State rejects mine plans

State rejects mine plans

	Published : Fri, 31 Aug 2007 19:41 By : Agencies Print this Story

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Individualized plans to install wireless communication and tracking systems in West Virginia's 254 underground coal mines were rejected Friday as state regulators said the proposals lacked detailed descriptions on how the systems would be developed and used.

Coal operators have until Sept. 21 to revise their plans, the state Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training said in a letter obtained by The Associated Press. Missing that deadline will prompt a citation, Director Ron Wooten said.

Despite the delay, Wooten said the agency expects to begin approving plans this fall. 'I think the installation will begin immediately thereafter,' he said Friday. Wooten hopes to have systems installed statewide by mid-2008. 'Some mines have already started.'

West Virginia, which has more than a third of the nation's 670 underground coal mines, mandated two-way wireless communications equipment after last year's deadly Sago Mine explosion. The state has since certified a half dozen systems that are designed to help rescuers pinpoint the location of missing miners and talk with them.

Similar federal requirements don't take effect until June 2009.

The inability to find six miners trapped in a Utah coal mine since Aug. 6 underscores the importance of two-way communications and tracking systems, West Virginia Coal Association Vice President Chris Hamilton said. Miners at the Crandall Canyon mine were equipped with a one-way system that just receives messages from the surface.

'Unfortunately it did not provide the feedback as to whether the indiviiduals received the initial alert and whether or not the individuals survived,' Hamilton said. 'You have to have two-way communications.'

West Virginia also has forged ahead of federal rules by requiring mines to install airtight refuge chambers capable of keeping trapped miners alive for four days. The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration requires four days of breathable air, food and water, but has not mandated shelters nationally.

The combination will help locate missing men underground, Wooten said.

'You would know where they are because you know where the shelter is,' he said. 'It's not individual this or individual that. It's all these taken together to form a system for location and rescue.'

The rejection letters sent to mine operators say the state found 'many deficiencies,' though it notes that 'difficulty with the initial submittal was anticipated' because no one has written such plans before.

Letters sent to 202 operators reminded them that plans are supposed to include details such as descriptions of how systems will be de-energized by mine rescue teams and ways to extend battery life.

They also remind operators that the goal is integrated systems that increase the likelihood at least some parts will survive a disaster.

'It just takes a little while to really perfect these systems,' Hamilton said. 'Unfortunately you just can't go down to Radio Shack.'