Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, sponsored the measure that is aimed at jump-starting an initiative to improve communication with miners deep in mountains, a problem that hampered rescue efforts in the Utah tragedy that killed nine people in two separate cave-ins.
The bill, approved on a voice vote, now heads to the Senate. In essence, the legislation would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to help devise new technology to communicate in deep mines, where radio waves are often unusable or unreliable.
"Working at these depths poses significant challenges to existing communications systems," Matheson said in a statement. ''As we learned in the Crandall Canyon mine tragedy, families, mine rescuers and the entire community suffer when tracking and communications systems fail."
The National Mining Association, a trade group for mine owners and operators, supports Matheson's bill.
"We must continue our quest for reliable, ground-penetrating two-way communications and tracking devices that can withstand the rigors of underground mining," said NMA president and chief executive officer Kraig Naasz. "Rep. Matheson's bill will support research, development and demonstration of such devices and bring us closer to the day when every miner returns home safely from every shift."
Rep. Chris Cannon, a Utah Republican who co-sponsored the measure, said one of the "harshest lessons" learned from the Crandall Canyon disaster was that tracking, communicating with and locating miners are integral to miner safety.
"This public-private partnership will ensure commercially viable communication and tracking systems are developed quickly," Cannon said, adding that he will continue to push for eliminating "useless or burdensome" regulations.
The legislation builds on a comprehensive measure passed by Congress last year after the Sago mine tragedy in West Virginia killed a dozen miners. That bill urged a new communications system be implemented within three years using "best available technology."
The bill passed Monday includes no timetable for having some type of new communications technology in American mines.
tburr@sltrib.com
