Mine Safety issues fall under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. The federal govt. is responsible for policing mine safety issues across the states and the budget for this is under a federal mandate.
So? None of that prohibits states from having and enforcing their own mine safety regulations.
So where do you get the notion that if the Feds aren't doing their job (which personally I don't believe it is their job), that "safety is now almost non-existent in new mining operations"?
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