Meanwhile, Kristie Baggett, an Oak Grove mine representative, has downplayed the violations cited by the federal regulator.
“Every mine gets cited daily for random things,” she told residents in April with an Inside Climate News reporter present. “The other day they got cited because they weren’t wearing the right eye gear.”
The mine’s history of safety violations is “no more or no less” than that of many other mines, said Erin Bates, a spokeswomen for the United Mine Workers, on Wednesday.
“These are dangerous jobs,” she added.
She confirmed the incident involved “a roof fall,” but said she was unaware which part of the mine it occurred in. She said a review of the recent inspections by MSHA and safety violations cited by the federal agency would be one of the factors in the investigation, which includes participation by union mine safety experts.
An MSHA record of Lara’s death classifies the accident as a “fall of roof or back.”
Kathy Love, director of the Alabama Surface Mining Commission, referred questions about the Oak Grove death to MSHA.
“ASMC has no involvement in deaths or injuries,” Love wrote in an email.
Jonathan McNair, a public relations specialist for the Alabama Department of Labor, said the state agency, which regulates some aspects of mining in the state, is working with MSHA to investigate the incident. ADOL and MSHA mine safety inspectors are on site, McNair said: “No other information is available at this time.”
MSHA, the federal underground mining regulator, typically issues preliminary accident reports in the days following a death inside an underground mine. A preliminary report has not yet been issued in this case.
In a statement, a U.S. Department of Labor spokesperson confirmed MSHA’s involvement.
“MSHA inspectors are conducting a full investigation of the accident,” the statement said.
Union officials have said that operations are currently shut down while an investigation into Lara’s death continues, but production at the facility is unlikely to remain halted for long.
So far, neither federal or state regulators have been willing to stop operations at Oak Grove mine over its safety record or related concerns from those living above the mine.
An Oak Grove resident points to the location of his home on a mine map that’s been passed between community members searching for more information about the operation expanding beneath them. Credit: Lee Hedgepeth/Inside Climate News
For months, residents have shared their fears about living atop the expanding mine operation, which has caused buildings’ foundations to crack, closed businesses and left homeowners afraid of methane explosions.
Longwall mining involves a process where bladed machines shear off large slices of coal along a vast underground expanse, allowing the ceiling to cave in behind it. Mined areas can be as wide as 1,000 feet and more than a mile long. As coal is sheared, explosive methane gas is released from the mine that can potentially reach the surface, including structures atop the mine.
Residents’ fears were met with more uncertainty in recent weeks, with a reported change in leadership at Oak Grove. Ryan M. Murray, the son of a late coal magnate and a Donald Trump ally, is now operating the mine, he has confirmed.
Meanwhile, mining company officials under both Murray and the previous operators have appeared unwilling to engage with the public, even skipping a recent community meeting organized by residents to address their concerns.
“We can’t make the mining company come and have these meetings,” a staffer with the state’s mining regulator said at the meeting.
Residents fumed, upset that their concerns were being met with little but pleasantries.
W.M. Griffice died from injuries suffered in the explosion of his home, pictured here, atop the Oak Grove mine in Alabama. Credit: Courtesy of the Alabama Fire Marshal’s Office
Lisa Lindsay spoke at that community meeting. She was the closest neighbor to Griffice, the man killed in the March home explosion, aside from his brother, who lived next door. She felt her house shake when the Griffice home exploded.
On Wednesday, she said she was saddened to hear of “another life lost to the Oak Grove mine.”
Lindsay said she prays that investigators perform an “in depth and objective investigation,” but given what happened in the wake of the explosion that took her neighbor’s life, she’s not confident.
“This is not the first death associated with this mine. It won’t be the last, if the so-called regulatory agencies continue to ignore the dangerous way this particular mine operates,” Lindsay told Inside Climate News. “My prayers for some measure of comfort and justice continue for this man’s family as well as W.M. Griffice’s family.
This mine must be stopped.”
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Thank you,
Lee Hedgepeth
Reporter, Alabama
Lee Hedgepeth is Inside Climate News’ Alabama reporter. Raised in Grand Bay, Alabama, a small town on the Gulf Coast, Lee holds master’s degrees in community journalism and political development from the University of Alabama and Tulane University. Lee is the founder of Tread, a newsletter of Southern journalism, and has also worked for news outlets across Alabama, including CBS 42, Alabama Political Reporter and the Anniston Star. His reporting has focused on issues impacting members of marginalized groups, including homelessness, poverty, and the death penalty. His award-winning journalism has appeared in publications across the country and has been cited by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, among others.
James Bruggers
Reporter, Southeast
James Bruggers covers the U.S. Southeast, part of Inside Climate News’ National Environment Reporting Network. He previously covered energy and the environment for Louisville’s Courier Journal, where he worked as a correspondent for USA Today and was a member of the USA Today Network environment team. Before moving to Kentucky in 1999, Bruggers worked as a journalist in Montana, Alaska, Washington and California. Bruggers’ work has won numerous recognitions, including best beat reporting, Society of Environmental Journalists, and the National Press Foundation’s Thomas Stokes Award for energy reporting. He served on the board of directors of the SEJ for 13 years, including two years as president. He lives in Louisville with his wife, Christine Bruggers.
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