This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The federal mine inspector killed in last Thursday's rescue attempts at the Crandall Canyon coal mine had conducted a brief inspection of the mine's roof in May and reported that everything appeared "to be good."
Gary Jensen, the roof control specialist in the Mine Safety and Health Administration's Price field office, was one of three men killed Thursday evening when yet another in a long series of bumps that had rocked the mine since the Aug. 6 collapse blew apart walls, hurling coal and rescuers across the tunnel.
According to Jensen's report, obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune, he arrived at the mine during the second shift on May 22, reviewed pre-shift logs, and drove with company officials deep into the mine. He then walked to the "face" where the active mining was taking place.
"The pillars are hour-glassing, the roof appears to be good," Jensen stated in his handwritten notes. In each of the four entries, he walked along the faces and noted that "all appear to be the same," then left the mine.
Jensen visited Crandall Canyon six days after UtahAmerican Energy had asked MSHA to allow the company to conduct retreat mining - a process that entails cutting away the pillars supporting the roof - in an area known as the south barrier, a thick wall of coal left in place to help support roof over the parallel entry ways.
It is in that area where a major "bump" - a shift in the mountain that causes roofs to cave in, floors to heave or coal to burst out of the pillars or walls - trapped six miners on Aug. 6. Company officials have conceded that the miners may never be recovered.
Since the initial cave-in, mine safety experts have questioned again and again whether the retreat mining being done was safe. They note that, with large swaths to the north and south already completely mined and left as rubble, carving away the support pillars bearing the pressure of the mountain above was extremely risky.
Efforts to cut out the coal pillars in the north barrier had already been abandoned in March, after a major bump in the mine did extensive damage to tunnels spanning several hundred feet, according to a consultant's memo obtained by The Tribune.
There is no record of that bump ever having been reported to MSHA, as required by federal law. MSHA approved the mine's proposal to cut down the pillars in the south barrier on June 15.
Jensen's report shows his May visit to the mine to be brief. He was accompanied by Laine Adair, general manager of UtahAmerican Energy; Bodee Allred, safety officer of the mine; and Gary Peacock, general manager of Genwal Resources, which operates the mine.
Allred's cousin, Kerry Allred, is one of the six miners who were trapped in the initial cave-in.
Tony Oppegard, a former MSHA official and Kentucky mining regulator said he would like to have seen a miner's representative take part in the inspection and provide insight on what the conditions were from the perspective of someone working in the mine.
When Congress passed the 1977 mining act, it included a provision designed to ensure that miners -including those in nonunion mines like Crandall - got an opportunity to play a role in inspections and mine planning.
"I think that's a failure by the agency. Miners are the ones most greatly affected by the pillaring of that section," Oppegard said. "It's a shame miners are left out of that process."
Jensen "did what a regular inspector might do. He did his job," said Jack Spadaro, a former MSHA official. But the way the mine had been behaving, particularly the March event, should have prompted officials to look at the mine further, he added.
"The conditions were becoming unusual because of the mining of the barrier pillars and that should have meant an analysis by people with real expertise in roof control.
"That should have been done at the direction of the [MSHA] district manager," Spadaro said.
Jensen attended the Mine Health and Safety Academy when Spadaro was the academy's director and said he was very well respected.
"He was highly regarded, highly respected, one of the most dedicated inspectors there were," Spadaro said.
"The whole agency feels a great loss."
Profiles of two other men who died during the rescue
DALE RAY BLACK
The Huntington resident was a husband and father of two who worked in coal mines for about 25 years. Called "Bird" by friends, Black, 48, was an avid outdoorsman and willing to lend aid to anyone with car or boat trouble.
BRANDON KIMBER
Kimber had lived in Moab and moved to Price to work in the coal mines. Kimber, 29, had three young children. Family members said he knew the risks of working in the mines but wanted to help the six men trapped.