|
JW Joins CNN, AP and Trib in Claiming Public has a Legitimate Interest to Crandall Mine Proceedings
|
| 10.02.2007 |
News organizations sue feds for access to mine disaster probe
By Lisa Rosetta
The Salt Lake Tribune
The Salt Lake Tribune and other news media are suing U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao for access to closed Mine Safety and Health Administration panel hearings on the Crandall Canyon mine disaster.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, says the public has a "legitimate interest" in attending MSHA panel proceedings. Two catastrophic collapses in the central Utah coal mine killed six miners and three would-be rescuers.
The panel - largely made up of current and former MSHA employees - reviews documents and interviews people knowledgeable about the incident, at times under oath and in the presence of a court reporter, the lawsuit states.
Although representatives of the state of Utah, the witnesses and the owner of the Crandall Canyon mine have been allowed to attend the panel's proceedings, The Tribune and other media have not.
"We believe that the public should have access [to the panel's proceedings] and we act on behalf of the public," said Nancy Conway, editor of The Tribune. "We think this is information that is very important to the people of the state of Utah."
Because the media have been shut out of the proceedings, it's unclear how many hearings have even taken place since the MSHA panel was formed in late August, Conway said.
The lawsuit filed Monday states that MSHA itself has been publicly accused of bearing "some significant responsibility for the accident" and for engaging in questionable activity in its various statutory roles after the accident.
"We're not saying they're suspect," Conway said, "but we are saying this process was established by the secretary of labor and that we as the public watchdog - the media as a public watchdog - should have access to this process."
Jonathan Snare, the acting solicitor of the Labor Department, last week denied The Tribune access to the MSHA panel meetings. Snare argued that "premature public access" to witness interviews and documents that are part of "an ongoing law enforcement investigation" could create problems, including tipping off "civil or criminal violators" that they are under suspicion.
The Tribune had asked to be allowed to observe the proceedings, based on a federal court ruling stemming from the 1984 Wilberg mine disaster. That ruling held that the MSHA investigation should be open to the public. However, the interviews were completed by the time of the ruling, and an appeals court vacated the order. Transcripts of the interviews, however, were released shortly thereafter.
The MSHA panel has indicated that transcripts of "nonconfidential" testimony will be available to the public after the proceedings have concluded. But that could take several months, according to the lawsuit, and Conway said that's not soon enough.
"As mining continues in the state of Utah, timeliness is important," she said.
In order to fulfill their First Amendment obligations to the public, the lawsuit states, The Tribune and other news media - including CNN, The Associated Press and the Deseret Morning News - are asking the court to halt the MSHA proceedings until they have an opportunity to make their case before a judge.
The plaintiffs are also asking for copies of any documents presented to the MSHA panel, as well as transcripts of witness testimonies given to this point, Conway said.
Click on "more details" below to access CNN's coverage of the story. |
| |
| Click here for more details |
| see also:
Michael Patrick O'Brien
Media
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
