Mine accident probe finds two possible law violations

PITTSBURGH -- A report released Thursday on the Pennsylvania mine accident that trapped nine workers for three days found two likely violations of state law regarding inaccurate maps.

It is unclear, however, whether the state will be able to pursue charges against anyone, said David Hess, environmental secretary.

Investigators from the state Environmental Protection Department and federal Mine Safety and Health Administration interviewed more than 50 in looking into the accident.

The preliminary report said inaccurate maps led miners to breach an abandoned coal mine, releasing millions of gallons of water that trapped them deep underground in the Quecreek Mine for about 77 hours in July.

The Black Wolf Coal Co. had based its operations at the Quecreek Mine on maps from the 1940s and '50s, leading the miners to believe they were a safe distance from the abandoned Saxman mine, investigators said.

The Saxman mine closed in 1963, but its operators never filed a final map with the state, a likely violation of state law, the report said.

A second violation might have occurred when Clyde H. Maize, a former state mine inspector, failed to turn over all maps and papers in his possession when he retired in 1970, the report said.

Among the items his granddaughter donated to the Somerset County Library in June, a month before the accident, was a Saxman mine map with "Final 1964" handwritten on the back.

"We will be recommending actions, but as the report notes, the inspector is deceased and the Saxman Mine is just a shell company, so we may not be able to take enforcement action," Hess said.

Black Wolf President David Rebuck declined to comment.

An attorney for seven of the nine miners planned to discuss the report at a news conference Thursday.

A final report is expected in December.

Among recommendations in the preliminary report are establishing a digital archive of mine maps and creating a way to ensure that mine inspectors turn over all maps and other information when they leave or retire.