Following up on Monday’s big story about the growing scandal over falsification of  key safety records at Patriot Coal’s Federal No. 2 Mine in north-central West Virginia, mine foreman John Renner has been charged by federal authorities. But keep in mind that Renner’s lawyer says his client is cooperating with authorities — and state mine safety officials believe the problems at Federal No. 2 go far beyond Renner.

Late Monday afternoon, federal prosecutors quietly filed an “information” in U.S. District Court in Clarksburg to charge Renner with making a false statement on a required safety report. Specifically, Assistant U.S. Attorney Angus Morgan charged that Renner:

… Did falsely state, represent, and certify that he had concluded an examination of the No. 27 block seal for the Federal No. 2 Mine when, in fact … [he] knew had had not made such an examination.

This is a felony under federal mine safety law.

Updated: A plea hearing for Mr. Renner has been scheduled for 2 p.m. March 10 in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge John S. Kaull.

But, the filing of charges through an “information” — as opposed to an “indictment” is generally an indication that the defendant is cooperating with federal prosecutors in a broader investigation.

And, as we first reported in the Gazette on Tuesday morning, here’s what Renner’s lawyer had to say about all of this:

Paul Cranston, an attorney for Renner, said Monday that his client has been cooperating with federal prosecutors “for some time now” in an investigation of safety issues at Federal No. 2.

“We don’t know the current status of the U.S. Attorney’s investigation and don’t want to jeopardize that investigation,” Cranston said. But, he added, “Mr. Renner will be filing a civil suit at the appropriate time against the company and certain management personnel that should shed some light on what has occurred here.”

Cranston cited an incident in November 2008 where he said Renner “was berated” by his supervisors after he evacuated Federal No. 2 because of bad methane readings. Later, Cranston said, Renner filed another report of bad methane levels and management “destroyed the report.”

“John Renner didn’t do anything in that coal mine that he wasn’t instructed or forced to do,” Cranston said. “John Renner was under an enormous amount of pressure.”

There was also an “update” provided by Patriot Coal on its Web site, though company officials haven’t responded to my e-mails or phone messages … Here’s what their prepared statement said:

“The safety of our employees is paramount to our operations. We are taking every precaution to ensure that our work environment remains safe for our people, while complying with all mining regulations,” noted Patriot Chief Executive Officer Richard M. Whiting. “While we are currently in compliance with the existing ventilation plan at the mine, we are working diligently to improve on that plan to address concerns MSHA has raised.” Although the timing for resumption of operations remains uncertain, the Company expects the mine to remain idle until at least the middle of next week.

In a separate matter, the Company is cooperating with an investigation involving the Federal No. 2 mine where it is alleged that one or more employees made inaccurate entries in official mine records. The Company has disclosed information to the appropriate authorities and will take appropriate actions as the facts become clearer. The Company does not intend to comment on the investigation while it is pending.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at 12:20 pm and is filed under Mine Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.