MSHA ignored mines in Pacific territories, DOL Inspector General says

Washington — Negligent and misleading actions from the Mine Safety and Health Administration have endangered miners in Pacific territories for years, a Department of Labor Office of Inspector General report contends.

In a Nov. 12 letter addressed to MSHA head Chris Williamson, Assistant Inspector General for Audit Carolyn Hantz writes that an agency review stemmed from previous concerns and a recent referral from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

In the report, the office alleges MSHA “failed to conduct required inspections of mines” in American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The agency also falsely designated some mines as abandoned “despite evidence of ongoing and active operations.”

DOL OIG confirmed these findings and further reported MSHA “inaccurately reported a 100% completion rate of mandatory mine inspections.” Additionally, the agency “has failed to sufficiently identify its own jurisdiction related to mines outside the continental United States” since its creation in 1978.

The report cites an analysis of MSHA data showing an “overall lack of MSHA oversight for mines in the Pacific territories” that included zero listed enforcement events since 2016.

This finding is especially troubling, DOL OIG notes, because evidence of hazards at these mines remains available to the agency through channels such as its public Accident Injuries dataset, compliance assistance visits and MSHA escalation reports.

DOL OIG makes multiple recommendations to MSHA, including:

• Clearly identify and publish MSHA’s jurisdiction.
• Revise the agency’s implementation plan for mines in Pacific territories. Outline when the plan will begin. Clarify protocol related to enforcement, inspections, training and funding.
• Update the status history for all mines in Pacific territories.
• Develop guidance for proceeding with mines that received a mine identification number and remained in “new mine” status for extended periods because they didn’t start operations.
• Develop and implement a culture transformation plan to ensure the integrity and ethical values expected are enforced throughout MSHA.

In response to the report, Williamson writes that MSHA “looks forward to working collaboratively to address the issues identified by the OIG” and that the agency will “resolve and close out recommendations that will lead to greater protections for miners” in Pacific territories.

He adds that the agency already is working to address concerns raised in the report and included in its Agency Management Plan for fiscal year 2025 an intent to “assess and develop potential implementation strategies for the comprehensive enforcement of the Mine Act” in Pacific territories.

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, also called for immediate action from the agency.

“Miners power this country, often at the expense of their health and safety,” Scott said in a press release. “Regrettably, the inspector general’s report shows that MSHA’s oversight of mines in Pacific territories, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, has been an abject failure. What’s worse, MSHA’s decades-long failure to conduct safety inspections put workers’ lives at risk.

“MSHA must immediately inspect every active mine in the American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to ensure the safety of their workers – and acknowledge the miners were left unprotected for nearly 50 years.”