Judge Upholds West Virginia Mine Accident Reporting Rule

A Kanawha County Circuit Court judge has upheld a state law giving coal mine operators 15 minutes to tell regulators about fires and other serious accidents.

Judge Tod Kaufman’s ruling came in a case involving International Coal Group subsidiary Wolf Run Mining. The state Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training fined Wolf Run $100,000 for reporting a 2008 gas ignition at its Sentinel Mine well past the deadline. Kaufman’s Nov. 19 ruling reinstated the penalty, which had been overturned by the state Coal Mine Safety Board of Appeals.

The reporting requirement was one of a myriad of changes in state law passed after an explosion that killed 12 miners at ICG’s Sago Mine on Jan. 2, 2006.

ICG lawyer Roger Nicholson says the company is disappointed and may appeal.