The investigation report was released this week into a mine inundation that led to the dramatic rescue of nine coal miners after three days entrapped in the Pennsylvania mine last July.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) found that the primary cause of the water inundation was use of an undated and uncertified mine map of the adjacent, water-filled Harrison No. 2 mine that did not show the complete and final mine workings.

Using this map led to inaccurate depiction of the Harrison No. 2 mine workings on the Quecreek # 1 mine map required by MSHA and on the certified mine map submitted to the State of Pennsylvania in the permitting process. The root cause was the unavailability of a certified final mine map for Harrison No. 2 in the State of Pennsylvania's mine map repository.

The incident on July 24, 2002, occurred when miners working underground in the Quecreek mine accidentally broke into an adjacent abandoned mine, which unleashed millions of gallons of water and trapped nine men for three days.

MSHA provided technical expertise, leadership and rescue equipment as rescuers drilled 240 feet to reach the men and pull them to the surface.

After the Quecreek incident, MSHA alerted the mining industry on the inundation hazard, reviewed plans of underground mines operating near abandoned works, and worked with mine operators to provide additional protective measures where needed.

The agency has participated in demonstrations of technology with potential to detect mine voids and has sponsored two technical symposiums to share information.

MSHA expects to award $6 million in grants later this year for demonstration projects on technology addressing this issue, and another $4 million for mine map digitization programs.

MSHA is also working with the Office of Surface Mining and state mine agencies towards a more effective overall system for archiving and digitizing mine maps and is distributing a public service announcement asking the public to share old mine maps in their custody.

Black Wolf Coal Company, Musser Engineering, Inc., and PBS Coals, Inc. each received one citation for a violation of federal mine safety standards in using the inaccurate and outdated map.

"The final map may not have been available...but other information...would indicate that the boundaries used were questionable," investigators said.

Penalties for the violations will be determined at a later date.

Work continues by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in implementing regulatory and legislative changes that will address some of the shortcomings that the investigation revealed about the state’s outdated mining policies and procedures related to underground mine safety. Within the final report are 26 recommendations based on conclusions drawn from the 12-month investigation.

Central legislative recommendations include enabling the department to issue regulations that keep up with technology in mining, bringing mine safety laws in line with all other safety laws, enabling DEP to hold the owner responsible for safety in the mines and giving department mine safety personnel a key seat at the permitting table.

The full investigation report is available at http://www.msha.gov/quecreek/QueCreekInvestigationReport.pdf