Wyoming Mining Association executive director Marion Loomis said MSHA is taking a "harder look" at the state's coal mining operations.

But Loomis said Wyoming coal mines have been recognized as some of the safest operators in the nation and most likely can withstand any additional scrutiny.

"The story that's important in regards to Wyoming coal mine operations is how safe they actually are ... and if you look at the injuries per 200,000 man-hours in Wyoming, coal is safer than almost any industry in the state," he said.

"Certainly, we've seen MSHA increasing their inspections and presence at Wyoming (coal) mines ... but coal mines in Wyoming aren't really increasing their level of effort to make their operations more safe," Loomis said.

"That's something the industry has been doing for years and years ... to try and have zero injuries on the job," he said.

"That doesn't mean they're satisfied ... but if you look just at the number of injuries that happened in the (coal mining) workplace, Wyoming coal mines are extremely safe."

Wyoming's 21 surface and underground coal mines employ about 6,900 workers. The state accounts for nearly 40 percent of the nation's coal production and produced an estimated 467 million tons in 2008.

Continued vigilance

Federal officials have stepped up enforcement and inspections at all of the nation's coal mines since the Crandall Canyon disaster in Utah, according to MSHA administrators.

On Aug. 6, 2007, six miners were killed in a catastrophic coal outburst when roof-supporting pillars failed and violently ejected coal over a half-mile area. Ten days later, two mine employees and an MSHA inspector perished in a coal outburst during rescue efforts.

Since the disaster, MSHA has instituted a new, comprehensive approach to enforcement that includes increasing the number of inspectors, inspections and penalties, said Richard Stickler, acting assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.

"We must continue to be vigilant in our efforts to bring all miners home safe and healthy at the end of every shift," Stickler said.

As part of the effort, Stickler said in 2007 the agency launched its 100 Percent Plan to address MSHA's lax inspection completion rates.

The federal Mine Act requires MSHA to inspect every underground coal mine four times a year and every surface coal mine twice a year.

Last month, MSHA officials said the agency achieved its goal of completing every mandated regular inspection for the year. MSHA inspectors completed quarterly and twice-yearly inspections at more than 14,800 active mining operations across the nation.

"Mines are safer today due to the success of this program," Stickler said.

He noted there have been 360 new coal-enforcement personnel hired since July 2006, including a 169 full-time coal mine inspectors. MSHA enforcement ranks will soon be at their highest levels since 1994.

MSHA recorded a 12 percent increase in regular inspections in 2008, a 46 percent increase in inspection hours and a 33 percent increase in citations and orders.

The agency also had a 209 percent increase in assessed penalties last year.

In 2008, MSHA assessed a record 198,700 civil penalties for violations of mine safety and health, compared with 130,100 in 2007, according to MSHA figures.

The dollar amount of assessed penalties more than doubled, going from $74 million in 2007 to $194 million in 2008.

Stickler said the number and dollar amounts of civil penalties in 2008 are the most ever assessed by the agency in a single year.

In 2007, MSHA also began employing a little-used enforcement sanction known as "pattern of violation" notices. Mine operators with repeated violations of mandatory health and safety standards received the notices.

MSHA initiated a systematic review of all the nation's mines, and 43 operations have since been notified of their potential for a pattern of violations notice, according to MSHA data. In November, the agency issued its first-ever notice to a Virginia coal mine.

The stricter enforcement policy that went into full force in 2008 resulted significant improvements in health and safety of coal mines, agency figures show.

Preliminary data released in early January showed mine fatalities in 2008 fell to an all-time low, with a 31 percent drop from 2007.

The fatality level in coal mines was the lowest recorded number since 2005.

Of the 51 mining fatalities reported last year in the U.S., 28 occurred in coal mines. Agency data showed that 10 coal miners died in accidents involving powered haulage, which was the leading cause of fatal mining accidents in 2008.

Wyoming's lone coal mining fatality in 2008 also involved powered haulage.

On Oct. 28, a 48-year-old haul truck operator was fatally injured at Wyodak Resources Development Co.'s Wyodak Mine near Gillette when the cab of his truck was struck in the rear by another truck traveling in reverse.

Southwest Wyoming bureau reporter Jeff Gearino can be reached at 307-875-5359 or at gearino@tribcsp.com.