By Kris Maher
Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
One year after a massive explosion killed 29 West Virginia
miners, an independent investigator is preparing to release a
report detailing failures of company safety systems and regulatory
oversight.
Meanwhile, at least 10 wrongful-death lawsuits have been filed
against Massey Energy Co., owner of the Upper Big Branch mine, by
families of deceased miners. Some claims needed to be filed within
a year of the accident under state law. One miner also recently
sued for lost wages and other damages, after not being able to
return to work.
Massey said it would idle production on Tuesday at its 60
underground mines to honor the deceased miners, and hold a
companywide moment of silence at 3:02 p.m., when the explosion
ripped through more than two miles of the mine. The worst U.S. coal
mining accident in 40 years prompted proposals to revamp federal
mine-safety laws, and led to the retirement of Don Blankenship, the
longtime CEO of the 97-year-old company.
On Sunday, about 80 miners who had worked at the Upper Big
Branch mine gathered together with more than 100 family members for
the first time since the accident. Other memorials were planned for
Tuesday.
Davitt McAteer, who was appointed by former West Virginia Gov.
Joe Manchin to conduct an independent investigation, said the
explosion was the result of oversight failures both by the company
and federal and state safety regulators. Mr. McAteer said he
expects to release his report within weeks.
"It is without question that the prevention systems failed, and
that includes company inspections and government inspections," said
Mr. McAteer, former head of the federal Mine Safety and Health
Administration during the Clinton administration.
He said systems and controls designed to monitor and control
combustible coal dust and methane and ensure adequate ventilation
"didn't work."
MSHA spokeswoman Amy Louviere said the agency couldn't comment
on Mr. McAteer's statements, but is conducting its own internal
review.
"MSHA will use any and all lessons learned from these reviews to
do its job more effectively," she said. MSHA officials have come
under fire from Democratic members of Congress for failing to shut
the Massey mine after a spike in safety violations in 2009.
Shane Harvey, Massey's general counsel, disputed Mr. McAteer's
conclusions, saying the company's current findings indicate the
mine experienced a massive inundation of natural gas "that was
unexpected, intense and overwhelmed the normal safety systems."
Massey believes its ventilation plan surpassed federal
guidelines and that its procedure for controlling explosive coal
dust was sufficient.
Massey Chairman Bobby R. Inman said in an interview Monday that
he believes the accident was a "natural disaster" and not caused by
any company failings. However, he said, the board reviewed the
company's safety performance and found it better than average but
"not the best."
Mr. Inman said he "would not be surprised" to see more Massey
employees indicted, based on past criminal probes of mining
accidents, including a 2006 fire that killed two miners at another
Massey mine.
In February, the chief of security at the Upper Big Branch was
indicted by the U.S. Attorney in Charleston for obstructing a
federal investigation by disposing of documents and making false
statements to federal agents. Last month, a former employee at the
mine was charged with two felonies for falsifying a foreman's
license and lying to investigators.
Massey said it takes the charges seriously and is cooperating
with the U.S. Attorney.
MSHA plans to hold a public hearing on the accident on June 29,
to provide an overview of the physical evidence gathered in its
investigation, but the agency hasn't set a date to release its
final report.
"There's no resolution to it. We're just playing that waiting
game," said Clay Mullins, whose brother Rex was killed.
Bobbie Pauley, who worked underground at the mine and whose
fiance, Howard "Boone" Payne, was killed, organized the private
memorial on Sunday, during which miners told stories about
coworkers who died and presented families of the deceased miners
with burgundy carnations.
Ms. Pauley said she would be at her fiance's gravesite at 3 p.m.
on Tuesday. "I want to be with him a year to the day, to the
moment, that he was taken from me," she said.
Massey board member Mr. Inman called the anniversary a "very sad
occasion."
"Whether it was a natural disaster, as we believe, or whether it
was other causes that could have been prevented, as the leaks [by
investigators] would cause you to believe," he said, "you lost
those lives, and for the families nothing can replace that."
-Write to Kris Maher at kris.maher@wsj.com