Hatch Calls for Patience in Crandall Canyon Mine Investigation

Mar 07, 2008 by KCPW

Sen. Kennedy Issues Own Report

(KCPW News) Calling for a criminal investigation, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) yesterday released a scathing report that lays blame for the Crandall Canyon mine disaster squarely at the feet of mine owner Murray Energy Corp and a rubber-stamping Mine Safety and Health Administration. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch says the report is premature and calls for patience to prevail in the ongoing investigation:

"The people who are best equipped to investigate this matter are the federal government's non-partisan mine safety experts at the Department of Labor. Their report will come out later this year," he said. "We've just got to wait until all the facts are in before we decide what action should be taken."

Hatch says his colleagues should wait for the official findings of the investigation under way by MSHA and the Department of Labor's Inspector General before reaching conclusions about the accident. Hatch is a senior member of the United States Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which is chaired by Kennedy and charged with conducting hearings on the mine collapse that killed six miners and three rescuers in Emery County last August. Kennedy calls the tragedy a "clear case of callous disregard for the law and for safety standards."

Click here for a link to Kennedy's report on the Crandall Canyon mine disaster.

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