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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Sen. Robert Byrd said Wednesday that coal is West Virginia's "birthright" but that coal miners too often come second to coal companies.

In what was billed as a "major opinion piece" by the senator's office, Byrd challenged the "old chestnut" that coal is the state's most valuable asset.

"I believe that our people are West Virginia's most valuable resource," Byrd said. "We must demand to be treated as such."

It was the second time in five months that Byrd criticized the coal industry. In December, he said it needs to stop using "fear mongering, grandstanding and outrage as a strategy" and instead help stave off climate change and curb mountaintop mining.

Also Wednesday, the state Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety began working on a plan to make sure mine inspectors go after questionable mine operators.

 The six-member board is trying to prepare legislation that Gov. Joe Manchin could put before the Legislature at a special session beginning May 13. There's been no indication, however, that the governor will add the safety measure to the agenda. The session's focus is expected to be education reform.

Under the board's plan, four regional teams of independent inspectors would check the work of the 100 or so inspectors already employed by the Office of Miners Health Safety and Training.

Chris Hamilton, one of three coal industry representatives on the board, said members of the regional team would give advice to mine operators but also would have the authority to make companies change their ways and shut down mines.

"He would carry one hell of a big hammer," Hamilton said of such an independent inspector.

Hamilton said the state should probably have its miners health safety office attempt to supplement federal inspectors' work.

Some mines do not get equal attention from state inspectors, Hamilton said.

He said there was a "certain population of mines that are either under-inspected" or not getting the same attention other mines do.

That's possibly because of geography or "other reasons that tend to be vague," Hamilton added.

Hamilton said state inspections should be weighted toward mines with a history of problems or are most likely to have problems, such as the ones that release a lot of methane.

"We need to look at people a little harder who aren't complying with rules," he said.

Dave Ashby, another industry representative on the board, said he wasn't sure writing more violations was the way to go. He suggested that inspectors be judged not on how many inspections they write, but on how safe the mines they inspect are.

"Their role is not enforcement," Ashby said. "Their role is to prevent injuries and deaths."

Ted Hapney, a United Mine Workers representative on the board, disagreed.

He said in 90 percent of the accidents he's encountered, there has been a violation or should have been a violation.

"We find there is some sort of violation in a fatality," Hapney said.

Investigators have yet to determine what happened at the Upper Big Branch mine, where 29 men died April 5. So far, they have been unable to enter the mine because of continued high levels of dangerous gases.

In Byrd's statement, the senator said some coal companies do what they are supposed to, while others don't. He didn't come right out and say it, but he joined Senator Jay Rockefeller in implying that Massey Energy, which owns the Upper Big Branch mine, falls into the latter category.

"West Virginia has some of the highest quality coal in the world, and mining it should be considered a privilege, not a right," he said. "Any company that establishes a pattern of negligence resulting in injuries and death should be replaced by a company that conducts business more responsibly.

"We have coal companies in West Virginia which go out of their way to operate safely and with minimal impact on our environment. Those companies should be commended and rewarded."

Massey has repeatedly defended its safety record, pointing to accolades it has received from the U.S. Mine Health and Safe Administration, among others.

Byrd also called for respect of the land and suggested that if mountaintop removal mining is too harmful, it should be stopped.

"If the process of mining destroys nearby wells and foundations, if blasting and digging and relocating streams unearths harmful elements and releases them into the environment causing illness and death, that process should be halted and the resulting hazards to the community abated," Byrd said.

While coal industry officials, Manchin and other elected leaders have said the federal government is violating West Virginia's sovereignty by trying to supersede state environmental law, Byrd said the mining companies also threaten the state's sovereignty.

"The monolithic power of industry should never dominate our politics to the detriment of local communities," Byrd said.

"Our coal mining communities do not have to be marked by a lack of economic diversity and development that can potentially squelch the voice of the people," Byrd said. "People living in coal communities deserve to have a free hand in managing their own local affairs and public policies without undue political pressure to submit to the desires of industry."

Also, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health said it has named a panel to take part in the investigation into the blast's case. Members are former science advisor Lewis Wade, retired physical scientist Michael Sapko, Stanford Law School associate professor Alison Morantz and NIOSH director Dr. John Howard.

Contact writer Ry Rivard at ry.riv...@dailymail.com">ry.riv...@dailymail.com or 304-348-1796.

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