Senate bill would end mandatory state safety training for coal mine foremen

A Senate bill filed at the coal industry’s request Tuesday would end mandatory state safety training for mine foremen nine years after the General Assembly voted unanimously to require it.

Senate Bill 224, sponsored by Sen. Brandon Smith, would give coal companies the option of offering their own training for foremen based on federal workplace safety standards for mine examiners. The companies no longer would have to send foremen to six hours of annual training provided by the Kentucky Division of Mine Safety that emphasizes mistakes made by foremen that led to disciplinary actions.

Smith said he filed his bill at the request of the Kentucky Coal Association. Coal companies can do as well educating their foremen as the state does, and handling it internally would be cheaper and more efficient both for the state and for an industry that is hemorrhaging mining jobs, Smith said.

“We’re in a crisis mode, and over-regulation, in my opinion, is the cause of that,” said Smith, R-Hazard.

But an industry critic said Smith’s bill would undermine hard-fought progress for mine safety in Kentucky.

“It’s very disappointing, but it’s also typical of the industry always trying to cut back on safety to save a few bucks,” said Tony Oppegard, a Lexington mine safety attorney who formerly worked for the state and federal mine safety agencies.

In 2007, Oppegard was part of the team that wrote House Bill 207 and passed it through the House and Senate unanimously, to be signed into law by then-Gov. Ernie Fletcher. It requires mine foremen to attend annual state training to learn about new mine safety laws, better retreat-mining practices, changes in safety technology, and disciplinary cases against other foremen at the state Mine Safety Review Commission.

Kentucky coal miners have died because their foremen either deliberately cut corners or just didn’t know what they were doing, Oppegard said. Lawmakers at the time agreed that state oversight was necessary to guarantee the proper education was being offered every year, he said.

“Foremen are responsible for everyone under their supervision,” he said. “That is an awesome responsibility. Their knowledge has to be greater than everyone else’s in their crew.”

However, the Kentucky Coal Association says times have changed since the annual foremen training was mandated. The coal industry’s safety record has improved, and industry consolidation has produced fewer but larger companies able to handle their own training, said Bill Bissett, KCA president.

Under Smith’s bill, any company that doesn’t feel comfortable training its own foremen still has the option of using the Kentucky Division of Mine Safety’s courses, Bissett said. There is no incentive for a company to have poorly trained foremen, he said.

“A safe mine is a profitable and productive mine,” Bissett said. “If you do not have safety in your mines, then you’re not going to be in business for long.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Senate bill would end mandatory state safety training for coal mine foremen."