Mine Safety Administration Says Confusion Over Authority Was Reason for Lack of WIPP Inspections

The Mine Safety and Health Administration has blamed confusion over its level of authority at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant for why it failed to conduct required inspections, according to a letter New Mexico Senators Tom Udall (D) and Martin Heinrich (D) released earlier this week. While the MSHA is required to conduct four inspections per year at WIPP under the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act, it had only conducted two inspections in the three years before a truck fire occurred at the facility in early February. In a letter sent to Udall and Henrich in mid-July, the MSHA said that a memorandum of understanding reached with the Department of Energy prior to the 1992 WIPP Act called for “periodic” inspections. “Our review of MSHA records found that after the passage of the WIPP Act in 1992, the parties began negotiations to revise the MOU to conform to the requirements of the new law. During those discussions, issues arose concerning the scope of MSHA’s inspection authority. Those issues were never resolved and the parties did not execute an updated MOU,” wrote Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joseph Main in the July 18 letter.

Main noted, though, that there have been some years—FY 2005-2007—where the MSHA did conduct four inspections. From 1995 through January 2014, the MSHA conducted 42 inspections at WIPP and issued more than 200 notices for violations of safety and health standards, Main wrote. He also wrote, “MSHA is now conducting inspections at the WIPP facility four times a year as required by the WIPP Act.” In response to an inspection conducted in June, the MSHA issued WIPP 52 citations, and DOE has said corrective actions planned in response to the citations have almost been fully implemented.

Both Udall and Heinrich, though, criticized the MSHA this week for failing to fully conduct the required inspections at WIPP. "It’s unacceptable that MSHA allowed critical safety inspections to fall by the wayside amid unresolved negotiations with DOE, putting the health of the workers at WIPP and the surrounding community at risk," Udall said in a release. "I’m glad MSHA is now conducting the required regular inspections, and I urge the agency to work with DOE officials and resolve any outstanding discrepancies over obligations related to inspection activities to ensure WIPP can reopen in the future to conduct operations with the highest safety standards in place." Heinrich said, "Risking the safety and health of the community and WIPP personnel is unacceptable under any circumstances. I look forward to seeing MSHA and DOE work together to ensure key safety management programs are in place and to reinstate a culture in which safety is the top priority."