MSHA coal administrator Kevin Stricklin told a crowd of nearly 1000 at the group’s annual mining event in Charleston Wednesday that operators are “doing a much better job of finding and fixing things on their own”, and that dramatic drops in the number of accidents being reported in District 4 and 12 – among the country’s largest districts covering a large, mine-heavy region of southern West Virginia – are allowing inspectors to continue cracking down on the problem mines.

“We’re trying to pick on the bad guys,” he said, referring to the agency’s continued impact inspection initiative that largely targets operations with a chronic history of noncompliance with health and safety regulations. These efforts must continue despite any improvements the industry is realizing, he added.

The safety push has been a high priority of MSHA assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health Joseph Main, Stricklin said, to ensure through surprise inspections that another disaster like the Upper Big Branch explosion of April 2010 wasn’t waiting to happen. What they found was “discouraging” to the agency.

“What we found out when we kind of snuck into a mine was not the same as when we were typically at a mine,” he said, citing significant coal dust issues at some mines and adding that two US operations are on pattern of violations status because of repeated noncompliance.

“If it [a violation] happens at one place and something happens, it gives you and MSHA a bad name. We have to live with that … basically what we’re trying to do in our efforts is eradicate those places that do that.”

MSHA, which encourages individuals to exercise a right to report safety and health hazards found at any US operation, estimates that, despite the improvements, about 60% to 70% of the anonymous tips it received are found to be true.

Moving ahead, Stricklin said that learning from accidents including UBB, which “set everybody back”, is helping the industry to be better prepared in case of emergency.

“We’re in a negative industry, it’s rare you hear anything good,” he said.

“Good is hard to measure.”

The US coal industry recorded 21 fatalities in 2011, nine of which occurred underground.

The WVCA symposium runs through Friday.