DENVER—Operators of a Utah coal mine asked an administrative law judge in Denver on Friday to let them relaunch operations in a section of the West Ridge mine near Price, Utah.
West Ridge Resources Inc. contends the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration is keeping hundreds of miners from working.
“The future of the West Ridge mine is at stake,” said Jason Hardin, attorney for the mine. “Hundreds of jobs are at stake, both short-term and long-term.”
MSHA halted the longwall mining operation in a section of the mine Jan. 31 after a “bounce,” a potentially deadly release of energy that can propel chunks of coal at miners, left a miner with broken ribs and a collapsed lung. It was the third significant bounce within a week.
At the time, equipment was in a spot where it would have been difficult to withdraw. The company was allowed to begin operating the longwall mining machine again remotely, and was doing so when MSHA said it learned of more bounces Feb. 12 and 13. Regulators also were concerned about how many people were in the area where the three earlier bounces occurred.
MSHA again shut down the operation.
Attorney Timothy Williams for MSHA argued that the agency did not abuse its discretion. MSHA said it was putting miner safety first.
“There were too many red flags telling us there was an issue here,” Kevin Stricklin, head of coal-mine safety for MSHA, testified Friday.
Hardin said the agency is trying to dictate the design of the mine instead of going through a formal rule-making process.
For nearly a year, MSHA has been urging the company to adopt “panel barrier” mining, with barriers placed between panels in the mine, both sides said. The company believes that method leads to less predictable bounces, while the agency says it could better protect miners.
West Ridge is part of UtahAmerican Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Ohio-based Murray Energy Corp.
Murray Energy has come under pressure from regulators since its Crandall Canyon mine, also in Utah, collapsed in August 2007. Six miners were killed in the collapse and three others died in a rescue effort.
The company will present its witnesses in the expedited hearing Saturday.
