President Obama says federal regulators, Massey Energy to blame for mine blast

President Obama faulted federal regulators and a major coal-mining company Thursday for lapses that led to the West Virginia mine explosion last week that killed 29 miners. He pledged to investigate its causes and strengthen laws and federal oversight of the nation's mines.

In remarks in the Rose Garden after receiving a preliminary report on the disaster, Obama had tough words for Massey Energy, the company that owns the Upper Big Branch mine.

"Safety violators like Massey have still been able to find ways to put their bottom lines before the safety of their workers, filing endless appeals instead of paying fines and fixing safety problems," Obama said.

Massey later issued a statement calling Obama's remarks "regrettable" and saying that he "has been misinformed about our record and the mining industry in general." In an interview with the Charleston Daily Mail, Massey chief executive Don L. Blankenship said he would idle some of the company's mines to address safety violations.

But the Mine Safety and Health Administration's 11-page report for the president detailed the "troublesome" safety record of Massey, adding to the past week's revelations. For the first time, the agency said that on 13 occasions, Massey mines have been placed in the "potential pattern of violation," a key step toward more severe enforcement measures.

Obama said the problem is broader than just one company. He directed Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis and other officials to work with Congress to toughen enforcement of existing laws and regulations. MSHA said in its report that it would seek to obtain subpoena power; make "knowing violations" of safety laws felonies, not misdemeanors; protect whistleblowers; and encourage miners to report safety violations by ensuring that they not lose pay if regulators order the withdrawal of workers from unsafe mines.

The president called the West Virginia incident "a failure, first and foremost, of management, but also a failure of oversight and a failure of laws so riddled with loopholes that they allow unsafe conditions to continue." Obama said the federal government's mine inspectors will be fanning out to mines with "troubling" safety records to make sure that none have the same violations found at Massey before the accident.

Obama said Thursday that backlogs at regulatory agencies must be cleared so that companies can no longer delay addressing safety issues. He said companies with multiple violations should be put on a targeted list for enforcement "to help ensure that mine companies no longer use a strategy of endless litigation to evade their responsibilities."