State Safety

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP)

A West Virginia coal miner was suspended for a year and barred from working as a supervisor for three more after a state panel determined Wednesday that he used phony credentials to work as an underground mine foreman in charge of conducting safety examinations.

The Coal Mine Safety Board of Appeals also suspended Ronnie Britton II’s surface and underground miner certificates, all of which require training and testing, as well as his apprentice certificates. A third certificate based solely on experience and a $10 fee was revoked permanently.

The State of Colorado, Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety, is seeking bids for a project in Boulder County, Colorado, near the town of Jamestown. The work will include safeguarding two mine openings (and possibly a third) at the Bueno Mine.  Also backfilling, grading waste rock, and reseeding of the disturbed areas.

Editor’s Note:  The complete announcement is attached below.

BIDANNOUNCEMENT (2)

From: The Register-Herald.com

By Taylor Kuykendall, Register-Herald Reporter

During a Senate hearing on mine safety nearly a year after the Upper Big Branch explosion, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., asked safety officials for more coordination between state and federal officials.

In addition to eliminating redundancy and contradictory orders, Manchin also hinted that it may be a good idea to split safety offices in two, one to focus on inspections, and the other on training.

“Everyone is trying to do everything, and I am sometimes finding out that we are not doing either one as well as we could or should,” Manchin said.