You go ahead, Mr. Riley.

Mr. RILEY. Senator Williams, honorable members of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Labor, I am Paul Riley, age 60, deputy director of the West Virginia Department of Mines.

Although I am testifying in my official capacity as deputy director of the West Virginia Department of Mines, I would like to say at the outset that prior to my appointment, I have spent all of my adult life in the coal mining industry. I have worked as a coal miner and was a member of the United Mine Workers Union. Also, I have worked in supervisory capacities for management in the coal industry. As you are undoubtedly aware, West Virginia is the Nation's leading producer of coal. Because of this fact, perhaps we, more so than other States, are more sensitive to the needs of adopting and enforcing modern mine safety laws-whether they be State or Federal enactments.

Before going into detail, I believe a general observation must be made to better understand the scope of the problems as they relate to meeting safety standards.

Fundamentally, they center on the geological differences. If I may use as an example, the road conditions of the Midwest as compared to those in West Virginia. It should be obvious that flat, long straight stretches of highway do not impose the same kind of safety precautions that drivers will experience when traveling high and curving mountainous routes in West Virginia.

Nor will you find coal mines in one part of our State containing the same, identical geological conditions and characteristics that exist in other coal mines in another area of West Virginia.

Complicating these particular differences of a geological nature arc the common problems that all coal mines in West Virginia sharethe problems of gas and the formation of rock strata and roof that envelop the coal seam.

Despite these hazards, we have made tremendous headway in a statewide assault on health and safety enforcement in West Virginia's coal mines.

We have been highly successful in reducing the number of fatalities from roof falls-which, you know, is the No. 1 killer in coal mines.

In September of 1969, the West Virginia Department of Mines started a concentrated safety program known as Operation Roof Control. This involved totally unannounced inspections of our State's nearly 1,100 coal mines, involving all of our department's inspectors.

Previous to Operation Roof Control, there were 23 fatalities caused by roof falls in the first 8 months of 1969. As a result of the program, the number was reduced to four in the last 4 months of 1969.

At about the same time the Federal health and safety mine law was up for passage, West Virginia, in November of last year, initiated another program to assure better protection for the health and welfare of the men who labor in our mines.

Called Operation Fire Boss, this effort is directed to make doubly sure every mine in our State is as safe as humanly possible from operational hazards. Operation Fire Boss gives us a better understanding of the actual conditions as observed by fire bosses during their regular inspections. Consequently, we have been able to move in and eliminate conditions that could lead to serious injury.

As a further step, in March of this year Gov. Arch A. Moore, Jr., ordered the State department of mines-with the cooperation of our State police to conduct an investigation of mine foremen and fire boss certification.

This investigation, which is still underway, was prompted by several reports of discrepancies and fraudulent card-carrying certificates.

This is a serious matter and cause of grave concern to us. There are some 9,000 card-carrying foremen and fire bosses now employed in West Virginia mines. Men lacking the necessary qualifications cannot be expected to perform these responsibilities competently and efficiently. To permit anything less than qualified personnel would be inviting tragedy and would greatly erode the elevated standards we seek in this vital industry.

With the passage of the Federal mine legislation, we submitted in January of this year to our State legislature a revised coal mine safety law that would bring West Virginia's standards on a par, and in two instances ahead, of the minimum Federal requirements.

The two areas exceeding Federal standards would have established the minimum quantity to 10,000 cubic feet of air per minute, as op posed to the Federal code of 9,000 cubic feet, and it would have required the installation of an automatic circuit breaker device on operating machinery in the mines within 1 year after the law took effect.

However, I regret to report that this progressive legislation failed to be reported out of the respective committees of both chambers of West Virginia's Legislature.

We consider the failure of the bill to pass a temporary setback. We intend to submit it again at the next regular session in January of 1971.

As to our relationship with the Federal program, we have experienced complete cooperation with our Federal counterparts in both formal and informal meetings and discussions.

The Federal regulations are more powerful and place West Virginia's coal mine health and safety regulations to a secondary position of importance. But we believe, and it is our experience, that by working in conjunction with Federal inspectors, we can achieve the ultimate goal of greater safety for the life and limb of our miners. Senator RANDOLPH. Mr. Riley, you heard Mrs. Gutshall speak about some differences between Federal and State inspectors as applies to their work in Pennsylvania, some friction, perhaps.

Has this occurred in West Virginia?

Mr. RILEY. No, sir; not to my knowledge it has not, Senator.
Senator RANDOLPH. Thank you very much.

Mr. RILEY. In fact, we envision continuance of the autonomy we have had since the inception of the West Virginia Department of Mines in 1883.

The inspections conducted by our department, I should add, are held separately from those conducted by Federal inspectors.

Comparatively speaking, the Federal health and mine safety law is in its infancy, and like any new law, it will take time to determine whether all of its features are workable and enforceable. Because of its newness, it is rather awkward for me to submit a blanket appraisal of its effectiveness.

With all due respect, there are several reasons why we believe it premature to offer what we would hope to be an objective and impartial assessment of the law's effects. These reasons center primarily on the developments that have occurred since it took effect March 30

of this year.

When inspections by Bureau officials were first implemented under the new legislation, we were beginning to receive notices of fines and violations as they pertained to coal mines operating in West Virginia. Shortly afterward, there ensued, as you all know. litigation instituted by many coal operators who question the extent to which the law was being implemented. The legal outcome of these cases-many of them containing injunctions against the Bureau of Mines is still pending. So, for all practical purposes, the full implementation of the Federal law is being held in abeyance.

It would be presumptuous at this stage, and in light of these unresolved legal impediments, to pass judgment on a law that has yet to operate free of restraint in the 6 months of its existence.

Senator RANDOLPH. Mr. Riley, you speak of the law not yet being implemented or having the opportunity to be effective in West Virginia. Is that correct?

Mr. RILEY. I mean in its entirety, in full measure.

Senator RANDOLPH. Yes.

You indicated, Mr. Riley, that your bureau in West Virginia had drafted legislation, and it had been introduced in the House of Delegates and in the Senate of the Legislature of West Virginia.

Who introduced that legislation in the House?

Mr. RILEY. Senator Siebert, from Wheeling.

Senator RANDOLPH. Who introduced it in the House?

Mr. RILEY. Hedrick, I believe.

Senator RANDOLPH. The reason I am bringing this out, Mr. Siebert and Mr. Hedrick, in other words, although it was from your bureau, it was introduced by a Republican in the House, and a Democrat in the Senate. Is that right.?

Mr. RILEY. I believe so, sir.

Senator RANDOLPH. Were there cosponsors of this legislation? Were there others who joined in support of it?

Mr. RILEY. What happened here, Senator, when this Federal act came out, we knew that unless we had something equally as strong, our law would be secondary. We drafted what we thought was a fairly good bill in order to come up to the standards of the Bureau. In some cases, as I have said before, we exceeded it in a couple of cases, but I am not sure. In the absence of the Director

Senator RANDOLPH. Sure.

Mr. Riley, you have indicated the legislation, although introduced, did not become law. Were there hearings held in both the House of Delegates and the State Senate?

Mr. RILEY. Yes, sir; we had hearings on it.

Senator RANDOLPH. Did the committees report the legislation favorably, or just have hearings?

Mr. RILEY. They had a hearing, and decided to put it in committee, and I have not heard anything since, with the understanding that it would be submitted at the next session.

Senator RANDOLPH. You heard Mrs. Gutshall in her statement speak of the number of fatal accidents in the production of a certain amount of bituminous coal in Pennsylvania. You also heard her speak of the first 6 months of 1970, and that is after this act became law, there were a certain number of accidents in the production of a certain tonnage. Could you provide for the committee comparable figures for the State of West Virginia?

I doubt that you can give them to us today, but I think it would be helpful.

I particularly listened to what she said on this matter, in the year 1969 fatal accidents, you see, in the production of a certain number of tons of coal. In other words, per fatality.

Mr. RILEY. Mine are not broken down as such, Senator, but as of June 1 through May, our fatal frequency was 0.70. The nonfatal. we were not a bit proud of, is 59.61. All accidents were 60.30.

To date, as of yesterday, because I don't know what has occurred today, we have had 34 fatalities in the State, compared to 44 for a comparable period last year.

Senator RANDOLPH. Is that the first 6 months you are talking about? Mr. RILEY. The first 6 months, we were better. We had 14 less. July was a bad month for us. Why, I don't know, but there has been a lot of labor interruption. Whether this had any bearing on it or not, I would not attempt to say.

June 30 (first 6 months of 1970), we had 14 less fatalities than we for a corresponding time in 1969. We had 26, as 1 say, against 40. Now, eight occurred in July, which was the worst month for a year and a half, since I have been there.

Senator RANDOLPH. How many coal miners are now employed in West Virginia?

Mr. RILEY. Close to 41,000, 42,000.

Senator RANDOLPH. What would that be as contrasted with 5 years

ago?

Mr. RILEY. Possibly a few less.

Senator RANDOLPH. Ten years ago?

Mr. RILEY. Still less, possibly.

Senator RANDOLPH. Is it dropping all the while?

Mr. RILEY. Not to any great extent. I would think possibly now it is leveling off, but there were some changes through mechanical mining, which requires less people, but I would think it is pretty well established as of now.

Senator RANDOLPH. How would the tonnage for the first 6 months of this year compare with the tonnage of the first 6 months of last year! Mr. RILEY. To date, August 6, again, we had 72 million compared to 139 million for the year. I don't have it broken down in figures.

Senator RANDOLPH. Generally, is the tonnage up or down in West Virginia in the last 2 or 3 years?

Mr. RILEY. It is down. It was down last year considerable. We dropped from 145 million to 139 million. Prior to that, we were up to 150 million. The highest tonnage that we had was about 3 years ago. when it was 150-some million.

Senator RANDOLPH. Now it is 139 million?

Mr. RILEY. 139 million last year.

Senator RANDOLPH. Is that down because of work stoppages?

Mr. RILEY. I would say possibly in part, not entirely work stoppages, but possibly in part.

Senator RANDOLPH. Mr. Riley, just one final question.

Do you believe that this law can be effective in West Virginia, and that you at the State level can cooperate with it?

I don't mean you have given endorsement of all of its provisions, but do you believe that it is possible to have cooperation and understanding, a working together, as it were, between the Federal and the State people to further insure the safety and contribute to the health of miners?

Mr. RILEY. Yes, sir; I do.

The fact that we started immediately to upgrade ours to meet the Federal standards would indicate that we accepted them. I see nothing here that we can't live with.

Senator RANDOLPH. Not only live with, but prosper under? Is that right?

Mr. RILEY. Well, I think it is a good law. There may be some questionable area there, but I don't want to get into that.

Senator RANDOLPH. Thank you very much, Mr. Riley.

I hope, Mr. Chairman, you will forgive my going ahead of you. I believe you were out at the time.

Senator WILLIAMS (presiding). I appreciate that you took the chairmanship.

Senator RANDOLPH. Mr. Riley has been very patient. He is the man who came early today, and has stayed late.

Senator WILLIAMS. Now, we have not tested him, really. I haven't gotten to my questions.

We certainly appreciate your coming to Washington and helping us. Obviously, West Virginia is No. 1 in the Nation in this industry, that is one of our most important industries. We know it where I come from every day, and, of course, we are concerned during hot weather that the coal supplies be adequate to generate our electricity up there. I understand that this temporary period of stoppages is gone, and the men are back at work in West Virginia.

Mr. RILEY. It looks much better; yes, sir.

Senator WILLIAMS. Just one or two questions.

You mentioned the geological differences between areas in many ways, particularly in coal mining. I just wonder if the geology of West Virginia would lend itself at some later time to the long wall method of coal mining.

Mr. RILEY. It is being practiced in, I would say, at least a half dozen mines in West Virginia.

Senator WILLIAMS. Is that right?

Mr. RILEY. Yes, sir. We have one in the Fairmont field, and at least one, possibly two, in Kanawha division. Over in Boone County, I am sure there are a couple.

Senator WILLIAMS. You know, if you could drop me a note personally where they are, if I ever get into that area, as a matter of personal education I would like to stop by.

Mr. RILEY. I will be glad to.

Senator WILLIAMS. Let me ask you this.

A couple of factors in mine safety are different in the long wall, I believe. You tell whether I am believing right; or whether I am not.