The West Virginia Senate has passed bills that have drawn concern from the United Mine Workers of America over how they would change state mine oversight.
On the final day for bills to pass out of their houses of origin in the state’s 2025 regular legislative session, the Senate on Wednesday passed Senate Bills and . The bills, respectively, would repeal state standards for diesel-powered equipment in mines and place mine inspector appointment authority solely in the hands of the state mine inspection office director.
The bills now go before the House of Delegates.
UMWA: Bill would implement a ‘significant rollback’
SB 942 would repeal state law allowing the director of the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training to assess and adopt “state of the art technology†and equipment that can reduce exhaust emissions when applied to diesel-powered underground mining machinery. SB 942 also would remove the office director’s authority to require site-specific requests for experimental and testing use of diesel-powered equipment in underground coal mines before issuing rules governing that use.
Instead, SB 942 would prohibit the director from imposing any requirements on diesel-powered equipment that exceed federal standards and void any directives requiring site-specific testing beyond that approved by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. No rules for diesel-powered equipment issued by the director could be “more burdensome†than federal MSHA regulations as they exist on July 1 under SB 942.
UMWA spokesperson Erin Bates told the Gazette-Mail Tuesday that SB 942 was “a significant rollback that compromises miner safety.â€
“Federal regulations often do not prioritize the well-being of West Virginians, and given the state’s large underground mining workforce, strong protections are essential,†Bates said in an email.
Bates said SB 942 disregards concerns about exposure to harmful pollutants like carbon monoxide, which can exacerbate conditions such as black lung disease, which is afflicting increasingly younger central Appalachian miners breathing in more toxic silica dust generated from mining thinning coal seams.
“Expediting this change without thorough input and testing is reckless,†Bates said of SB 942. “Lawmakers must prioritize miner safety over corporate interests.â€
SB 942’s passage comes amid the Trump administration implementing sweeping cuts across the MSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which has provided key mine safety research for the MSHA.
SB 942 opponent says bill ‘prioritizes profit over safety’
In a Senate floor speech Wednesday prior to SB 942’s passage, Senate Natural Resources Committee Chair Bill Hamilton, R-Upshur, called the bill a “major rollback.â€
“[SB 942] is a move that prioritizes profit over safety of our coal miners,†Hamilton said. “Rather, this legislation undermines their health and safety needs.â€
The Senate voted 30-4 to pass SB 942 without further debate immediately following Hamilton’s speech. Joining Hamilton in voting against SB 942 were the Republican-supermajority Senate’s two Democrats, Minority Leader Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, and Assistant Minority Leader Joey Garcia, D-Marion, and Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, a physician and former majority leader.
SB 942 developed late in the session, springing forth as a bill originating Friday in the Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee.
West Virginia Coal Association president Chris Hamilton spoke in support of SB 942 before that committee Friday, saying there are conflicts in areas where state and federal laws are “written a little differently.â€
Bill would grant broad discretion to mine office director
SB 883, which the Senate passed unanimously without debate, gives the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training director “full discretion and authority†in appointing all mine inspectors, including any testing and qualifications needed for an applicant to be considered. The director reports to the state Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety.
Sponsored solely by Sen. Rupie Phillips, R-Logan, a coal mine industry veteran, SB 883 would allow the board access to inspector applications and let board members be present at applicant testing. SB 883 would require the director to report appointments and information regarding all applications and testing to the board.
Bates said the UMWA is “not pleased†that SB 883 grants the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training broad discretion over mine inspector appointments but said the union fought to ensure its requirement that the director report appointments and application and testing information to the Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety.
Bates also welcomed SB 883’s allowance of the board to be present during applicant testing and its access to applications.
“While we remain concerned about the concentration of authority in one position, these provisions help bring much-needed transparency and accountability to the process,†Bates said.
Justice tapped ex-Massey safety head to lead mine office
In 2022, then-Gov. Jim Justice, a coal magnate, appointed Frank Foster as Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training director.
Foster previously was administrator for the West Virginia Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety. Before taking on that role, Foster was deputy director of the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training.
Foster is a former safety director at Massey Energy Co., which owned and operated the Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County where an explosion killed 29 men on April 5, 2010. Foster was one of more than 100 people who wrote letters defending former Massey CEO Don Blankenship in 2016 after a federal jury convicted Blankenship of conspiring to willfully violate mine safety standards. Blankenship later served a year in federal prison and a halfway house.
In a letter to a federal judge, Foster said he worked with Blankenship for 14 years, including as his corporate safety director, and “would gladly work for him again.â€
Foster complimented Blankenship for having the “keenest sense of business acumen of anyone†he knew. The former CEO wanted to know why accidents, injuries and violations happened and what the company could do to prevent re-occurrences, Foster wrote.
Foster was a safety coordinator for Massey Coal Services, a Massey Energy subsidiary, when two men were killed in an underground mine fire at the Massey Energy-controlled Aracoma Coal Co.’s Aracoma Alma Mine No. 1 in Logan County in 2006.
Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety members have sometimes clashed with Foster over office oversight, questioning why the office didn’t take more aggressive action against mine operator Appalachian Resource West Virginia LLC in a 2023 mine death investigation.
Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training spokesperson Andy Malinoski declined to comment on the bills passed by the Senate, saying the office doesn’t comment on pending legislation.
Mike Tony covers energy and the environment. He can be reached at mtony@hdmediallc.com or 304-348-1236. Follow on X.
