W Va Upper Big Branch Coal Mine Explosion- Final Death Toll: 29 R.I.P.(SEALED)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/10/25/141681614/union-w-va-mine-disaster-was-industrial-homicide?ft=1&f=1001
Union: W. Va. Mine Disaster Was 'Industrial Homicide'
October 25, 2011

The United Mine Workers union (UMWA) is out with its own report this morning about last year's Upper Big Branch coal mine disaster in West Virginia in which 29 workers died.

Not surprisingly, UMWA blasts non-union Massey Energy, which owned the mine at the time, and was criticized severely in earlier reports from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and a team of independent investigators.

"There were many factors that led to this disaster," says the report. "But there was only one source for all of them: A rogue corporation." (The report is posted here and embedded at the end of this post.)
Much more...

[MuffyBee]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45053457/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/#.TqiJ33JZrwI
Official convicted in W.Va. mine disaster that killed 29
Head of security guilty of obstructing investigation by dumping documents
October 26, 2011

BECKLEY, W.Va. — The former head of security at a West Virginia mine has been convicted of impeding the investigation into a 2010 explosion that killed 29 men.

A federal jury in Beckley found 60-year-old Hughie Elbert Stover guilty Wednesday of lying to investigators and disposing of thousands of security-related documents following the explosion at Massey Energy's Upper big Branch Mine. He was the first person criminally prosecuted in the worst U.S. coal mining disaster in decades.
 ::snipping2::

The jury was told that investigators retrieved boxes of security documents that Stover ordered dumped into the trash. Stover testified that he did not know he was committing a crime when he ordered that the documents be thrown out. 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/06/us-masseyenergy-mineaccident-idUSTRE7B507V20111206
U.S. may issue record fine to Massey Energy for accident: report
December 6, 2011

Reuters) - Federal regulators are expected to issue the largest fine ever to a U.S. mining company in connection with the Massey Energy accident last year that killed 29 coal miners in West Virginia, the Wall Street Journal said, citing two people briefed on the matter.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), which is set to release its report Tuesday on the accident at the Upper Big Branch mine, is expected to issue about 360 safety citations, the Journal said.

"It is going to be the most ever in the history of the agency," a person briefed on the safety agency's Upper Big Branch report told the Journal.

"We haven't seen the final report itself, so we're not prepared to comment," a spokesman for Alpha Natural Resources Inc, which purchased Massey in June and will be responsible for all fines, told the Journal.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-06/massey-miners-intimidated-by-managers-before-fatal-explosion-1-.html
Massey Miners Intimidated by Managers Before Fatal Explosion
December 6, 2011

Massey Energy Co. intimidated workers, concealed hazards and failed to perform required examinations before the deadly 2010 blast at its West Virginia coal mine, according to a U.S. Labor Department investigation.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration concluded that Massey’s corporate culture was a root cause of the tragedy that killed 29 workers at the Upper Big Branch mine, the agency said in a report posted today on its website. Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (ANR) acquired Massey in June.

“Massey promoted and enforced a workplace culture that valued production over safety, and broke the law as they endangered the lives of their miners,” Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said in an e-mailed statement.
More...

[MuffyBee]

http://wvgazette.com/News/201112060055
UBB deal calls for safety improvements, resolves fines
December 6, 2011

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal prosecutors this morning announced details of a $200 million deal in which Alpha Natural Resources promises to implement "groundbreaking" safety improvements, while also resolving tens of millions of dollars in government fines related to violations at the Massey Energy operations it purchased six months ago.

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said his settlement with Alpha requires the company to spend $80 million over the next two years on new equipment, safety training and beefed up staffing at all of its underground mines in the United States.

Improvements include digital equipment to monitor air-flow velocity and direction underground and real-time meters to ensure compliance with limits on the presence of explosive methane and coal dust.

Alpha must also perform a study to determine if its mines have adequate staffing to clean up accumulations of explosive coal dust, accelerate research on new ways to control dust accumulations, and install new emergency oxygen equipment for miners. The company will build a new state-of-the art training center at its regional office in Julian and set up an aggressive new schedule of worker and supervisor training programs.
 ::snipping2::
Neither Alpha nor its Performance Coal subsidiary, which operated Upper Big Branch, are pleading guilty to any criminal charges.

Instead, the government is agreeing to not bring any potential charges against the companies in exchange for payment of the fines and victim restitution, and timely implementation of the safety improvements.

Key to the deal, though, is that -- unlike a previous deal with Massey following the Aracoma Mine fire -- the Justice Department is not agreeing to never bring charges against any individual executives, officers or employees of Massey or Performance. Goodwin said resolution of issues with Alpha allows prosecutors to focus their resources on potential cases against such individuals
More...

[MuffyBee]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-12-06/big-branch-west-virginia-mine-explosion-settlement/51675316/1
W.Va. mine disaster deal could boost safety in industry
December 6, 2011

The record $210 million settlement announced Tuesday in the Massey Energy mining disaster that killed 29 men could result in better mine safety throughout the industry, according to one safety expert involved in the investigation.
Davitt McAteer, a former federal mine safety chief who conducted West Virginia's investigation into the April 2010 blast at the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, says parts of the settlement are "interesting, novel and creative" because they address improvements in technology, training and personnel requirements.

"In terms of the mining industry in this country this is a record settlement," McAteer says. "The settlement is of sufficient size that it catches the attention of the industry and hopefully we'll have the deterrent effect."
More...

[MuffyBee]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204770404577082341518182150.html
Feds Blame Owner of West Virginia Mine
Safety Agency Levies Record Fine of $10.8 Million Over Deadly 2010 Explosion
December 7, 2011


BECKLEY, W.Va.—The deadliest mining disaster in 40 years was the result of a workplace culture that valued production over safety, federal regulators said in issuing a record civil penalty of $10.8 million to the company that owns the Upper Big Branch mine where 29 miners were killed last year.

In an exhaustive 1,000-page report, the Mine Safety and Health Administration reaffirmed its previous conclusion that Massey Energy Co. management failed to prevent a small methane-gas ignition from turning into a powerful coal-dust explosion that swept through the mine, killing most miners instantly. Alpha Natural Resources Inc. acquired Massey in June, along with liabilities related to the accident.
More...


Hazardous Practices Below Ground

Owner was cited for 9 'flagrant' violations contributing to the blast:

Providing advance notification of mine inspections to workers

Failing to take air readings before miners entered the mine

Failing to conduct examinations during shifts to identify hazards

Failing to correct hazards from coal dust found during examinations

Failing to take air readings during weekly examinations

Allowing hazardous levels of coal dust to build up

Failing to adequately apply rock dust to prevent explosions

Failing to maintain water sprays on a cutting machine

Failing to adequately train miners

(Source: U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501363_162-57378210/feds-upper-big-branch-sentencing-can-send-message/
Feds: Upper Big Branch sentencing can send message
February 15, 2012

(AP)  CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Prosecutors want to make an example of a former security chief at West Virginia's Upper Big Branch mine who was convicted of lying to investigators after the worst mine disaster in four decades.

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin says Hughie Elbert Stover deserves the maximum possible sentence of 25 years in prison. Goodwin says Stover's actions contributed to the 2010 disaster that killed 29 men.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

It's about time charges are being laid to those in the upper ranks.  Usually it's the low ranking guys that get in trouble.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57382919/w.va-mine-boss-charged-in-deadly-blast/
W.Va. mine boss charged in deadly blast
February 22, 2012

(AP)

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The superintendent of the West Virginia coal mine where an explosion killed 29 men was charged Wednesday with conspiracy to defraud the federal government, becoming the highest-ranking employee to face criminal prosecution in an investigation that appeared to be moving steadily up the corporate ladder.

Former Upper Big Branch mine boss Gary May, 43, of Bloomingrose, W.Va., is named in a "federal information," a document that signals a defendant is cooperating with prosecutors. He is the second employee of the company that owns the mine, Massey Energy, to face prosecution in the case.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://triblive.com/home/2072563-74/mine-alpha-blast-died-sealed-virginia-2010-ago-announced-april
New owner seals W.Va. mine where 29 died in blast
June 21, 2012

MONTCOAL, W.Va. — The West Virginia coal mine where 29 men died in an explosion two years ago has been sealed shut by its new owners.

The Upper Big Branch mine hasn’t operated since the April 2010 blast that was the worst U.S. mine disaster in four decades.
 ::snipping2::
Alpha announced earlier this year that it would close the mine for good. It sealed the mine’s portals, which are large tunnels used by miners to get underground.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex-ceo-don-blankenship-indicted-massey-mine-blast-killed-29-n248221
Ex-CEO Don Blankenship Indicted in Massey Mine Blast That Killed 29
November 13, 2014




Don Blankenship, who was chief executive of Massey Energy Co. when its Upper Big Branch coal mine exploded in West Virginia in 2010, killing 29 miners, was charged Thursday with trying to evade mine safety standards and lying to federal regulators.

The explosion April 5, 2010, in the town of in Montcoal was the deadliest U.S. mine accident in 40 years. An investigation by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration in 2011 found that broken equipment failed to douse a small methane gas fire, which ignited coal dust in a giant blast.

The indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in Charleston, West Virginia, charges Blankenship with conspiracy to violate mandatory federal mine safety and health standards, conspiracy to impede federal mine safety officials, making false statements to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and securities fraud. It accuses Blankenship of having tipped off managers about federal safety inspections ahead of time before the explosion and of having tried to cover up the company's mismanagement after the explosion.

In a March interview with MSNBC's Chris Hayes, Blankenship denounced the federal investigation and specifically the mine safety agency, saying overregulation had taken safety decisions out of the hands of mining executives.

"What I'm trying to do is prevent other families from suffering," Blankenship said. "And that is what is going to happen if the government doesn't quit running roughshod over the coal mines and give people with expertise the opportunity to run their mines."

Blankenship could face 31 years in prison if convicted on all four counts.

[MuffyBee]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/trial-wva-coal-ceos-case-delayed-april-28017140
Trial in Former W.Va. Coal CEO's Case Delayed Until April
January 5, 2015

A judge has delayed the trial of a former West Virginia coal baron facing criminal charges in connection with a 2010 mine explosion that killed 29 men.

A docket entry Monday in U.S. District Court in Beckley shows that Judge Irene Berger rescheduled the trial of ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship until April 20. It was slated for Jan. 26.

A pretrial hearing originally scheduled for Tuesday will be held March 3.

In a previous hearing, Blankenship's attorneys said the trial should be delayed a year. Federal prosecutors opposed a lengthy delay.

Blankenship is charged with conspiring to violate safety and health standards at Upper Big Branch Mine in southern West Virginia, where a 2010 explosion killed 29 men.

Blankenship's attorneys have also said they want the case moved out of southern West Virginia, which prosecutors oppose.

[MuffyBee]

The judge is also still restricting attorneys or relatives of victims from discussing the case with reporters or releasing court documents.

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/crime/article/Judge-keeps-most-of-gag-order-in-former-W-Va-6000430.php
Judge keeps most of gag order in former W.Va. coal exec case
January 7, 2015

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A judge is upholding most of a gag order in a criminal case against ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, who was in charge of the Upper Big Branch mine when it exploded and killed 29 men.

U.S. District Judge Irene Berger wrote Wednesday that she needs much of the gag order to keep prospective jurors unbiased.

Berger says she will make more documents public, however, including opinions and orders. Documents with information or arguments related to case facts and substance will remain sealed.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-04/massey-consultant-says-he-warned-of-danger-months-before-blast
Massey Adviser Says He Warned of Danger Months Before Blast
November 4, 2015

Former Massey Energy Co. Chief Executive Officer Donald Blankenship was warned about pervasive safety problems at his company’s mining operations 10 months before a fatal explosion killed 29 men, a retired government mine inspector told a West Virginia jury.
Bill Ross said he was hired to do a safety review of Massey’s mines and provided the company with a list of shortcomings in a June 2009 report. Among his concerns were buildups of explosive coal dust because of poor ventilation in the shafts, according to court filings.
Federal prosecutors accuse Blankenship, 65, of plotting with other executives to subvert safety rules at the mine, located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Charleston. The April 2010 explosion was the worst U.S. mining disaster in more than 30 years.
One of Massey’s in-house lawyers e-mailed a summary of Ross’s findings to Blankenship on June 25, 2009, and the former CEO warned subordinates that Ross’s report should be kept confidential, according to the government’s evidence in the case.
“It’s bad because if we had a fatal today, it would be a terrible document to be in discovery,” Blankenship said on a tape of a June 29, 2009, phone call, referring to a legal requirement of producing relevant documents ahead of a trial.

The government contends a push by Blankenship and some Massey managers to cut corners on ventilation and other safety issues allowed a buildup of coal dust that ignited and exploded at the Upper Big Branch mine. The former CEO’s defense lawyers counter that miners hit a hidden pocket of natural gas, sparking the fatal explosion.
Improve Record
In his defense, the Blankenship’s lawyers have pointed to evidence showing he repeatedly tried to eliminate mine hazards and improve the company’s safety record at Upper Big Branch.

Ross told jurors on Wednesday that he was surprised Blankenship and other Massey officials tagged his safety report as confidential because he was hired to help the company find ways to cut down on violations of mining regulations.
“I thought it would be shared with just about everyone at Massey to get a handle” on the rising number of safety violations, the retired Mining Safety and Health Administration official said. He testified that he specialized in analyzing mine-ventilation issues while at the agency.
“I thought good things were going to happen,” Ross testified about his report. “I thought they were serious and would take steps to change. So, I was happy about that. It would be better all-around for the company and for MSHA. We wouldn’t have to fight with MSHA or blame them.”
In his report, summarized for Blankenship by in-house lawyer Stephanie Ojeda, Ross warned that MSHA inspectors considered Massey to be “an outlaw firm” that didn’t take safety concerns seriously and repeatedly failed to follow through on vows to improve.
Repeat Violations
“Massey has a worse track record than many other companies,” Ojeda noted in her summary of Ross’s report. “The inspectors continue to find repeat violations; Massey never improves. This leads inspectors to conclude Massey doesn’t care.”

Ross found Massey’s approach to mining in some shafts focused on extracting high-dollar coal quickly and accepting violations as a cost of doing business. At the time, the type of coal being extracted at Upper Big Branch had a high per-ton price tag.
“The attitude at Massey is if you can get the footage, we can pay the fines,” Ojeda noted in her summary of Ross’s report, referring to mining a prescribed number of feet of a deposit during a shift.

Blankenship demanded Ross meet with him in the summer of 2009 to go over his safety recommendations. The former mine inspector said he expected to be fired as a company consultant over his calls that Massey spend more money on safety issues.
“I told him that regardless of what came out of this meeting, you can’t afford to have a disaster because most mines don’t survive a disaster,” Ross told jurors. During cross-examination by Blankenship’s defense lawyer, the consultant said he wasn’t fired.

The case is U.S. v. Blankenship, 14-cr-00244, U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia (Charleston).