GOP pushes to strip safety measures from West Va mining law

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Republicans forged ahead Tuesday with an overhaul of mine safety regulation that would strip the state of its ability to cite coal companies for unsafe working conditions.

They blocked an effort by Democrats to derail the measure. That came a day after dozens of miners and former miners gathered at the Capitol on Monday night, helmets in hand, to testify against the bill. The hearing happened the same day a veteran coal miner died in southern West Virginia. He was pinned by an air drill.

During the hearing, miners said the regulations keep them safer.

“Every one of these laws that’s written, state and federal, they’re not wrote by ink. They’re wrote by blood,” said Barry Brown, a disabled coal miner who worked underground for 32 years. “Every one of these laws has blood on them. Doing away with the state department and their enforcement, I think, would be the worse thing that this state could do.”

The bill is scheduled for a final reading in the House on Wednesday and still must be considered in the Senate. It essentially would strip the state office of miners’ health, safety and training of its ability to enforce laws — in fact, it eliminates all enforcement language from state code.

Instead of going to mines for inspections, inspectors will go for “visits” and make “recommendations” instead of “orders.” There would be no more “investigations," just “reviews.”

The proposal would remove almost all penalties mining companies might face for safety violations. Under current law, companies can face thousands of dollars of fines and even prison time for failing to implement safety measures. The state can also close down portions of a mine or an entire mine.

One of the co-sponsors, Republican Del. Adam Burkhammer, said he respectfully...