Faulty maps blamed for '02 mine flood

NEW STANTON, Pa. -- A federal agency on Tuesday blamed inaccurate maps for the inundation of the Quecreek Mine last summer that trapped nine miners for three days before their dramatic rescue.

The report by the Mine Safety and Health Administration said not enough was done to determine the proximity of an adjacent, flooded mine. In the absence of reliable maps, drilling might have discovered that water had collected in the abandoned mine, the report said.

Federal officials issued citations against the operators, saying the inaccurate maps violated federal safety standards. Penalties for the violations will be determined at a later date.

The MSHA report was more critical of mine operators than a state report issued last month.

The miners were trapped 270 feet underground for 77 hours last July after they inadvertently breached the neighboring Saxman Mine filled with million of gallons of water.

Some of the miners have filed lawsuits against past and present owners and operators of the mines, saying they knew or should have known about the danger.

It took rescuers three days to drill a man-sized hole to the high ground of the mine where they believed the miners, if they had survived the initial rush of water, would have fled. All nine miners survived, being brought up one at a time in a rescue capsule.

Almost immediately after the rescue, mine maps that indicated the boundaries of the abandoned Saxman Mine to be hundreds of feet away came under scrutiny.

In a separate report released last month, the state Department of Environmental Protection blamed the inundation on faulty maps, but concluded there was no evidence mine operators could have known the breach was imminent.

State environmental officials said changes have been made to require more accurate mapping of mines.

Federal officials cited PBS Coals Inc., which operates the mine, Black Wolf Coal Co., the contractor mining the coal, and Musser Engineering, Inc.

PBS Coals said it believed the report cleared it and Musser from any intentional wrongdoing and showed they had searched all expected sources in trying to determine the boundaries of the Saxman mine.

Randy Musser, president of Musser Engineering, said the mapping was done according to standards applicable at that time.

Black Wolf Coal did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press on Tuedsay.

Howard Messer, a lawyer representing six of the minors who have filed a lawsuit said the report details how an inaccurate map was used.

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