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“THE MINE IMPROVEMENT AND NEW EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACT OF 2006” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1119-E1120 on June 12, 2006.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE MINE IMPROVEMENT AND NEW EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACT OF 2006
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speech of
HON. JIM MATHESON
of utah
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased the U.S. House of Representatives is debating much needed legislation to improve mining safety across this nation. S. 2803, the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006, is a compromise bill that received unanimous support in the U.S. Senate and is endorsed by industry and mining workers alike. While no legislation is perfect, this bill goes a long way to protect the brave workers who help secure America's energy needs.
The MINER Act includes a provision that is of particular importance to my home state of Utah. Section 11 of S. 2803 authorizes the establishment of an independent scientific and engineering review of belt air utilization and the composition and fire retardant properties of belt materials in underground coal mining.
Utah's situation with respect to belt air is unique. Utah's coal mines are under deep cover with greater than 1,500 feet of overburden; for enhanced safety, this requires the use of two-entry gate roads for longwall panels. This means only two tunnels lead to the longwall equipment compared to three or four tunnels leading to the longwall equipment found in most longwall mines in the East. Under such deep overburden, additional tunnels or entries would lead to unstable and unsafe conditions.
In any longwall mining system design, one of the entries must be used for the conveyor belt system to transport coal out of the mine. In Utah, where only two-entry mines are practical, both entries must be used to deliver enough fresh air to the longwall machine to properly control dust and methane to meet ventilation health standards.
Due to the importance of belt air use to Utah's mining industry, it is my hope the panel called for in the MINER Act is expeditiously convened and uses sound science to properly evaluate the use of belt air in underground coal mining.
In addition, Section 14 of S. 2803 establishes the ``Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants'' program to help provide funding for education and training programs concerning safety and health topics in mines.
In my District, a consortium of local business and education interests recently announced the establishment of the Western Energy Training Center in Price, Utah with the help of a two-year Department of Labor grant. The mission of the Center is to educate and train workers to fill jobs for the mining and energy related industries, workers who are badly needed throughout the West. The Center will educate and train future workers with a focus on improving both the technical experience of the labor force and worker commitment to safety.
The ``Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants'' program is poised to become an invaluable resource for institutions like the Western Energy Training Center in improving the safety record of America's energy industry.
The MINER Act is the first substantial overhaul of our nation's mining laws in almost three decades and is an essential step to remedying the many health and safety shortfalls facing coal miners today. I urge all of my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to support the passage of this legislation.
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