The Department of Labor solicitor, Jonathan Snare, already has told commission chairman Scott Matheson that a department liaison would give the panel regular briefings on the investigation.

Six members of Congress, including four Utahns, say that information is important to the success of the commission, which is assigned with determining what, if anything, could be done to prevent a repeat of the mine collapse that killed six miners and three rescuers.

The letter said that the members are aware of the concern that disclosing information could taint MSHA's accident investigation.

"At the same time, we think it important both as a mater of substance and process that Utah's state work be as robust as possible within that context," the six members of Congress wrote.

"In the absence of this information, the commission would have limited access to the information generated during the investigation and would be severely limited in its ability to succeed," they wrote.

The letter was signed by Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett and Reps. Rob Bishop and Jim Matheson of Utah, as well as by Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., and Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. Assistant Secretary of Labor Richard Stickler, who oversees MSHA, said the agency wants to work with the state and be open, but it has to avoid the possibility that news reports could influence testimony or deter witnesses from cooperating.

Stickler suggested that may already be happening.

"We were scheduled to interview employees from Agapito today," he said, referring to the mine company's engineering consultant, Agapito Associates Inc. "We've got indications now that maybe they were not going to subject themselves to interviews."

Computer modeling of Crandall Canyon done by Agapito was criticized in a report by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health report released yesterday. All MSHA interviews are strictly voluntary. - Robert Gehrke