Samuel Vignoli, 87, was operating a skid steer with a front-mounted brush mower to mow an embankment July 3 when he slid into an impoundment with the machine.

His drowning death was recently listed as the US 14th coal mining death for the year.

“The victim appeared to be mowing the embankment in a vertical direction between nine to 11 feet in length from the level road on top of the impoundment's breast down toward the body of water,” MSHA said earlier this month in its back charge announcement of the incident.

The preliminary report released at that time also stated Vignoli was a contractor at the mine who had been performing the work for 23 days.

Vignoli’s body was recovered but the machine is still in the impoundment's waters.

In an effort to prevent other similar incidents at the nation’s mines, MSHA urged mines to conduct risk assessments prior to performing any work at a mine and also ensure all miners used the proper equipment, tools and procedures for the task to eliminate hazards.

Officials are also asking operators to provide hazard training to all personnel working on or near impoundments so related hazards can be identified.

MSHA has highlighted the need for communications protocols for when people are working alone.

Additionally, MSHA investigators said, workers should wear properly fitted personal floatation devices when working around bodies of water, and operators should never assume that an employee is knowledgeable in the task being taken on.

The Maple Creek preparation plant is operated by Maple Creek Mining and owned by Robert Murray.