Mar 6 - McClatchy-Tribune Business News Formerly Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - John Stamper Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.

A mine safety bill given up for dead last month by its sponsor has been resuscitated and could clear the House today, according to two coal-field lawmakers who have battled over the legislation.

Still, with only seven legislative days left for the bill to clear both the House and Senate, passage is questionable, according to key lawmakers.

Sen. Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, who led the charge for mine safety legislation last year, said to get a bill through the Senate in so short a time would require everyone to be familiar with and supportive of the proposals.

"Nobody over here has seen the bill," Stivers said.

Still, mine safety advocates are not giving up hope. Some members of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and Kentucky Jobs With Justice have planned a "sit-in" today in the Senate leadership office. Members of the groups say they will not leave until being heard regarding the mine safety bill and two other pieces of legislation.

Such a sit-in might be premature, because the mine safety legislation hasn't yet been passed by the House.

Rep. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, filed several amendments yesterday that would restore many of the same provisions she earlier removed when the bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Brent Yonts of Greenville, was heard by a House committee last month.

At the time, Yonts accused Webb of gutting and hijacking his bill. Yesterday, the two agreed on a compromise that both said would significantly increase safety measures for coal miners without being so onerous as to jeopardize their jobs.

Webb said she could not support Yonts' original bill because it prohibited using shafts that contain coal-carrying conveyor belts for bringing fresh air into mines. Had the measure been passed into law, it would have closed a 200-worker mine in Pike County and had a negative impact on five others, Webb said.

"That was a deal breaker for me," she said. "I didn't want to take jobs from Kentucky miners when the mine tries to be compliant."

Yonts said he agreed to removing the provision after learning that it would shut down a mine.

Among the provisions that Webb's amendments would restore to the bill are requirements calling for the continuous operation of mine ventilation fans, methane gas detectors for underground miners and an on-duty electrician at surface and underground mines.

If approved, the revised version of House Bill 207 would also increase the number of mine inspections completed by the state each year from three to six and require that two medics be on duty at underground mines.

Amendments filed yesterday also require underground mines to have an "adequate" way to transport miners out during an emergency. The bill previously called for an "efficient" transportation method.

"I don't see any difference in the two," Yonts said.

An amendment also requires that mine superintendents certify in writing that seals used to close off unused areas of mines where explosive gases accumulate are constructed properly. The bill previously required an engineer to make the same certification.

The construction of mine seals has come under intense scrutiny during the past year after investigators determined that shoddily constructed seals may have played a role in two mine explosions that killed 17 miners last year.

Webb said she is confident that the revised bill can be implemented and enforced by state regulators. She also said the Senate committee that will probably consider the bill is "well versed" in mine safety issues, although she agreed the bill is "a little late."

"It took a little while to get the positive dialogue started on it," Webb said.

 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.