CHARLESTON, W.Va. — One of the most outspoken miners since the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion left the courtroom in tears Tuesday afternoon in the Don Blankenship criminal trial.
Stanley “Goose” Stewart, a former continuous miner operator at UBB, began crying when asked by U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin why he testified before a congressional committee in the months following the disaster that killed 29 miners.
“I felt like the truth needed to be told,” Stewart said fighting back tears. “Hardly nobody would talk, (even after the explosion), I said, ‘I’m going to speak up. I’m going to tell the truth.'”
The comment brought to a close Stewart’s long, emotional and sometimes rambling testimony that included Stewart being stopped several times by U.S. District Judge Irene Berger for answering more than he was asked.
Blankenship, the former Massey CEO, is on trial for three federal charges, including conspiracy to violate mandatory mine safety regulations.
Stewart told the jury steps to improve ventilation, clean up coal and properly rock dust were always taken when he and other workers underground were notified that inspectors were on the UBB property.
“We would dress things up. Make it pretty,” for the inspectors he said.
At all other times, he said “put it in the coal” were the repeated instructions to Stewart, as the continuous miner operator, even in bad air.
According to Stewart, his crew and others lost planned vacation time in July 2009 because they could not meet set production goals per shift while working in “horrible conditions” that, he said, included low air, a bad mine top and high water. “How we were supposed to do more, I don’t know,” Stewart testified.
Of a ventilation change made that same month, Stewart said: “What we did was completely illegal,” a statement Judge Berger told the jury to disregard following an objection from Blair Brown, one of Blankenship’s attorneys.
Stewart said the orders came from his direct supervisors. He did not name Blankenship as one of them.
After 34 years as a coal miner, Stewart is now retired. He worked at UBB as a longwall operator up until 2006, dating back to before Massey’s purchase of the property. He moved with the longwall to another mine from 2006 to 2009 before returning to UBB to operate a continuous miner.
His last day at UBB was April 5, 2010.
During his time on the longwall at UBB, Stewart testified he witnessed at least one on-site visit from Blankenship during a shift. At other times, he said he saw Blankenship on the property. In opening statements, Bill Taylor, a Blankenship attorney, had said Blankenship was “never in UBB.” Under cross-examination Stewart said the visit by Blankenship was in the 1990s.
He also admitted he had close ties to the United Mine Workers Union and worked at UBB in the 1990s when the union tried unsuccessfully to organize the mine.
Earlier Tuesday, the jury heard from Shaun Ellison, a former shuttle car operator and roof bolter at UBB.
Ellison testified he had heard of Massey’s S1, P2 (safety first, production second) initiative but, he told the jury, it was “not normally” followed. He had no knowledge of Massey’s Hazard Elimination Program or the “kill the spider” effort to root out mine safety problems at their source, both touted by the defense.
There were times, Ellison said, when he was forced to work in low air so “dusty and dark” he could not see to mine coal or instances when he was pulled off production to divert air underground because inspectors were en route.
The dust pump monitor that was supposed to stay with him, Ellison testified, often hung at the intake, in fresh air, while he worked in the dust at the mine face. Under instructions from his supervisors, he said he would also place the dust pump under his bib, providing what was not a true air reading.
He was asked: Was there a difference between what Massey said about safety and what was done? “Yes,” Ellison answered. “There wasn’t enough ventilation (at UBB) and they knew that,” he said. “The pressure was always there to produce.”
Ellison, though, agreed with Taylor when pressed about rampant mine safety violations being bad business for companies that put a premium on mine production.
Larry Adams, a former UBB fire boss, wrapped up his testimony first thing Tuesday morning. Under questioning by the defense, he said he did know of UBB workers who were disciplined for not following mine safety regulations.
In addition to the conspiracy charge, Blankenship is also accused of making false statements to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and securities fraud.
Tuesday ended with MSHA official James McElroy on the stand. The 38-year mining veteran was part of the MSHA investigative team following the UBB explosion. He’s expected to be back on the stand when the trial resumes at 1:30 Wednesday afternoon.
Tuesday was the 9th day of testimony in Blankenship’s trial that began with jury selection on Oct. 1.