Published: July 10, 2007 09:21 am         

Tri-Star cited in miners' deaths

ROCKY GAP - A team of federal mining investigators has concluded that a flawed ground control plan, coupled with negligence from company officials and subsidence from underground mining, led to the April 17 collapse of a 275-feet highwall that killed two men at a surface mine near Barton.

After meeting privately with the families of Dale Jones and Mike Wilt, the two equipment operators who died in that fall, Mine Safety and Health Administration officials publicly released its findings about what caused the Tri-Star Mining Inc. disaster 12 weeks after that incident. The report issued by the Department of Labor said Jones and Wilt died in the avalanche when fractured rock from underground mine subsidence weakened an already problematic highwall, causing it to crumble.

In addition, foreman Ray Tighe didn't conduct a proper inspection at Job No. 3, also called the Caledonia Pit, that morning - in spite of Jones and another operator telling Tighe that rocks had fallen from the highwall, the report said. Jones initially contacted Tighe via his CB radio at 6:30 a.m., to tell him about the falling rocks, but according to MSHA investigators, Tighe didn't go check the area until sometime around 9 a.m.

While he did perform an inspection then, the report said that Tighe, "despite being notified that rocks were falling ... and observing cracks in the area, did not record these conditions in the examination book. Neither did the foreman travel to the work site in the pit to examine the highwall face."

Ground control plan not followed

Another reason for the highwall collapse included mine owner George Beener's failure to operate safely. "The mine operator failed to establish and follow a ground control plan for safe control of highwalls, pits and spoil banks for the (Caledonia) Pit," the report said.

Federal law requires that a ground control plan be established and followed. According to an instruction manual MSHA uses to train its inspectors, "the purpose of a ground control plan is to prevent slope failures (because the) highwall is a primary hazard area ..."

Part of a mine development plan that includes methods such as benching, sloping, explosives and scaling of loose rock - which means removing any loose materials from the highwall that could be potentially hazardous in a fall - the ground control plan is considered a key factor in safe surface mining operations.

But even if it had been followed, investigators said the 2002 ground control plan was "inadequate for control of the highwall conditions." Further, the inspectors found that the highwall, as specified in that plan, would still have been steeper and less stable, "and would still have allowed highwall failure due to mine subsidence."

MSHA does not approve a company's ground control plan - it simply accepts it. And in Tri-Star's case, the actual conditions seen by federal investigators at the Caledonia Pit were not like those submitted in the plan. As one example, the plan called for a 125-foot highwall - but at 275 feet tall, investigators found the highwall to be more than double that figure.

Another problem was the benching that the ground control plan outlined. Benches are terrace-like steps that spread out the weight of the highwall over a larger surface of ground, so the weight of the highwall doesn't occur in the "toe," or bottom, of the pit - which could lead to a highwall failure. But investigators said the benches in the Caledonia Pit were "too narrow, filled with debris, and not provided every 80 feet of height," as specified by the ground control plan.

Even if the benches had been built as laid out in that plan, they would not have allowed for the "highly weakened state of the failed pillars, roof and floor in the Pittsburgh coal seam horizon," which contributed to "extensively fractured rock that not only represented a hazard in terms of overall highwall stability, but also in terms of smaller scale rock fall hazards," the report said.

In addition to the surface mining that occurred above the ground at the Caledonia Pit, eight different seams of coal below the ground had been deep mined "for nearly 120 years." Those mines led to "highly fractured (rock) due to ... extensive subsidence" in the highwall, investigators found. Subsidence is what happens when bedrock, sand, gravel and other materials in the earth fall or slide, which cause sagging, or even a pothole of sorts.

Tri-Star Mining's ground control plan "failed to address the heavily deep-mined Sewickley and Pittsburgh coal seams," the report said. Investigators said MSHA officials even warned Beener in a March 13, 2002 letter that the surface mining operations were creating hazards, in part because of the underground mines that "the operator and his agents were aware of."

In its "Root Cause Analysis," MSHA investigators said the elimination of those causes "would have either prevented the accident or mitigated its consequences." This includes having an adequate daily exam of the mine, as well as training plans and safety programs that would help workers to recognize "hazards related to subsidence," among other things.

Family members speak out

Jones and Wilt were both Allegany County residents. An excavator operator, the 51-year-old Jones lived in Lonaconing, while Wilt, 37, who ran a bulldozer, lived in Frostburg. Both men left behind grieving families - widows Linda Jones and Tonya Wilt, as well as children and other numerous other relatives.

For the past 12 weeks, those families have had to wait for their questions to be answered. Chief among them was a single question: Could the accident have been prevented?

With the release of MSHA's investigation report, both widows were hoping for answers - to have a resolution to the tragedy that claimed their husbands' lives. But that hasn't happened, for some lingering questions remain in the minds of both the Jones and the Wilt families.

"It sure didn't make it any better," Tonya said. "I still don't have the answers I need."

And even though Tri-Star Mining, Inc., was issued numerous citations by the federal agency, Dale Jones' sister said that really isn't what's important.

"We really wasn't looking for a bunch of fines or anything," Gail DeVault said. "We were just looking for the truth."

The families aren't really sure if they even got that Monday when they sat down with MSHA officials. But ultimately, they all agree on one thing - the highwall fall was caused by neglect.

"I think they were very neglectful ... I think Ray should have gone into the pit ... and he didn't take the time to go into the pit," Linda said.

Attempts to reach Tri-Star officials were unsuccessful.

Daleen Berry can be reached at dberry@times-news.com.