Bill Summary
Major Provisions of the S-MINER Act
The Supplementary Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (S-MINER) Act was developed through months of consultation with miners, miners’ families and advocates, mining experts, the mining industry, and the Department of Labor. Boosting Disaster Prevention Efforts Problem: Retreat mining is dangerous and poorly regulated. Retreat mining involves removing the coal pillars originally left in place to hold up the mine roof. It must be performed under a plan specifically designed for the situation so miners will not be hurt as the roof collapses. Crandall Canyon highlighted the risky nature of retreat mining and the poor oversight of retreat mining plans…
