FBI investigating mine explosion

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation of the April 5 explosion at Massey Energy’s Big Branch mine in West Virginia, law enforcement sources said.

The case originated in the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of West Virginia, which has prosecuted the coal company for criminal violations of safety standards in the past. A spokesman for that office referred questions to the Justice Department press office in Washington, which declined all comment.

Massey spokesman Jeff Gillenwater said the company is aware that investigators are interviewing witnesses at the Big Branch mine but is “not aware of the nature of their investigation. We intend to cooperate in all phases of the accident investigation.”

FBI investigators have interviewed more than a dozen Massey employees and will continue to do so, according to a law enforcement source, who asked not to be identified because there was no authorization to comment. Twenty-nine men were killed in the massive explosion at the Big Branch mine.

Massey paid one of the biggest fines in the history of mining following the Aracoma Mine fire in 2006. In that case, Massey pleaded guilty to criminal charges and also paid civil fines related to federal Mine Safety and Health regulatory violations.

In 2007, the operator of Massey’s White Buck mine in West Virginia was fined $50,000 for a criminal mine safety violation and a shift foreman was given a year of probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of not performing safety examinations. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped a felony complaint that the company had falsified records to indicate that pre-shift safety reviews had been conducted.

Mine safety officials have suggested that a preventable buildup of explosive methane gas and coal dust was the likely cause of the April 5 disaster. The mine had been cited for hundreds of safety violations in the 18 months before the accident.

After news of the criminal inquiry broke on Friday, Massey’s stock plunged 11 percent, according to the Associated Press.

Also Friday, President Barack Obama issued a statement saying his administration is taking steps to demand accountability for safety violations and to “strengthen mine safety so that all of our miners are protected.” In addition to the Justice inquiry, the Labor Department is investigating the explosion, prompted in part by strong statements from Obama, who attended a memorial service for the miners and has called for renewed attention to worker safety.

At a congressional hearing this week, a Mine Safety and Health Administration official said that Massey appeared to take a “catch-me-if-you-can” attitude toward safety regulation and compliance.

Tony Oppegard, a mine safety advocate and former regulator who practices law in Kentucky, said prosecutors would look at whether Massey employees knew of hazardous conditions and decided not to fix them. Such conduct would be a criminal misdemeanor under federal mine laws.

Prosecutors also would likely check to see whether employees falsified records in which they are supposed to note any hazards in preshift reports or other reports filed during work hours. Falsifying such records is a felony.