An energy company that owned the Crandall Canyon mine where nine people were killed in two collapses last August has shut another of its Utah coal mines over federal regulators fined the company for flagrant safety violations. The Salt Lake Tribune reports:
UtahAmerican Energy Inc. has shut down its Tower mine near Price for safety reasons, the company announced Friday.
UtahAmerican is a Murray Energy Corp. subsidiary that also co-owned the Crandall Canyon coal mine near Huntington, where nine people died in two catastrophic collapses last August. The company said it closed Tower mine because of "recently encountered, unexpected and unusual stress conditions."
P. Bruce Hill, UtahAmerican's president and chief executive, said the safety of the mine's employees was at stake, given unforeseen geological and mining conditions. Most employees will be transferred to UtahAmerican's nearby West Ridge mine, which is being expanded, he said.
"Safety is our only initial concern, and we do not believe that the Tower mine can be operated at this time," Hill said, adding that "unforeseen changes in requirements by the [federal] Mine Safety and Health Administration also have contributed to the forced closure of the mine."
Last week, MSHA fined Murray Energy $420,000 for two flagrant violations of safety regulations, contending the Ohio-based company repeatedly allowed buildups of potentially explosive coal dust in Tower.
MSHA's Web site indicates there were 11 reported roof falls and wall collapses at the Tower mine during the past year that resulted in five injuries. Last month, MSHA stopped work temporarily until the company repaired damage from a rock fall.
To read HuffPost's previous coverage of the Crandall Canyon Disaster and Murray Energy, you can read:
* Connect the Dots: Karl Rove's Politics Uber Alles Strategy and the Utah Mine Disaster
* It Shouldn't Have Taken the Deaths of Three Rescuers to Get the Media to Focus on Mine Safety
* Mine Safety Czar Richard Stickler: Another Bush Fox Guarding the Henhouse
* Utah Mine Owner Attacked Post-Sago Safety Proposals