Mine and Industrial Asccident Rapid Response System Update

For those of you who are following the Governor's decision to expand the immediate reporting of accidents (presently required of mining facilities) to industrial plants in West Virginia, Anne Blankenship, one of my colleagues at Robinson & McElwee, put together the following update. If you would like to know more, particularly the types of facilities likely to be reporting, give her a call at 304 347-8344 or contact her at acb@ramlaw.com if you have any questions.

During the 2006 West Virginia Legislative Session, Senate Bill No. 247 was introduced by the Governor and successfully passed, creating the Mine and Industrial Accident Rapid Response System, W.Va. Code §15-5B-1 et seq. (“MIARRS”). Among other requirements, the new legislation set forth notification requirements in the event of an accident in or about any mine. Although the express language of the legislation included the industrial sector, it only included specific performance requirements for the mining sector and required that the state Division of Homeland Security conduct a study to determine the feasibility of providing emergency coverage to “other industrial, manufacturing, chemical or other emergencies” through MIARRS. The results of that study, issued on November 1, 2006, found that these types of emergencies are “best left in the current system of local emergency call systems.” Regulations to implement MIARRS were promulgated shortly thereafter and, after considering the comments of the West Virginia Manufacturers Association, the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association and other industry trade associations, the Division of Homeland Security opted to exclude non-mining industries from the MIARRS regulation (170 CSR 1). Recently, the notion of including non-mining industries in MIARRS has resurfaced and it is anticipated that the Governor will propose legislation in the upcoming 2009 West Virginia Legislative Session that will require other industry sectors to report accidents. The stated objectives of such reporting would be to provide the prompt and accurate reporting of an incident that may require response resources beyond the capability of the facility; to ensure that the appropriate mitigation resources respond to the event; and to ensure that adequate and accurate information is available to the responders and to the public. The details of any such legislation are still being worked on at this time. However, it is anticipated that the industrial community, including manufacturers in the chemical industry, would be expected to report.