Pattison Sand Company continues their legacy as the non-metallic mining company with the most violations in the nation. On Tuesday, October 7th, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) paid a visit to the Bridgeport Mine. The report on their website lists the following rules as having been violated.
MSHA found issues with:
MSHA found issues with:
Berms
Proper training records
Notice of commencement and closing
Roll-over protection structures and seat belts
Material Safety Data Sheets
First Aid Materials
Safe access
The actual cause of the violations, however, is not listed, nor will MSHA voluntarily disclose them, so CSP is following up with a Freedom of Information Act Request to obtain this information. We believe the public has a right to know what is happening out of sight, behind the berm blocking view from Hwy 60.
As the mine is listed as operating “intermittently”, this means that MSHA will only visit once per year. We are not satisfied with this level of monitoring of a potentially hazardous activity. There has already been documented sediment runoff due to inadequate berming and drainage systems and now we learn that the berms are once again in violation. There have already been issues with the access road, with truck traffic backing up cars on highway 60, and now we learn that MSHA has determined the access to be unsafe.
There are so many questions that must be answered here. What exactly is making these things unsafe/inadequate? How can this be addressed? How will we know if these and other issues have been fixed? What is the timeline for adressing these issues?
Crawford Stewardship Project is dedicated to finding as many of these answers as possible, informing the public and policy-makers, and to the best of our abilities, ensuring that issues are addressed to protect the health and safety of the citizens and environment