The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration's official investigation into the cause of last August's Crandall Canyon mine disaster is likely to be completed in about three months, an agency official said today.
Kevin Stricklin, administrator over MSHA's coal division, said the investigative team headed by Richard Gates has conducted all of its interviews, reviewed thousands of documents and currently is writing a draft report at an MSHA facility in Tridelphia, W.Va.
He was hesitant to speculate on a more precise completion date, noting that Crandall Canyon mine operator Murray Energy Corp. and its Utah subsidiaries are still submitting information to investigators.
"It's our responsibility to go through every page," said Stricklin of the need for a thorough probe of the mining disaster. Six Crandall Canyon miners were entombed Aug. 6 by a massive collapse of the mine's walls. Ten days later, three rescuers were killed and six injured in a second implosion of the tunnel structure.
Stricklin was in Salt Lake City to attend a conference on "Deep Coal Mining in Utah." Held at the federal Bureau of Land Management's downtown offices, the conference featured presentations on the seismic monitoring network in Utah's coal country and studies conducted since 2005 by University of Utah mining professors at what is now called the Tower mine.
That mine, also owned by Murray Energy, is among the deepest in the West, with longwall mining machines operating 2,500 to 3,000 feet beneath the Book Cliffs. The Crandall Canyon mine collapsed while crews were working 2,000 feet below the surface of the Wasatch Plateau, removing "barrier pillars" of coal previously left behind to support the roof.
University of Utah mining professor William Pariseau said his research indicated that the Tower mine's depths required barrier pillars to be about 500 feet wide. The barrier pillars in the shallower Crandall Canyon mine were 450 feet wide before they were whittled back to less than 150 feet just before the disaster.
Last week, MSHA fined Murray Energy $420,000 for two flagrant violations of safety regulations at the Tower mine, contending the company repeatedly allowed buildups of potentially explosive coal dust there.
Stricklin said MSHA has issued 50 flagrant violation orders, seeking fines totaling $7.1 million, since the repeat-offense citation was created as part of the 2006 Mine Emergency and Response Act (MINER), enacted after three Eastern disasters early that year.
He said MSHA also is processing two other flagrant violation orders against Murray Energy for repeated safety problems at West Ridge mine in Carbon County.
Murray Energy officials said last week they were evaluating the Tower mine order before determining whether to appeal the fine.
