Following the accident, Webster County Coal, OMSL and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) cooperatively conducted independent investigations to determine both the causes of the fatal roof fall accident and means to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Webster County Coal submitted its investigative findings to OMSL and MSHA on June 4, 2010. After reviewing the OMSL report with Kentucky state officials, Webster County Coal confirmed the findings of the OMSL report were consistent with its internal investigations concluding the accident was the result of unpredictable and unforeseeable geologic conditions that were highly unusual at the Dotiki mine.
Although the occurrence of the roof fall necessitated the issuance of a Notice of Non-Compliance, the OMSL report also confirmed that at the time of the accident the Dotiki mine was operating in full compliance with the roof control plan approved by OMSL and MSHA. In addition, the report noted OMSL’s approval of the voluntary modifications to the Dotiki roof control plan implemented by Webster County Coal immediately following the accident.
