CHARLESTON, W.Va.
Pending West Virginia safety legislation does not go far enough to respond to the worst U.S. coal mine disaster in four decades.



That's the view of J. Davitt McAteer. The former federal mine safety chief investigated the 2010 Upper Big Branch disaster. That underground Raleigh County explosion killed 29 miners.

McAteer on Tuesday spoke to lawmakers considering separate mine safety bills from Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and House members. McAteer said any legislation must hold a mine's upper management responsible for fatal negligence and misconduct.

McAteer's probe and those by federal investigators and the United Mine Workers union all fault the then-owner of Upper Big Branch for that disaster.

Tomblin has proposed testing miners for drugs in his bill. McAteer recommended that lawmakers instead study that proposal for now.

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