By Jenny Lee Menser

March 23, 2017 - On Tuesday, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin signed a controversial bill into law that will allow the Kentucky Department for Natural Resources to replace up to three of its six required annual inspections in each of the state's underground mines with mine safety analysis visits.

The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Robert Benvenuti (R-Lexington) and co-sponsored by Rep. Melinda Gibbons Prunty (R-Belton) also reduces the number of annual full electrical inspections on the state level -- from two to one.

Responding to House Bill 384's passage of the Senate last week, Secretary of State Allison Lundergan Grimes released a statement condemning the move.

In an interview with The Messenger Wednesday, Grimes said she has spoken to families of men who have died in underground mines and referenced fallen miner Roy Middleton, who lost his life in an explosion. She blamed his death on failed safety standards.

"The most important thing to come out of our mines is not coal, it's coal miners," Grimes said. "We have to honor the memory of over 50 Kentucky miners who have lost their life in the last decade, and make sure we keep those work places as safe as possible. By reducing the number of inspections, we dishonor the memory of those who have fallen and put the safety of those who continue to keep the lights on for so many in jeopardy."

While proponents of the law say it will increase safety by putting emphasis on behaviors and human error, which some studies say are responsible for 94 percent of mining accidents, Grimes said it conveniently omits any language that would enhance miner protection.

"It speaks directly to reducing the number of complete, full inspections required of our mines," she said. "That omission speaks volumes. The intent of this bill is to put profits over people. At the end of the day, I continue to believe in and have the back of every coal miner and their family in this state. I want to make sure we are honoring those who have fallen. Those who continues to mine -- their safety is my priority, not the profits of the coal that comes out of those mines."

In contrast, Prunty said HB 384 will not only eliminate redundancy and wasteful spending, as state inspections mimic federal inspections, but will also give inspectors added freedom to broaden their scope of inspection to better address potential human error.

"It doesn't stop the inspectors if they are there engaging in behavior inspections," Prunty said. "If they see an electrical wire out of place or bolt that's loose, they can still cite those same issues.

"What this bill allows is for state inspections to be done differently and address behaviors," she continued. "If they see miners doing something unsafe, they can address that behavior."

Rep. Jim Gooch (R-Providence) said he also supports the bill, which, he added, will not decrease the number of state inspectors.

"We're going to keep them there," Gooch said. "But we're going to put them where we are trying to solve the biggest problem, which is human error. Those mine safety analysts will go in and watch people work.

"We're trying to focus on where the most injuries and accidents are," he continued. "It just makes sense to do that to me. We want to make sure that miners have a safe work place, but we also want to make sure they have a job. I think we can do both if we're smart."

Kentucky Coal Association President Tyler White echoed Gooch and Prunty's remarks, and said the idea of monitoring behavior underground is not a new concept.

"Kentucky has had this safety analyst program for a long period of time," White said. "The problem is that funds are so limited that we haven't been able to dedicate the time needed for this program to be utilized."

He added that the law focuses of repurposing resources to look at safety in a more pragmatic manner.

"Instead of doing a duplicative process on the federal level, we are very supportive of looking at safety in a different way -- the way we think will combat some of the issues that currently aren't being looked at," White said.

"This was a very bipartisan process when educating representatives about this bill," he continued. "Unfortunately, people like to politicize these issues. There is a time and place to politicize things, but safety is not one of those."

White also said the changes to the law are much needed.

"All industries evolve and start looking at more behavior-based incidents," he said. "As the coal industry evolves, we don't want to get stuck doing the same things we've always done and achieving the same results. It's time for us to move the needle, and the way you move the needle is by modernizing the way that we look at safety."

The passing of HB 384 does not affect federal mine inspections.