Nine months after the Upper Big Branch mine explosion killed 29 workers in West Virginia, Congress has yet to pass legislation to increase worker safety despite numerous attempts by Democratic leaders. And the prospect of any successful legislation to increase industry regulation seems dim under the new power structure on Capitol Hill.

Attempts at enacting strong new safety requirements, including tougher protections for whistleblowers and a crackdown on mines with a pattern of violations, fell short during the last Congress largely because of Republican opposition.

Now that Republicans control the House and have increased their numbers in the Senate, congressional critics and industry leaders who called the legislative efforts more punitive than constructive are breathing a sigh of relief.

"I would say right now, [it] is a very distant prospect that there would be major legislation aimed at the mining industry this year," said Luke Popovich, vice president for communications at the National Mining Association.

The conventional wisdom in Washington is that the mining industry need not worry about any new laws, with Republicans focused on rolling back what they call job-killing policies and regulations enacted by Democrats over the past two years.

For Popovich, the view that opposition to tough mine safety legislation is limited to the right side of the aisle is an unfair characterization. He points out that several Democrats expressed reservations about the proposed bills last year. They helped defeat legislation in the House, when 27 Democrats voted against the "Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act" during a suspension vote in December. The bill had been sponsored by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.).

Advocates of such legislation say it is too soon to tell what the new Congress will do, especially with the Upper Big Branch disaster investigation still ongoing. Republicans in general have argued for the need to closely assess its findings before proceeding with passing new laws.

"At this point, with them being in control [of the House], we are going to have to wait and see what that report says before any steps are taken," said Phil Smith, a spokesman for the United Mine Workers of America.

Smith added that Republicans have supported mine safety legislation in the past -- like the MINER Act signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2006 -- and may do so again.

Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), chairman of the recently renamed Education and the Workforce Committee, is monitoring the pace of the investigation and is in no hurry to push for legislation without the results, according to a committee spokeswoman.

Preliminary GOP proposals include allowing fines for mine operators who frivolously challenge citations and penalties.

Meanwhile, mining safety legislation supporters like Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who helped lead the effort last year, are vowing to renew their push for action in the new Congress.

Amid the legislative uncertainty, the Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration is planning a tough regulatory agenda independent of congressional action.

"I think probably over the next three to four months, we are going to see a pretty substantial upgrade in MSHA's determination to use the tools available," Smith said.

Lawmakers, industry leaders, experts and labor advocates all seem to agree that MSHA has long had more power than it was willing to use to promote safety.

According to Keith Heasley, a mining engineering professor at West Virginia University, "Regulations may cover the problems. They may just need to be implemented and enforced correctly."

In addition to safety concerns, the Obama administration is also focusing on the environmental impact of mining by taking a tougher stance on the issue of mountaintop removal mining. U.S. EPA is using the Clean Water Act in an effort to limit the practice.

Jon Devine, a water issues attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said regulators need to do more to stop environmental degradation around the mining site and increased salinity in waterways, which he says hurts aquatic life.

"What the administration really needs to do is go further and adopt regulations that end the practice of dumping mining waste in our water bodies," Devine said.

Bipartisan legislation proposed during the last Congress to effectively end mountaintop removal mining has little to no chance of receiving serious consideration this time around. Coal state lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are skeptical of anything that could hurt the industry and its ability to create much-needed jobs -- the top stated priority of the new Congress.

Republicans will be joined by some Democrats in pushing back against the administration's actions through oversight and legislation, according to experts.

Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), the former chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, has taken credit for blocking mountaintop removal mining legislation. The industry has donated generously to his campaigns.

Yet Rahall is an example of a lawmaker who does not want to hurt the mining industry but is pushing for new mine safety legislation just the same. He voted for the Democratic bill back in December and, like Rockefeller, is renewing the effort this year.

"I am hopeful," Rahall said last week on the first day of the 112th Congress, moments after meeting with Labor Secretary Hilda Solis about the issue. "I remain the eternal optimist. I guess that even with this new crowd in town we can get some responsible mine safety legislation."