RAHALL REPORT: We Are Making Great Strides in Mine Safety
From the desk of U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV)Representing West Virginia's 3rd District
Washington, D.C. (HNN) -- This year began on a dark and mournful note in the coalfields of our State. For a moment, the darkness was bathed in the lights and flashes of a concerned and attentive world media. As Senator Byrd said at the time, this attention will wane, but our work on behalf of the miner never will. After months of work, on a warm evening in June, the U.S. House of Representatives, at my urging, overwhelming approved long-overdue legislation to renew the Federal effort to make our mines safer. That was a critical first step to turning around a Federal mine safety program that had gone horribly off track.
Now we mark two new significant steps in that long process aimed at protecting the lives of each and every miner.
Recently, Bluefield, W.Va., welcomed coal industry leaders to the Bluefield Coal Show. It was an opportunity for individuals from many perspectives to come together to discuss the future of mine safety. The importance of this conference cannot be understated, and its impact will surely reverberate throughout our coalfields for many years to come. I commend the Greater Bluefield Chamber of Commerce, local leaders, and industry officials for their dedication to our brave miners and their families. I applaud them for understanding how tightly coal is woven into the fabric of our collective future.
The Coal Show came on the heels of another forward step in mine safety. It gave me great pleasure to announce that the Marshall University Center for Environmental, Geotechnical & Applied Science has been awarded a $2 million grant from the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) for the establishment of the Mine Safety Technology Innovation Capability and Regional Business Development program.
This award, combined with $1 million in State funding from Governor Joe Manchin, and $600,000 provided by the local private sector - including $100,000 from Arch Minerals, and $200,000 from State Electric - will allow West Virginia to help ensure that cutting-edge mine safety technologies can make their way into the mines quickly and effectively.
The development of a statewide Mine Safety Technology Consortium (MSTC) and creation of the Mine Safety Technology Incubator will be catalysts for transforming West Virginia mining know-how into superior coal mine health and safety products and services, including training technologies.
The incubator will also allow for the identification of innovative opportunities, the development of new business in mine technology services, and the creation of a technology clearinghouse database. It will provide technology transfer services, including opportunities for virtual training that provides users with interactive experiences in simulated mine environments, a state-of-the-art training technique.
Ensuring the availability of effective safety and health technologies is crucial to the future of the mining industry. Certainly we have been reminded of that fact throughout this year. West Virginia is in a unique position, with its significant coal mining expertise, to take the lead in developing the next generation of technologies and systems to address mine safety and health challenges. This program will move us one step closer to tapping the potential we have in our State and making safer mines a reality.
Project collaborators include the WVU Institute of Technology-Community and Technical College; Marshall University Center for Environmental, Geotechnical & Applied Sciences; Wheeling Jesuit University-National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC); West Virginia High Technology Consortium (WVHTC); Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing (RCBI); and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). The Mine Safety Technology Consortium will be headquartered at the WVU Institute of Technology in Montgomery.
When our miners descend underground to provide for their families and our Nation, they deserve every assurance that the safety laws in place are strong and that those laws are being enforced. Our recent successes in the area of mine safety are by no means a cure-all, but they mark an important step in our quest to ensure the health and safety of our miners. To borrow from the poet, we have many miles to go, we have as many promises to keep before we can sleep. Walking and working together will win the day.