CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal investigators are winding down their criminal probe of the January 2006 fire that killed two workers at Massey Energy's Aracoma Alma No. 1 Mine, a state board learned Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors hope that some resolution of the case will occur "in the not too distant future," said Barry Koerber, a lawyer for the state Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training.

Koerber said that was what prosecutors told him when he asked for a status report in preparation for a Wednesday hearing before the state Coal Mine Safety Board of Appeals.

Board members held a hearing on efforts by state mine safety Director Ronald Wooten to revoke or suspend mining licenses for six Massey foremen for their roles in the fire that killed Aracoma miners Don Bragg and Ellery Hatfield.

Since March 2007, the board has repeatedly delayed any action on the license cases. Lawyers for the foremen asked for the delays. They say their clients can't defend themselves in the licensing cases because of the ongoing criminal investigation.

Clinton Smith, the board chairman, said that the cases would be delayed again, this time until at least mid-September.

"It is my understanding, essentially through the grapevine ... that the U.S. Attorney's office is still wallowing things around," Smith said. "They have certainly not issued any kind of formal position or anything."

U.S. Attorney Chuck Miller has confirmed that his office is investigating, but has declined further comment.

No indictments or plea agreements have been filed.

Court records do indicate that one Aracoma miner, Bryan Cabell, has received immunity from federal prosecutors to testify in the case. Previously, Cabell told federal and state investigators that an emergency fire hose did not fit the water faucet in the underground mine. Cabell also testified under oath about missing ventilation walls that government investigators said were a major cause of the Aracoma deaths.

The faulty hose hookup and the missing stoppings were among 25 major violations cited by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration when it fined Massey $1.5 million for the Aracoma fire. Massey has appealed those citations and fines.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal investigators are winding down their criminal probe of the January 2006 fire that killed two workers at Massey Energy's Aracoma Alma No. 1 Mine, a state board learned Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors hope that some resolution of the case will occur "in the not too distant future," said Barry Koerber, a lawyer for the state Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training.

Koerber said that was what prosecutors told him when he asked for a status report in preparation for a Wednesday hearing before the state Coal Mine Safety Board of Appeals.

Board members held a hearing on efforts by state mine safety Director Ronald Wooten to revoke or suspend mining licenses for six Massey foremen for their roles in the fire that killed Aracoma miners Don Bragg and Ellery Hatfield.

Since March 2007, the board has repeatedly delayed any action on the license cases. Lawyers for the foremen asked for the delays. They say their clients can't defend themselves in the licensing cases because of the ongoing criminal investigation.

Clinton Smith, the board chairman, said that the cases would be delayed again, this time until at least mid-September.

"It is my understanding, essentially through the grapevine ... that the U.S. Attorney's office is still wallowing things around," Smith said. "They have certainly not issued any kind of formal position or anything."

U.S. Attorney Chuck Miller has confirmed that his office is investigating, but has declined further comment.

No indictments or plea agreements have been filed.

Court records do indicate that one Aracoma miner, Bryan Cabell, has received immunity from federal prosecutors to testify in the case. Previously, Cabell told federal and state investigators that an emergency fire hose did not fit the water faucet in the underground mine. Cabell also testified under oath about missing ventilation walls that government investigators said were a major cause of the Aracoma deaths.

The faulty hose hookup and the missing stoppings were among 25 major violations cited by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration when it fined Massey $1.5 million for the Aracoma fire. Massey has appealed those citations and fines.

The missing ventilation walls allowed smoke from the conveyor belt fire to enter the mine's primary escape tunnel. By law, such tunnels are supposed to be kept isolated from conveyor belt tunnels because of the dangers of fire and smoke that belts create in underground mines. During the Jan. 19 fire, a crew of workers ran into smoke in their escape tunnel and had to find another way out. Bragg and Hatfield became separated from the group, got lost and eventually succumbed to the smoke. In its report on the fire, MSHA also blamed Massey for a host of other serious violations, including everything from not fixing a misaligned conveyor belt that started the fire to not performing required safety checks and failing to quickly warn miners of the growing fire.

One Massey worker, Aracoma belt examiner Carl White, agreed to a temporary suspension of his state mining license.

No action has been taken on eight other cases, including six petitions by the state to suspend or revoke mining licenses.

Wooten sought to revoke the licenses of Aracoma foremen Christopher Herndon and Terry Shade. Agency inspectors cited both men with knowing about - but taking no action to fix - the missing ventilation walls.

The state is also seeking to revoke foremen certificates for Dustin Dotson, Jeffrey Perry and Fred Horton.

Inspectors cited Dotson for the missing stoppings, but did not specifically charge that he knew about the problem before the fire. Perry directed non-certified workers to perform safety examinations in the mine, and counter-signed their examination books, the state alleged. Horton did not immediately notify workers to evacuate when the fire was discovered, the state alleged.

State officials sought to suspend for one year the license of foreman Michael Plumley. They allege he "failed to keep careful watch over production activities" in the section where Bragg and Hatfield worked.

State inspectors also issued individual citations to Massey foreman Lawrence Lester and mine engineer Kenneth Williams.

State officials allege that Lester did not ensure that state officials were alerted to the fire until 2 1/2 hours after it occurred. They allege that Williams did not produce an accurate map of the mine's ventilation system.

Decisions on those individual citations, and Massey's appeal of $70,000 in state fines, were also delayed pending resolution of the federal criminal investigation.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 348-1702.