By Taylor Kuykendall

Federal safety regulators have released the findings for two Western U.S. coal mining fatalities in 2014, finding one to be alcohol-related and the other the result of "a history of significantly deficient pre-operational and weekly examinations."

A U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration report of investigation into an October 2014 fatality that occurred at Peabody Energy Corp.'s North Antelope Rochelle mine found that the miner had a blood alcohol content over the legal driving limit in Wyoming. The report notes that Darwin Reimer, who died in an incident involving the haul truck he was driving going over a 238-foot highwall, was found with "an empty pint whiskey bottle" near the operator's compartment.

Darwin Reimer, 51, died in a coal mining fatality in October 2014. A U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration investigation found Reimer had a blood alcohol content above the legal driving limit in Wyoming and noted an empty whiskey bottle had also been found at the scene. Source: U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration

"The accident occurred because the drug and alcohol prevention programs did not prevent excessive alcohol use," the investigation report released March 24 states. "In addition, the seat belt had not been secured by the machine operator at the time of the accident."

Peabody's North Antelope Rochelle Mine, the largest coal mine in the United States, is operated by Peabody Powder River Mining LLC, but Reimer was an employee of Dennis McCoy & Sons, a contractor hired by Peabody. He was working the night shift the day of the incident, which was the second contractor fatality at North Antelope Rochelle in 2014. After repeated attempts to contact Reimer by radio were unanswered, a foreman was radioed to go check on the truck.

"At that time, Reimer put his haul truck in gear, turned the wheels sharply to the left, and exited the staging area at a high rate of speed," the report states. The truck then traveled through a drainage ditch and over several berms and shot holes before going over the highwall, ejecting the victim "at some point."

According to the report, the mine was cited for a violation for a failure to report the accident immediately. When investigators arrived, the report states, the wreckage was so severe that MSHA could not evaluate the condition of the truck pre-incident.

According to the report, McCoy has begun contracting with a third party to perform random drug and alcohol testing since the incident.

"The contractor has implemented an enhanced drug and alcohol testing program," the report noted. "Management has implemented more intense hands-on monitoring of work activities at all job areas by supervisors. This monitoring will be recorded."

MSHA also noted Peabody's oversight of its contractor was not sufficient. A citation was written due to the miner not wearing a seatbelt. Peabody did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a separate fatality investigation report, MSHA noted that the September 2014 death of a coal miner at Murray Energy Corp.'s West Ridge mine was in part due to "a history of significantly deficient pre-operational and weekly examinations."

"If these examinations had been performed correctly, the [equipment] would have been required to be removed from service and repaired prior to the accident," the report says of the machine that crushed coal miner Alejandro Ramirez.

MSHA wrote that the machine's noncompliance should been "obvious to a trained examiner."

"The observations of accident investigators showed that this mobile diesel equipment, continuously operated in a mining environment, was not maintained as well as the pre-operational examination cards and weekly permissibility records indicated," the report states. "The defects found were both contributory and non-contributory to the accident."

MSHA issued a citation, an order and a safeguard in addition to a standard stop work order as a result of the investigation into the fatality at the Utah mine. In a news release following the incident in September 2014, Murray's UtahAmerican Energy Inc. subsidiary noted that the West Ridge mine had never incurred a serious incident prior to the fatality in its 15-year history. It also said the company's Lila Canyon mine, a "sister" to West Ridge, has never incurred a serious accident in its "nearly seven year history."