Refocus MSHA Priorities, Enzi Tells Solis
The ranking minority member of MSHA’s oversight committee in the Senate has linked staffing issues at the Agency with recently uncovered training and enforcement program problems and suggested “deficiencies” in staff, training or enforcement may have played a role in the Upper Big Branch-South (UBB) mine disaster.
Commenting that he was “very concerned about management issues” at MSHA, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) said he believed some of the problems may be associated with a “significant number of senior management positions in the career ranks” being either vacant or staffed by acting personnel.
Enzi, who sits on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, expressed his views in a two-page letter to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis Wednesday.
Enzi noted that, at the time of the UBB disaster April 5, at least six senior positions were vacant or filled by acting staff, including the Deputy Administrator for Coal and the Coal Division’s Accident Investigation unit supervisor. “With accident investigations involving multiple fatalities ongoing, including that for Upper Big Branch, it is certainly not helpful that there is no permanent supervisor,” Enzi said.
Enzi also noted that it appeared as though “the entire leadership of the Metal/Non-Metal Division is transitory,” while persons in acting status fill jobs as head of Technical Support and the Solicitor’s Office. Referring to all the staffing positions, Enzi said, “These positions exist so that the Department is able to provide critically important leadership, support and oversight of its field inspection personnel.”
Enzi’s letter included an attachment that consisted of MSHA responses to staffing questions senators raised after a hearing in April. MSHA said the Deputy Coal Administrator position has been vacant since November 2008, but is currently held on an acting basis by Charles J. Thomas. A vacancy announcement for the Senior Executive Service (SES) position ended June 1. Coal’s Accident Investigation supervisory post has been vacant since August 2008, and is currently filled by Terry Bentley. No vacancy announcement has been posted.
As Enzi noted, the situation is even worse in M/NM. Besides the Administrator’s job, an SES position being held now in an acting capacity by Neal Merrifield, four other top jobs in the Division are filled by acting personnel: Deputy Administrator, Mike Hancher; Accident Investigation unit supervisor, Michael Franklin; Chief of Health, Chris Findlay; and Management Office director, Christine Mayhugh.
Merrifield’s position has been vacant since January 2010, the opening has been posted, and MSHA is currently reviewed qualified applicants, MSHA said.
The Acting Director of Tech Support is Linda Zeiler. The SES position has been vacant for a year, and no vacancy announcement has been posted. Heidi Strassler fills the top position in an acting capacity in mine safety and health in the Office of the Solicitor.
In addition, although unmentioned in Enzi’s letter, Michael Schimmenti has stepped in as acting Director of Administration and Management, a position lacking a permanent director since February 2009. A panel is currently reviewing applicants for the SES position, MSHA said in its response to lawmakers. Other top-level acting positions include Pete Montali in the Office of Accountability and Tom Kessler in Educational Policy and Development.
In addition, the crucial No. 3 job at the Agency, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations, also remains unfilled since the position was vacated by Mike Davis April 30. Jeff Duncan fills in as acting Chief of Staff. “[T]he agency’s short staffing is an issue the Committee has to review,” Enzi said.
Linkage to Critical Reviews
Enzi suggested the staffing issues may be linked to two recent reports by the Labor Department’s Inspector General (IG) critical of inspector training and the management of the Agency’s pattern of violation (POV) enforcement weapon. He also suggested a possible linkage with UBB. He asked Solis to direct the internal review team investigating MSHA’s role in the tragedy “to consider whether any of these deficiencies may have played a role in MSHA”s inability to detect or prevent the problems that led to the tragedy at Upper Big Branch.”
The training audit, released in March, revealed that 56% of 102 inspectors the audit team interviewed had not completed MSHA’s required training during the fiscal year 2006-07 training cycle, and that the Agency lacked controls to track and assure completion of such training.
Preliminary findings from an audit of the POV program, released last week, found that the Agency had dropped nine West Virginia coal mines from its potential POV list in March 2009 due to “resource constraints.” The audit was requested by several lawmakers after Sharpe’s Point pointed out that UBB had met MSHA’s criteria for inclusion on the potential POV list during the fall 2009 cycle. MSHA agreed, but attributed the mine’s exclusion to a “computer glitch,” a determination that aroused lawmakers’ concern.
The senator called on Solis to commit to remedying the training issues and to fill the empty staff positions with qualified career personnel. He asked for an update on the current staffing situation and monthly status reports.
Enzi also raised concern about “MSHA’s overall priorities” in light of the staffing, training and enforcement matters. He noted that MSHA, in hearings and Capitol Hill staff briefings, had suggested it was developing a list of recommended legislative changes. “While I appreciate the input,” Enzi told Solis, “I believe MSHA should currently be focusing on fulfilling its existing obligations using its existing authority . . .”
On Tuesday, the House Committee on Education and Labor released a 70-page mine reform bill that appeared to include many of the legislative priorities the Agency is seeking.
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