Bush Picks Former Coal Operator To Head Mine Safety Agency

[hatrack]

WASHINGTON -- The former coal operator chosen by President Bush to oversee mine safety received a medal from Pennsylvania's governor for his work when nine trapped miners were rescued in 2002. But Richard Stickler is likely to be questioned closely about that work next week at his Senate confirmation hearing.

The United Mine Workers union has criticized the safety record of the mines in Pennsylvania and West Virginia that Stickler, 61, operated before he was appointed to run Pennsylvania's Bureau of Deep Mine Safety in 1997. On Tuesday, the union sent Bush a letter asking him to withdraw the federal nomination.

The Quecreek accident in Pennsylvania occurred while Stickler was at the helm of the state agency, and the lawyer who represents eight of the miners who were rescued said he does not support Stickler's appointment because of the secrecy involved in the investigation that followed. Also, a grand jury in 2003 determined the state agency should have red-flagged mapping problems that were blamed for miners at Quecreek breaching an abandoned mine that released millions of gallons of water that trapped them for 77 hours.

EDIT

In 1997, the United Mine Workers opposed Stickler's nomination to run the state agency, which he went on to lead until 2003. The agency has a current budget of $5.7 million compared with MSHA's $277 million operating budget for 2006. Citing federal records, the union wrote in a letter to Ridge before Stickler's Pennsylvania appointment that an evaluation by the union showed there were incident rates in mines he ran that doubled the national average in six of eight years, and one of the mines he managed for five years had two fatal accidents during that time.

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http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060126/NEWS0104/601260406/1008/NEWS01

[vptpt]

1. Wow!

Bush put picked someone to run an agency who already has some experience in that very field? Astonishing! Whether or not he was good at his job is up for debate apparently, but at least he didn't just appoint another horse judge or whatever.

[demosincebirth]

2. Republican ideology: put the fox to guard the chicken house.