I will give two examples.
First, the commission proposed an innovative Utah and Mine Safety and Health Administration partnership that would enable state participation in inspection and mine plan approval. This collaboration would allow the state to learn firsthand the safety steps MSHA has taken since the Crandall Canyon tragedy and determine how the state can strengthen, not duplicate, MSHA's safety efforts.
This joint venture should enhance safety in the short run and answer whether a continued partnership or a separate state inspection agency would be best in the long run, in either case achieving the benefits of the "additional pair of eyes" MSHA officials and The Tribune have promoted.
Second, more than inspection, mine plan approval was the critical regulatory decision in addressing the safety of barrier pillar mining at Crandall Canyon. The commission recommendations call for technical experts to develop an independent state mine plan approval process for unusually challenging conditions in Utah coal mines.
Both proposals could break new ground in coal mine safety. Indeed, if Utah, MSHA, the coal operators and miners commit to a new paradigm of safety regulation and try to make it work, the state of Utah could go from a bystander to a leader in designing a new and better approach.
Unlike some of my commission colleagues, I think the state inspection agency should continue to be considered. Unlike The Tribune, I do not think the state should act precipitously, because there may be a better approach that integrates state efforts with federal legislative reforms and increased MSHA staffing and safety measures.
Immediate implementation of the proposed state-federal partnership will be more efficient, effective and creative in the short run than trying to jump-start a state inspection agency.
I agree with The Tribune that the Legislature should seek input on a state agency from a larger and more diverse source than our commission. The commission received evidence on MSHA's strengths and weaknesses, but we were never adequately staffed to make a thorough assessment of MSHA operations in Utah.
The Legislature should determine whether a state agency could effectively supplement rather than duplicate federal efforts, perhaps through a risk-based inspection approach based on factors such as a mine's safety record, depth of cover, bump history and gas levels.
A combination of the Utah-MSHA partnership with legislative analysis of state inspection is the more sound, responsible and safety-promoting approach, not simply asserting reflexive support for or opposition to a state inspection agency. Indeed, even if a state agency should be established, the lead time to do so points to the value of the partnership model as a transitional measure.
The foregoing comments should not divert the reader from the many other issues the commission addressed, including a state coal safety ombudsman, safety research, seismic monitoring improvements, safety training programs, improved state safety certification of miners and emergency response protocols.
The commission represented different perspectives, and members disagreed on various issues. But we reached consensus on 45 recommendations, a remarkable accomplishment, through a sense of practical compromise and a commitment to improving coal mine safety in Utah.
On behalf of my colleagues, I want to thank Gov. Jon Huntsman for giving us the opportunity to serve in the aftermath of Crandall Canyon. And let me take this opportunity to express again my deepest continuing condolences to the families of the victims.
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* SCOTT M. MATHESON JR. is the chairman of the Utah Mine Safety Commission and professor of law at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law.
