NSSGA commends House action on assistance for small mines office

ALEXANDRIA, VA., — Joy Wilson, president and CEO of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, today commended a decision by the U.S. Mine Safety & Health Administration to reverse its earlier effort to dismantle its Small Mines Office.

Wilson said, “We are very pleased that a bipartisan mix of congressional leaders who deal with MSHA policy and budget appropriations recognize the critical importance of the agency’s robust compliance assistance to small aggregates facilities so that operators can optimally manage the safety and health of their employees. Further, given the Mine Act’s requirement that the government should provide effective compliance assistance, we see this move as imperative.”

Wilson continued, “For a year-and-a-half, the association, its CEOs (in executive meetings with MSHA Administrator Joe Main), its members and advocates have broadcast the merits of SMO’s programs. Congratulations to MSHA for this sound decision.”

Wilson indicated MSHA’s surprise decision is sure to please operators of small stone, sand and gravel mines and noted it allows for SMO to retain its traditional form and independence from MSHA’s inspectorate. Further, the office has been directed to hire additional compliance officers to assist small mine operators in complying with standards and managing for safety and health. Several years ago, MSHA published an analysis documenting that reductions in fatality rates occur more frequently at SMO-assisted operations than in the industry overall.

Based near the nation’s capital, NSSGA is the world’s largest mining association by product volume. Its member companies represent more than 90 percent of the crushed stone and 70 percent of the sand and gravel produced annually in the U.S. and approximately 106, 700 working men and women in the aggregates industry. During 2010 a total of nearly two billion metric tons of crushed stone, sand and gravel, valued at $17 billion, were produced and sold in the United States.

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