CHARLESTON, W.Va.—Federal regulators are trying to make it easier for miners to testify about proposed rules that would expand drug testing in the industry after receiving complaints from a union official.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration hopes to add Price, Utah, and Madisonville, Ky., to five previously scheduled hearing locations, agency spokeswoman Amy Louviere said Tuesday night.
She also said testimony also will be taken from all seven locations, including Beckley, W.Va.; Birmingham, Ala.; Englewood, Colo.; Pittsburgh; and Washington, D.C.
The change in plans comes after the United Mine Workers, in a letter to MSHA director Richard Stickler released Tuesday, accused federal regulators of trying to prevent miners from testifying by offering a single webcast in Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh and Denver. People could have listened, but not testified, in West Virginia and Alabama.
West Virginia is the nation’s second-largest coal-producing state, while Alabama ranks 13th.
Typically, the agency brings a panel of experts to West Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama and at least one western coal state to take testimony on proposed rules.
“My guess is that these locations were chosen to purposely limit if not eliminate the miners’ participation,” UMW official Dennis O’Dell wrote. “Historically, Denver Colorado has had very low turnouts for MSHA’s past public hearings. I am also trying to figure out how many active coal miners live in the Washington, DC area that will be participating on the day of the teleconference. My guess is ZERO.”
Louviere said in a news release that MSHA is committed to making the hearings “as accessible as possible to our stakeholders.”
“Each and every comment will be carefully considered as we work toward drafting a final rule,” she said.
O’Dell’s letter also renewed the union’s request that MSHA extend the deadline for written comments another 60 days or withdraw the proposed rules, which would prohibit the possession of drugs and alcohol at coal, copper, gold and other types of underground mines. The rules also would require testing for job applicants and random testing for active miners.
A 60-day delay in the comment period would make it difficult for MSHA to adopt final rules before a new president takes office.
While the proposal has support from the National Mining Association, the UMW calls it unnecessary because most coal companies already test miners.
“As pointed out in our earlier comments, MSHA has not determined there is a significant problem with improper drug and alcohol use in the coal mining industry and provides no statistical data to prove this need is as great as suggested in the proposal commentary,” O’Dell wrote.
