HUNTINGTON — Crandall Canyon Mine owner Bob Murray is lashing out at Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., suggesting the governor's recent comments about the rescue efforts for six trapped miners are jeopardizing other mining jobs in Emery and Carbon counties.
Deseret Morning News graphic  Letter to Gov. Huntsman(150 KB .pdf file) |
"If you persist in your statements and course of action, you, Governor, are going to jeopardize 700 jobs in Carbon and Emery counties," Murray said in a letter obtained this afternoon by the Deseret Morning News.
"I cannot maintain them alone, and I definitely cannot do it if I am going to be your whipping-boy."
The letter was in response to comments Huntsman made about inspecting all of Murray's mines in Utah.
"Furthermore, if it takes every dollar this guy has in his bank account, he needs to bring closure to this darn thing. We've got families of six good people who are currently sitting in that mine," Huntsman said last week.
In his letter, Murray criticized the governor, saying he has damaged the reputations of mine operators Murray Energy Corp., UtahAmerican Energy and "thousands of coal miners who do respect what I have done," in the time he has owned the mine.
Murray took exception to being called "this guy."
"Governor Huntsman, I suggest that, for your own sake, you address me as my employees do, as Mr. Murray, as you have shown the ultimate disrespect to the heroes who have died and were maimed last Thursday, August 16, and whose bodies I helped recover with my own hands, in referring to me as 'this guy' and that you are going to 'take every dollar.'"
In his letter, Murray admitted that the financial future of Murray Energy and UtahAmerican Energy — which own the Crandall Canyon Mine — is uncertain at this point. Repeated phone calls to Murray Energy officials have so far gone unanswered.
In response, the governor's office said they would not engage Murray in personal attacks.
"The governor is concerned only with the families and the communities who have been affected by this terrible tragedy," Huntsman spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley said. "The governor is focused on the future and the things that can be done from here on to ensure closure for the families and the health and safety of all Utahns, especially those miners."
Drilling continues
Drilling is now under way in what may be the final search for six miners trapped inside a collapsed part of the Crandall Canyon Mine.
Federal officials confirmed the drilling on the sixth hole being bored more than 1,700 feet through the mountain above the mine, but offered no details about how far it had progressed. Murray has said if this latest attempt yields nothing, he intends to give up on the search.
Meanwhile, the families of the six miners who remain trapped in a coal mine say they are determined their loved ones will be returned to them — alive or dead — and will seek legal action to keep the mine from being sealed if necessary.
"The families hope these men are alive and awaiting rescue," spokesman Sonny Olsen said, reading Thursday from a statement approved by the six families. "They know the odds are stacked against them, but miracles happen."
Olsen said the families also demanded that mine co-owner Bob Murray allow them to retrieve the bodies if they are dead or if the miners die before continuing seismic activity in the mine stops.
"If our loved ones cannot be rescued, we'll accept no less than that they come home to us," Olsen said, adding that it is a "possibility" families will ask a judge for a temporary restraining order to stop the mine from being sealed.
"Do not let Mr. Murray do this," he said, appealing directly to the public. "We want these men returned alive or, heaven forbid, dead. Don't let them leave these men in the mine. Do not let them bury them in the mine."
Their insistence that Crandall Canyon not become a tomb for the trapped men came on the same day Huntsman said it was too soon to give up on reaching the victims. He also lashed out at Murray, who Huntsman said had treated the families "unconscionably."
Outrage, investigations
Here in Utah's coal country, signs have popped up taking Murray to task for wanting to walk away from the rescue effort.
"Leave No Man Behind" proclaimed a flier advertising a fund-raiser in Helper tonight. The fliers have been taped up in businesses all over Price, Huntington and Castle Dale.
"Community support is desperately needed drilling the 36-inch hole for a capsule to continue the search and rescue of our miners," the flier said.
With no news to report, the families did not gather this morning at a church where they have been briefed by federal authorities and mine officials.
Emery County Sheriff Lamar Guymon said Thursday night's update revealed little information.
"Not getting the answers they need to make them feel better, it just stresses them out," he said. "There's still hope out there. They're trying hard, but it's getting harder for them all the time."
Since the collapse, Guymon and his deputies have worked nonstop dealing with the mine crisis and helping the families.
"What I have to do is nothing compared to what the families have to do," he said.
Those families on Thursday made it clear they want the right to retrieve the men even if they have to wait a month for the seismic events to cease.
Family members and miners throughout Utah's carbon belt and around the country have volunteered to retrieve the bodies, Olsen said.
The statement from the families said Murray promised to return the men to them, dead or alive. But Murray said this week that if the sixth borehole shows no signs of life, he will end all mine operations and seal it.
The families insisted Thursday there has been no indication the men are dead. But they said they recognize previous boreholes showed an absence of sustainable oxygen in several areas where the miners might have retreated.
"The promises Mr. Murray gave the families gave them much hope," Olsen said. "They were all they had to live on. They got them through the past two weeks. His recent comments have been heartbreaking to us, and we believe he has not been forthcoming with us from the beginning."
Murray made conflicting statements this week about whether he would reopen the Crandall Canyon Mine. Wednesday night he said he had no plans to ever reopen what he called an "evil mountain," yet he also said it was possible that after engineering studies are conducted years from now, the mine could be explored for mining again.
Other key developments Thursday:
Murray will join Mine Safety and Health Administration director Richard Stickler at a Sept. 5 Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, where they will testify about the Aug. 6 collapse that trapped the six men and the Aug. 16 mountain "bump" that killed three rescuers and injured six others.
Sen. Edward Kennedy announced his own investigation. Kennedy, D-Mass., head of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that oversees mine safety, sent a letter to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao requesting documents and other materials. "The loss of life at the mine, and the devastating emotional toll on families of the victims, underscore the urgent need for a thorough examination of our federal system of mine safety," Kennedy said in his letter to Chao.
Huntsman announced the appointment of eight members to the newly created Utah Mine Safety Commission, including Scott Matheson Jr. as chairman. The commission will hold public hearings in Huntington, Price and other areas, presenting findings as early as the fall that Huntsman predicts could lead to legislative reforms.
Federal mine safety officials said a fifth borehole drilled Wednesday revealed no new information because the hole became plugged with mud.
For the past 19 days, there has been no sign of Don Erickson, Kerry Allred, Luis Hernandez, Brandon Phillips, Carlos Payan and Manuel Sanchez. It has been an agonizing wait in an effort that so far has proven fruitless and deadly because of repeated seismic activity inside the mine. Underground rescue operations ceased after the mountain "bump" that killed and injured rescuers.
A private funeral service will be held in Moab today for Brandon Kimber, 29, who died in the rescue attempt. Funeral services were held earlier for rescuers Dale Black, 49, and mine safety inspector Gary Jensen, 54.
Prayers, fund-raisers
As the days of waiting have turned into weeks, faith and hope nevertheless remain as steadfast companions. Ruth Dunn stood by the creek outside the Crandall Canyon Mine, reading from her well-worn scriptures. She drove 2,100 miles to pray before the mountain.
"We're expecting a miracle," she said. "We know our trip was not in vain."
Her son, Daniel, raised a ram's horn and blew into it, projecting the sound toward the mine.
"Hallelujah," Dunn said.
For days, the Dunns watched the tragedy unfold on the news. Then, they said, compelled to be here by God, the family drove from South Carolina to Utah. They spent the past few days on the road outside the mine, praying and hoping for a miracle.
"This is just a show of Father's loving kindness," Michael Dunn said. "He sent us here just to show his kindness."
Nearby, six American flags were planted along the roadside to symbolize the trapped miners. A few feet away, three more flags were placed to symbolize the fallen rescuers.
A fund-raiser will be held in the mining town of Helper tonight for the families of the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster. The event, featuring a raffle, food, music and a prayer service, will be at the Helper Main Street Park beginning at 6 p.m. A fund also has been established at Wells Fargo Bank to collect donations.
In Huntington, a benefit concert will be held Saturday night at Emery Park to raise money for the miners' families.
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