Pacific Northwest producers to testify at the hearing. Also, please direct MSHA to not terminate its Small Mine Office program. Ask them to expand it instead. In addition, we are asking Mr. Wyden’s office to do all they can to limit the fallout to the aggregate sector from the Big Branch tragedy. We urge you to oppose the expansion of the S-MINER legislation beyond coal mines.”