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Show A-15 The Park Record Wed/Thurs, July 1-2, 2009 Coal miners still cautious by criticism following mine disasters from West Virginia to Utah, quickly clamped down. HELPER, Utah (AP) "We'll never know if we Two years after a Utah mine make the right decision - collapsed, entombing six we'll just know when we miners more than 2,000 feet make the wrong decision," under a mountain and also said Kevin Stricklin, coalkilling three members of a mining boss for the Mine rescue team, the state's coal Safety and Health operators are backing away Administration. from rich coal reserves held But with federal inspecdeep under the ground. tors on site practically every Coal mines have come day, executives for several under intense scrutiny in Utah mines grumble that the every part of the country, inspectors are writing up with the Mine Safety and citations mostly for small Health Administration offenses - a pile of coal dust tripling fines against all coal there, a spill of grease here. mines last year, to $152.7 milAbout 30 miles away from lion. Crandall is the Horizon But in Utah, where easy mine, operated by American access to coal was exhausted West Resources Inc. more than a decade ago, Horizon was put on a speoperators say they have been cial watch with twice the hit especially hard because national average of safety of the extreme depths at violations. which they dig for coal. So to appease regulators. The risks are compound- Horizon retreated from a ed by a common method of section of its mine that coal removal called retreat logged 26 roof falls over the mining, which has operators previous two years. sometimes flirting with disasThe section contained ter by deliberately inducing 300,000 tons of high-quality cave-ins. coal and easy access to milThe Crandall Canyon col- lions of tons more. lapse in 2007 shows what can go wrong. Crandall is owned "We're a small company, and by a subsidiary of Cleveland- we made a hard decision," based Murray Energy Corp. said Dan Baker, chief execuA bounce, a type of seis- tive officer for Salt Lake mic jolt, imploded with the City-based America West force of two million pounds Resources Inc., a public of explosives at Crandall. company. "I don't know how said Michael McCarter, a many millions of dollars professor of mining engi- went into developing that neering at the University of section." Utah. Other companies are folThe tremor flattened a lowing suit. Utah's largest section of the mine roughly coal operator, St. Louisthe size of 63 football fields, based Arch Coal Inc., turned leaving six miners entombed away from a deep coal seam 2,160 feet under mountain at the Dugout mine in cencover. Another cave-in 10 tral Utah, leaving behind 4 days later killed three mem- million tons of coal a year bers of a rescue team, includ- ago. ing a federal mining inspecMcCarter and other mintor. ing experts question whether Federal regulators, stung regulation has gone too far. By PAUL FOY AP Business Writer Mining authorities ordered a new method of longwall mining that effectively cuts West Ridge's reserves in half, "and I'm not really sure anybody has proven it any safer," McCartcr said. The cave-ins are part of everyday deep mining. McCarter said. Two common methods of coal removal, longwall and retreat mining, depend on orderly, controlled cave-ins for safety. But federal officials say the size of the Crandall Canyon disaster showed more scrutiny was needed. "In the past, anything an operator submitted - if it was a reputable operator - we took their word for it," Stricklin said. Others agree the tighter regulations are a welcome change, because mining companies for years got a free pass. "It was a rubber stamp," said Mike Dalpiaz, the mayor of Helper and a United Mine Workers of America vice president. 'lWe had to spill blood before they started paying attention." Miners are paid well for the dangerous job - around $65,500 a year, double the region's average wage, according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services About 4,000 feet inside Horizon via a honeycomb of sloping tunnels, Dallen McFarland used a cable-connected joystick to finish boring a tunnel with a 50-ton cutting machine. He didn't flinch when the walls - miners call them ribs - started making noises like a knuckle cracking, with the weight of 800 feet of mountain cover bearing down. "When your ribs are popping, that's good because it means they aren't storing energy," McFarland said. Heli crash cause disputed By MIKE STARK Associated Press Writer FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - The operator of one of two medical helicopters that collided near a Flagstaff hospital last year is appealing a federal report that placed blame on both pilots. Air Methods Corporation is appealing the probable-cause report released in May by the National Transportation Safety Board, arguing that there should be further investigation into why the other aircraft operator might be at fault. Air Methods expects litigation, and a probable-cause report would be a key piece of evidence in a lawsuit. On June 29 last year, the two helicopters were approaching Flagstaff Medical Center, each carrying a patient. They hit about a halfmile from the hospital and crashed into a forested area. All seven aboard the choppers died. The helicopter operated by Colorado-based Air Methods had landed at a nearby airport to drop off a passenger before approaching the hospital from the south. That pilot contacted the hospital's communications center but followed an unusual flight path. The pilot of the helicopter operated by Classic Helicopter Services of Page approached from the east and didn't radio in but took the normal flight path. The NTSB report said the pilots were probably focused on landing in the seconds before they collided and never knew the other was in the area. "We believe that the FAA's finding that there was a problem with our pilot's approach to the hospital is inaccurate," said Craig Yale, vice president of corporate development at Air Methods. An NTSB spokesman declined to comment on the appeal. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said his agency is expected to start a dialogue with companies that are flying emergency medical helicopters to Flagstaff Medical Center on a set of voluntary safety protocols to use when operating near the hospital. The hospital has also retrofitted two of Guardian Air's helicopters wilh night vision goggles, a traffic-avoidance collision system, a terrainavoidance system and an incockpit satellite weather system that allows the pilot to access weather information while in flight. Killed in the crash were Michael MacDonald, 26, of Browning, Mont., an injured firefighter being taken to the hospital; flight nurse Shawn "Clyde" Shreeve Jr., 36, of Flagstaff; patient Raymond Zest. 55, who was being flown from Winslow, Ariz.; pilot Patrick Graham, 51, of Flagstaff; pilot Tom Caldwell, 54, of Page; flight medic Tom Clausing, 36, of Leavenworth, Wash.; and flight nurse James Taylor, 36, of Salt Lake City. T-Hf- Wii WEDNESDAYS SPONSORED BY GAME HUB &$2.50PBRS THIS WEEKEND'S ENTERTAINMENT: THURSDAY JULY 2 2-4-1 BURGER NIGHT! 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