Genwal agrees to plea deal in 2007 mine collapse
Source: Associated Press
Genwal agrees to plea deal in 2007 mine collapse
Associated Press
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Salt Lake City --
The operator of a Utah mine where a 2007 collapse led to the deaths of nine people agreed Friday to plead guilty to two misdemeanor criminal charges and pay a $500,000 fine.
Six miners died at Crandall Canyon in central Utah in the August 2007 collapse that was so powerful it initially registered as a 3.9-magnitude earthquake. Another cave-in 10 days later killed two rescuers and a federal inspector. The operation was eventually called off after drilling into the mountain found no sign of the trapped men. Their bodies remain deep in the mine's catacombs.
The mine operator - Genwal Resources Inc - still maintains its mine was safe but said the plea agreement "avoids Genwal putting its former employees, their families, and members of the community at large through the ordeal of reliving the tragic events," according to a statement Friday from company lawyers. Genwal is an affiliate of Murray Energy Corp.
U.S. Attorney David Barlow said the evidence supported the charges. "It is this office's intent that these charges send the message to mining companies everywhere: obey the safety laws," he said.
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