Trucking Company Supervisor Sentenced for Violating Mine Act

CHARLESTON, WV—A supervisor for a trucking company which provides services to surface coal mines in West Virginia was sentenced today to a three-year term of probation and fined $2,500 for violating the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act.

“Federal laws imposed to protect the safety of coal miners, drivers and other mine workers are essential to minimizing the risk of injury to those workers who depend on the industry to support their families,” stated United States Attorney Booth Goodwin. “This case is indicative of our commitment to prosecuting those who choose to disregard and violate any provision of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act.”

Jeffrey L. Potter, 45, of Crum, West Virginia, pled guilty in September, admitting that while working as a supervisor for Kirk Trucking Company, he falsely completed and signed a MSHA form certifying he had provided the required annual refresher training to a truck driver. Kirk Trucking Company provided trucking services to Synergy Surface Mine No. 1, a surface mine in Boone County, West Virginia. The mine is owned and operated by Legacy Resources, LLC.

On September 30, 2007, Potter falsely completed MSHA Form 5000-23, which indicated he had provided refresher training to a truck driver, M.L., when in fact, he knew that he had not provided the required training to the individual.

Mine Safety and Health Administration Assistant Secretary Joseph A. Main stated: “This prosecution serves to reinforce the important role that miner training plays in keeping truck drivers and other miners safe; untrained miners are a danger to themselves and to those working around them.”

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Hunter P. Smith Jr. handled the prosecution. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the proceedings.