OAK HILL, WV (WOAY) – Advocates for coal miners and their families say they are worried about recent cuts to federal programs that oversee mine health and safety.
The Department of Government Efficiency has cancelled the leases for Mine Safety and Health Administration offices throughout Appalachia, including the office in Summersville.
The Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center issued a report saying the closure of 33 MSHA field offices across the country could make mines less safe for miners.
According to Director of Policy Rebecca Shelton, a major issue is the uncertainty involved.
“All of this is clouded in a lot of uncertainty. We don’t know if inspectors will be terminated at these field offices, if they will be asked to relocated to field offices that are going to remain open, or they’ll be asked to just relocate to different buildings. We don’t know,” Shelton said. “The Mine Safety and Health Administration already has seen a great shortage of inspectors over the last few years.”
The ACLC says the 33 offices that had their lease canceled by DOGE conducted 17,000 inspections from 2024 through early this year.
Those inspections make sure work conditions meet federal standards and can prevent explosions, collapses, toxic dust exposure, and other accidents.
There have been 11 fatal accidents in mines across the country this year.
“It’s really important to keep miners safe in the short term and the long term. There are still mining fatalities and many mining injuries and accidents annually,” Shelton said. “And without the mine safety and health administration, you’re essentially allowing the industry to self-regulate. And what we know is that before there was a federal body regulating, a lot more people died.”
You can read the ACLC’s full report below:
MSHA-Closure-Report
