Authorizing legislation

F:\COMP\LABORIII\FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT OF 1977.XML

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT OF 1977
[Public Law 91–173]
[As Amended Through P.L. 111–148, Enacted March 23, 2010]
AN ACT To provide for the protection of the health and safety of persons working
in the coal mining industry of the United States, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may
be cited as the ‘‘Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977’’.
ø30 U.S.C. 801 nt¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L, 91–173, sec. 1, 83 Stat. 742;
amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title I, sec. 101, 91 Stat. 1290.
FINDINGS AND PURPOSE

SEC. 2. Congress declares that—
(a) the first priority and concern of all in the coal or other
mining industry must be the health and safety of its most precious resource—the miner;
(b) deaths and serious injuries from unsafe and
unhealthful conditions and practices in the coal or other mines
cause grief and suffering to the miners and to their families;
(c) there is an urgent need to provide more effective means
and measures for improving the working conditions and practices in the Nation’s coal or other mines in order to prevent
death and serious physical harm, and in order to prevent occupational diseases originating in such mines;
(d) the existence of unsafe and unhealthful conditions and
practices in the Nation’s coal or other mines is a serious impediment to the future growth of the coal or other mining industry and cannot be tolerated;
(e) the operators of such mines with the assistance of the
miners have the primary responsibility to prevent the existence of such conditions and practices in such mines;
(f) the disruption of production and the loss of income to
operators and miners as a result of coal or other mine accidents or occupationally caused diseases unduly impedes and
burdens commerce; and
(g) it is the purpose of this Act (1) to establish interim
mandatory health and safety standards and to direct the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare 1 and the Secretary of
Labor to develop and promulgate improved mandatory health
or safety standards to protect the health and safety of the Nation’s coal or other miners; (2) to require that each operator of
1 References in this Act to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare are deemed to
refer to the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to section 509(b) of the Department of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3508(b); 93 Stat. 695).

1
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Sec. 3

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

2

a coal or other mine and every miner in such mine comply with
such standards; (3) to cooperate with, and provide assistance
to, the States in the development and enforcement of effective
State coal or other mine health and safety programs; and (4)
to improve and expand, in cooperation with the States and the
coal or other mining industry, research and development and
training programs aimed at preventing coal or other mine accidents and occupationally caused diseases in the industry.
ø30 U.S.C. 801¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, sec. 2, 83 Stat. 742
amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title I, sec. 102(a), 91 Stat. 1290.
DEFINITIONS

SEC. 3. For the purpose of this Act, the term—
(a) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Labor or his delegate;
(b) ‘‘commerce’’ means trade, traffic, commerce, transportation, or communication among the several States, or between
a place in a State and any place outside thereof, or within the
District of Columbia or a possession of the United States, or
between points in the same State but through a point outside
thereof;
(c) ‘‘State’’ includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Trust Territory
of the Pacific Islands;
(d) ‘‘operator’’ means any owner, lessee, or other person
who operates, controls, or supervises a coal or other mine or
any independent contractor performing services or construction
at such mine;
(e) ‘‘agent’’ means any person charged with responsibility
for the operation of all or a part of a coal or other mine or the
supervision of the miners in a coal or other mine;
(f) ‘‘person’’ means any individual, partnership, association,
corporation, firm, subsidiary of a corporation, or other organization;
(g) ‘‘miner’’ means any individual working in a coal or
other mine;
(h)(1) ‘‘coal or other mine’’ means (A) an area of land from
which minerals are extracted in nonliquid form or, if in liquid
form, are extracted with workers underground, (B) private
ways and roads appurtenant to such area, and (C) lands, excavations, underground passageways, shafts, slopes, tunnels and
workings, structures, facilities, equipment, machines, tools, or
other property including impoundments, retention dams, and
tailings ponds, on the surface or underground, used in, or to
be used in, or resulting from, the work of extracting such minerals from their natural deposits in nonliquid form, or if in liquid form, with workers underground, or used in, or to be used
in, the milling of such minerals, or the work of preparing coal
or other minerals, and includes custom coal preparation facilities. In making a determination of what constitutes mineral
milling for purposes of this Act, the Secretary shall give due
consideration to the convenience of administration resulting
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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Sec. 5

from the delegation to one Assistant Secretary of all authority
with respect to the health and safety of miners employed at
one physical establishment;
(2) For purposes of titles II, III, and IV, ‘‘coal mine’’ means
an area of land and all structures, facilities, machinery, tools,
equipment, shafts, slopes, tunnels, excavations, and other property, real or personal, placed upon, under, or above the surface
of such land by any person, used in, or to be used in, or resulting from, the work of extracting in such area bituminous coal,
lignite, or anthracite from its natural deposits in the earth by
any means or method, and the work of preparing the coal so
extracted, and includes custom coal preparation facilities;
(i) ‘‘work of preparing the coal’’ means the breaking, crushing, sizing, cleaning, washing, drying, mixing, storing, and
loading of bituminous coal, lignite, or anthracite, and such
other work of preparing such coal as is usually done by the operator of the coal mine;
(j) ‘‘imminent danger’’ means the existence of any condition
or practice in a coal or other mine which could reasonably be
expected to cause death or serious physical harm before such
condition or practice can be abated;
(k) ‘‘accident’’ includes a mine explosion, mine ignition,
mine fire, or mine inundation, or injury to, or death of, any
person;
(l) ‘‘mandatory health or safety standard’’ means the interim mandatory health or safety standards established by titles II and III of this Act, and the standards promulgated pursuant to title I of this Act;
(m) ‘‘Panel’’ means the Interim Compliance Panel established by this Act; and
(n) ‘‘Administration’’ means the Mine Safety and Health
Administration in the Department of Labor.
(o) ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal Mine Safety and
Health Review Commission.
ø30 U.S.C. 802¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, sec. 3, 83 Stat. 743;
amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title I, sec. 102(b), 91 Stat. 1290.
MINES SUBJECT TO ACT

SEC. 4. Each coal or other mine, the products of which enter
commerce, or the operations or products of which affect commerce,
and each operator of such mine, and every miner in such mine
shall be subject to the provisions of this Act.
ø30 U.S.C. 803¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, sec. 4, 83 Stat. 744;
amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title I, sec. 102(c), 91 Stat. 1291.
INTERIM COMPLIANCE PANEL

SEC. 5. (a) There is hereby established the Interim Compliance
Panel, which shall be composed of five members as follows:
(1) Assistant Secretary of Labor for Labor Standards, Department of Labor, or his delegate;
(2) Director of the Bureau of Standards, Department of
Commerce, or his delegate;
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4

(3) Administrator of Consumer Protection and Environmental Health Service, Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare, or his delegate;
(4) Director of the Bureau of Mines, 2 Department of the
Interior, or his delegate; and
(5) Director of the National Science Foundation, or his delegate.
(b) Members of the Panel shall serve without compensation in
addition to that received in their regular employment, but shall be
entitled to reimbursement for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of duties
vested in the Panel.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary
of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Secretary of Commerce, the
Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary shall, upon request of
the Panel, provide the Panel such personnel and other assistance
as the Panel determines necessary to enable it to carry out its functions under this Act.
(d) Three members of the Panel shall constitute a quorum for
doing business. All decisions of the Panel shall be by majority vote.
The chairman of the Panel shall be selected by the members from
among the membership thereof.
(e) The Panel is authorized to appoint as many administrative
law judges as are necessary for proceedings required to be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Act. The provisions
applicable to administrative law judges appointed under section
3105 of title 5 of the United States Code shall be applicable to administrative law judges appointed pursuant to this subsection.
(f)(1) It shall be the function of the Panel to carry out the duties imposed on it pursuant to this Act and to provide an opportunity for a public hearing, after notice, at the request of an operator of the affected coal mine or the representative of the miners
of such mine. Any operator or representative of miners aggrieved
by a final decision of the Panel may file a petition for review of
such decision under section 106 of this Act. The provisions of this
section shall terminate upon completion of the Panel’s functions as
set forth under this Act. Any hearing held pursuant to this subsection shall be of record and the Panel shall make findings of fact
and shall issue a written decision incorporating its findings therein
in accordance with section 554 of title 5 of the United States Code.
(2) The Panel shall make an annual report, in writing, to the
Secretary for transmittal by him to the Congress concerning the
achievement of its purposes, and any other relevant information
(including any recommendations) which it deems appropriate.
ø30 U.S.C. 804¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, sec. 5, 83 Stat. 744;
amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title I, sec. 102(d), 91 Stat. 1291; amended
March 27, 1978, P.L. 95–251, sec. 2(a)(9), 92 Stat. 183.

2 Section 10(b) of P.L. 102–285, 106 Stat. 172, May 18, 1992, provides that the Bureau of
Mines is designated and shall hereafter be known as the United States Bureau of Mines.

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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Sec. 101

TITLE I—GENERAL
MANDATORY SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS

SEC. 101. (a) The Secretary shall by rule in accordance with
procedures set forth in this section and in accordance with section
553 of title 5, United States Code (without regard to any reference
in such section to sections 556 and 557 of such title), develop, promulgate, and revise as may be appropriate, improved mandatory
health or safety standards for the protection of life and prevention
of injuries in coal or other mines.
(1) Whenever the Secretary, upon the basis of information submitted to him in writing by an interested person, a representative
of any organization of employers or employees, a nationally recognized standards-producing organization, the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare, the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, or a State or political subdivision, or on the
basis of information developed by the Secretary or otherwise available to him, determines that a rule should be promulgated in order
to serve the objectives of this Act, the Secretary may request the
recommendation of an advisory committee appointed under section
102(c). The Secretary shall provide such an advisory committee
with any proposals of his own or of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, together with all pertinent factual information
developed by the Secretary or the Secretary of Health, Education,
and Welfare, or otherwise available, including the results of research, demonstrations, and experiments. An advisory committee
shall submit to the Secretary its recommendations regarding the
rule to be promulgated within 60 days from the date of its appointment or within such longer or shorter period as may be prescribed
by the Secretary, but in no event for a period which is longer than
180 days. When the Secretary receives a recommendation, accompanied by appropriate criteria, from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health that a rule be promulgated, modified,
or revoked, the Secretary must, within 60 days after receipt thereof, refer such recommendation to an advisory committee pursuant
to this paragraph, or publish such as a proposed rule pursuant to
paragraph (2), or publish in the Federal Register his determination
not to do so, and his reasons therefor. The Secretary shall be required to request the recommendations of an advisory committee
appointed under section 102(c) if the rule to be promulgated is, in
the discretion of the Secretary which shall be final, new in effect
or application and has significant economic impact.
(2) The Secretary shall publish a proposed rule promulgating,
modifying, or revoking a mandatory health or safety standard in
the Federal Register. If the Secretary determines that a rule
should be proposed and in connection therewith has appointed an
advisory committee as provided by paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall publish a proposed rule, or the reasons for his determination
not to publish such rule, within 60 days following the submission
of the advisory committee’s recommendation or the expiration of
the period of time prescribed by the Secretary in such submission.
In either event, the Secretary shall afford interested persons a period of 30 days after any such publication to submit written data
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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

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or comments on the proposed rule. Such comment period may be
extended by the Secretary upon a finding of good cause, which the
Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register. Publication shall
include the text of such rules proposed in their entirety, a comparative text of the proposed changes in existing rules, and shall include a comprehensive index to the rules, cross-referenced by subject matter.
(3) On or before the last day of the period provided for the submission of written data or comments under paragraph (2), any interested person may file with the Secretary written objections to
the proposed mandatory health or safety standard, stating the
grounds therefor and requesting a public hearing on such objections. Within 60 days after the last day for filing such objections,
the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a notice specifying the mandatory health or safety standard to which objections
have been filed a hearing requested, and specifying a time and
place for such hearing. Any hearing under this subsection for the
purpose of hearing relevant information shall commence within 60
days after the date of publication of the notice of hearing. Hearings
required by this subsection shall be conducted by the Secretary,
who may prescribe rules and make rulings concerning procedures
in such hearings to avoid unnecessary cost or delay. Subject to the
need to avoid undue delay, the Secretary shall provide for procedures that will afford interested parties the right to participate in
the hearing, including the right to present oral statements and to
offer written comments and data. The Secretary may require by
subpoena the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence in connection with any proceeding initiated under this section. If a person refuses to obey a subpoena under this subsection,
a United States district court within the jurisdiction of which a
proceeding under this subsection is conducted may, upon petition
by the Secretary, issue an order requiring compliance with such
subpoena. A transcript shall be taken of any such hearing and
shall be available to the public.
(4)(A) Within 90 days after certification of the record of the
hearing held pursuant to paragraph (3), the Secretary shall by rule
promulgate, modify, or revoke such mandatory health or safety
standards, and publish his reasons therefor.
(B) In the case of a proposed mandatory health or safety standard to which objections requesting a public hearing have not been
filed, the Secretary, within 90 days after the period for filing such
objections has expired, shall by rule promulgate, modify, or revoke
such mandatory standards, and publish his reasons therefor.
(C) In the event the Secretary determines that a proposed
mandatory health or safety standard should not be promulgated he
shall, within the times specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) publish his reasons for his determination.
(5) Any mandatory health or safety standard promulgated as
a final rule under this section shall be effective upon publication
in the Federal Register unless the Secretary specifies a later date.
(6)(A) The Secretary, in promulgating mandatory standards
dealing with toxic materials or harmful physical agents under this
subsection, shall set standards which most adequately assure on
the basis of the best available evidence that no miner will suffer
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Sec. 101

material impairment of health or functional capacity even if such
miner has regular exposure to the hazards dealt with by such
standard for the period of his working life. Development of mandatory standards under this subsection shall be based upon research,
demonstrations, experiments, and such other information as may
be appropriate. In addition to the attainment of the highest degree
of health and safety protection for the miner, other considerations
shall be the latest available scientific data in the field, the feasibility of the standards, and experience gained under this and other
health and safety laws. Whenever practicable, the mandatory
health or safety standard promulgated shall be expressed in terms
of objective criteria and of the performance desired.
(B) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, as soon
as possible after the date of enactment of the Federal Mine Safety
and Health Amendments Act of 1977 but in no event later than 18
months after such date and on a continuing basis thereafter, shall,
for each toxic material or harmful physical agent which is used or
found in a mine, determine whether such material or agent is potentially toxic at the concentrations in which it is used or found in
a mine. The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall submit such determinations with respect to such toxic substances or
harmful physical agents to the Secretary. Thereafter, the Secretary
of Health, Education, and Welfare shall submit to the Secretary all
pertinent criteria regarding any such substances determined to be
toxic or any such harmful agents as such criteria are developed.
Within 60 days after receiving any criteria in accordance with the
preceding sentence relating to a toxic material or harmful physical
agent which is not adequately covered by a mandatory health or
safety standard promulgated under this section, the Secretary shall
either appoint an advisory committee to make recommendations
with respect to a mandatory health or safety standard covering
such material or agent in accordance with paragraph (1), or publish
a proposed rule promulgating such a mandatory health or safety
standard in accordance with paragraph (2), or shall publish his determination not to do so.
(7) Any mandatory health or safety standard promulgated
under this subsection shall prescribe the use of labels or other appropriate forms of warning as are necessary to insure that miners
are apprised of all hazards to which they are exposed, relevant
symptoms and appropriate emergency treatment, and proper conditions and precautions of safe use or exposure. Where appropriate,
such mandatory standard shall also prescribe suitable protective
equipment and control or technological procedures to be used in
connection with such hazards and shall provide for monitoring or
measuring miner exposure at such locations and intervals, and in
such manner so as to assure the maximum protection of miners. In
addition, where appropriate, any such mandatory standard shall
prescribe the type and frequency of medical examinations or other
tests which shall be made available, by the operator at his cost, to
miners exposed to such hazards in order to most effectively determine whether the health of such miners is adversely affected by
such exposure. Where appropriate, the mandatory standard shall
provide that where a determination is made that a miner may suffer material impairment of health or functional capacity by reason
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of exposure to the hazard covered by such mandatory standard,
that miner shall be removed from such exposure and reassigned.
Any miner transferred as a result of such exposure shall continue
to receive compensation for such work at no less than the regular
rate of pay for miners in the classification such miner held immediately prior to his transfer. In the event of the transfer of a miner
pursuant to the preceding sentence, increases in wages of the
transferred miner shall be based upon the new work classification.
In the event such medical examinations are in the nature of research, as determined by the Secretary of Health, Education, and
Welfare, such examinations may be furnished at the expense of the
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. The results of examinations or tests made pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be
furnished only to the Secretary or the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and, at the request of the miner, to his designated physician.
(8) The Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, promulgate
separate mandatory health or safety standards applicable to mine
construction activity on the surface.
(9) No mandatory health or safety standard promulgated under
this title shall reduce the protection afforded miners by an existing
mandatory health or safety standard.
(b)(1) The Secretary shall provide, without regard to the requirements of chapter 5, title 5, United States Code, for an emergency temporary health or safety standard to take immediate effect
upon publication in the Federal Register if he determines (A) that
miners are exposed to grave danger from exposure to substances or
agents determined to be toxic or physically harmful, or to other
hazards, and (B) that such emergency standard is necessary to protect miners from such danger.
(2) A temporary mandatory health or safety standard shall be
effective until superseded by a mandatory standard promulgated in
accordance with the procedures prescribed in paragraph (3) of this
subsection.
(3) Upon publication of such standard in the Federal Register,
the Secretary shall commence a proceeding in accordance with section 101(a), and the standards as published shall also serve as a
proposed rule for the proceeding. The Secretary shall promulgate a
mandatory health or safety standard under this paragraph no later
than nine months after publication of the emergency temporary
standard as provided in paragraph (2).
(c) Upon petition by the operator or the representative of miners, the Secretary may modify the application of any mandatory
safety standard to a coal or other mine if the Secretary determines
that an alternative method of achieving the result of such standard
exists which will at all times guarantee no less than the same
measure of protection afforded the miners of such mine by such
standard, or that the application of such standard to such mine will
result in a diminution of safety to the miners in such mine. Upon
receipt of such petition the Secretary shall publish notice thereof
and give notice to the operator or the representative of miners in
the affected mine, as appropriate, and shall cause such investigation to be made as he deems appropriate. Such investigation shall
provide an opportunity for a public hearing at the request of such
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Sec. 102

operator or representative or other interested party, to enable the
operator or the representative of miners in such mine, or other interested party to present information relating to the modification
of such standard. Before granting any exception to a mandatory
safety standard, the findings of the Secretary or his authorized representative shall be made public and shall be available to the representative of the miners at the affected mine. The Secretary shall
issue a decision incorporating his findings of fact therein, and send
a copy thereof to the operator or the representative of the miners,
as appropriate. Any such hearing shall be of record and shall be
subject to section 554 of title 5 of the United States Code.
(d) Any person who may be adversely affected by a mandatory
health or safety standard promulgated under this section may, at
any time prior to the sixtieth day after such standard is promulgated, file a petition challenging the validity of such mandatory
standard with the United States Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia Circuit or the circuit wherein such person resides or
has his principal place of business, for a judicial review of such
standard. A copy of the petition shall be forthwith transmitted by
the clerk of the court to the Secretary. The filing of such petition
shall not, unless otherwise ordered by the court, operate as a stay
of the standard. No objection that has not been urged before the
Secretary shall be considered by the court, unless the failure or neglect to urge such objection shall be excused for good cause shown.
The validity of any mandatory health or safety standard shall not
be subject to challenge on the grounds that any of the time limitations in this section have been exceeded. The procedures of this
subsection shall be the exclusive means of challenging the validity
of a mandatory health or safety standard.
(e) The Secretary shall send a copy of every proposed mandatory health or safety standard or regulation at the time of publication in the Federal Register to the operator of each coal or other
mine and the representative of the miners at such mine and such
copy shall be immediately posted on the bulletin board of the mine
by the operator or his agent, but failure to receive such notice shall
not relieve anyone of the obligation to comply with such standard
or regulation.
ø30 U.S.C. 811¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title I, sec. 101, 83
Stat. 745; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 91 Stat. 1291.
ADVISORY COMMITTEES

SEC. 102. (a)(1) The Secretary of the Interior shall appoint an
advisory committee on coal or other mine safety research composed
of—
(A) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology or
his delegate, with the consent of the Director;
(B) the Director of the National Bureau of Standards, Department of Commerce, or his delegate, with the consent of the
Director;
(C) the Director of the National Science Foundation, or his
delegate, with the consent of the Director; and
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(D) such other persons as the Secretary of the Interior may
appoint who are knowledgeable in the field of coal or other
mine safety research.
The Secretary of the Interior shall designate the chairman of the
committee.
(2) The advisory committee shall consult with, and make recommendations to, the Secretary of the Interior on matters involving or relating to coal or other mine safety research. The Secretary
of the Interior shall consult with, and consider the recommendations of, such committee in the conduct of such research, the making of any grants, and the entering into of contracts for such research.
(3) The chairman of the committee and a majority of the persons appointed by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to paragraph (1)(D) shall be individuals who have no economic interests
in the coal or other mining industry, and who are not operators,
miners, or officers or employees of the Federal Government or any
State or local government.
(b)(1) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall
appoint an advisory committee on coal or other mine health research composed of—
(A) the Director, Bureau of Mines, 3 or his delegate, with
the consent of the Director;
(B) the Director of the National Science Foundation, or his
delegate, with the consent of the Director;
(C) the Director of the National Institutes of Health, or his
delegate, with the consent of the Director; and
(D) such other persons as the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare may appoint who are knowledgeable in the
field of coal or other mine health research.
The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall designate
the chairman of the committee.
(2) The advisory committee shall consult with, and make recommendations to, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
on matters involving or relating to coal or other mine health research. The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall consult with, and consider the recommendations of, such committee in
the conduct of such research, the making of any grants, and the entering into of contracts for such research.
(3) The chairman of the committee and a majority of the persons appointed by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
pursuant to paragraph (1)(D) shall be individuals who have no economic interests in the coal or other mining industry, and who are
not operators, miners, or officers or employees of the Federal Government or any State or local government.
(c) The Secretary or the Secretary of Health, Education, and
Welfare may appoint other advisory committees as he deems appropriate to advise him in carrying out the provisions of this Act. The
Secretary or the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, as
the case may be, shall appoint the chairman of each such committee. A majority of the members (including the chairman) of any
3 Section 10(b) of P.L. 102–285, 106 Stat. 172, May 18, 1992, provides that the Bureau of
Mines is designated and shall hereafter be known as the United States Bureau of Mines.

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such advisory committee appointed pursuant to this subsection
shall be composed of individuals who have no economic interests in
the coal or other mining industry, and who are not operators, miners, or officers or employees of the Federal Government or any
State or local government.
(d) Advisory committee members, other than officers or employees of Federal, State, or local governments, shall be, for each
day (including traveltime) during which they are performing committee business, entitled to receive compensation at a rate fixed by
the appropriate Secretary but not in excess of the maximum rate
of pay for grade GS–18 as provided in the General Schedule under
section 5332 of title 5 of the United States Code, and shall, notwithstanding the limitations of sections 5703 and 5704 of title 5 of
the United States Code, be fully reimbursed for travel, subsistence,
and related expenses.
ø30 U.S.C. 812¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title I, sec. 102, 83
Stat. 747; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 91 Stat. 1295.
INSPECTIONS, INVESTIGATIONS, AND RECORDKEEPING

SEC. 103. (a) Authorized representatives of the Secretary or the
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall make frequent
inspections and investigations in coal or other mines each year for
the purpose of (1) obtaining, utilizing, and disseminating information relating to health and safety conditions, the causes of accidents, and the causes of diseases and physical impairments originating in such mines, (2) gathering information with respect to
mandatory health or safety standards, (3) determining whether an
imminent danger exists, and (4) determining whether there is compliance with the mandatory health or safety standards or with any
citation, order, or decision issued under this title or other requirements of this Act. In carrying out the requirements of this subsection, no advance notice of an inspection shall be provided to any
person, except that in carrying out the requirements of clauses (1)
and (2) of this subsection, the Secretary of Health, Education, and
Welfare may give advance notice of inspections. In carrying out the
requirements of clauses (3) and (4) of this subsection, the Secretary
shall make inspections of each underground coal or other mine in
its entirety at least four times a year, and of each surface coal or
other mine in its entirety at least two times a year. The Secretary
shall develop guidelines for additional inspections of mines based
on criteria including, but not limited to, the hazards found in mines
subject to this Act, and his experience under this Act and other
health and safety laws. For the purpose of making any inspection
or investigation under this Act, the Secretary, or the Secretary of
Health, Education, and Welfare, with respect to fulfilling his responsibilities under this Act, or any authorized representative of
the Secretary or the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare,
shall have a right of entry to, upon, or through any coal or other
mine.
(b) For the purpose of making any investigation of any accident
or other occurrence relating to health or safety in a coal or other
mine, the Secretary may, after notice, hold public hearings, and
may sign and issue subpoenas for the attendance and testimony of
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witnesses and the production of relevant papers, books, and documents, and administer oaths. Witnesses summoned shall be paid
the same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in the courts of
the United States. In case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena served upon any person under this section, the district court
of the United States for any district in which such person is found
or resides or transacts business, upon application by the United
States and after notice to such person, shall have jurisdiction to
issue an order requiring such person to appear and give testimony
before the Secretary or to appear and produce documents before
the Secretary, or both, and any failure to obey such order of the
court may be punished by such court as a contempt thereof.
(c) The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare, shall issue regulations requiring operators
to maintain accurate records of employee exposures to potentially
toxic materials or harmful physical agents which are required to be
monitored or measured under any applicable mandatory health or
safety standard promulgated under this Act. Such regulations shall
provide miners or their representatives with an opportunity to observe such monitoring or measuring, and to have access to the
records thereof. Such regulations shall also make appropriate provisions for each miner or former miner to have access to such
records as will indicate his own exposure to toxic materials or
harmful physical agents. Each operator shall promptly notify any
miner who has been or is being exposed to toxic materials or harmful physical agents in concentrations or at levels which exceed
those prescribed by an applicable mandatory health or safety
standard promulgated under section 101, or mandated under title
II, and shall inform any miner who is being thus exposed of the
corrective action being taken.
(d) All accidents, including unintentional roof falls (except in
any abandoned panels or in areas which are inaccessible or unsafe
for inspections), shall be investigated by the operator or his agent
to determine the cause and the means of preventing a recurrence.
Records of such accidents and investigations shall be kept and the
information shall be made available to the Secretary or his authorized representative and the appropriate State agency. Such records
shall be open for inspection by interested persons. Such records
shall include man-hours worked and shall be reported at a frequency determined by the Secretary, but at least annually.
(e) Any information obtained by the Secretary or by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under this Act shall be
obtained in such a manner as not to impose an unreasonable burden upon operators, especially those operating small businesses,
consistent with the underlying purposes of this Act. Unnecessary
duplication of effort in obtaining information shall be reduced to
the maximum extent feasible.
(f) Subject to regulations issued by the Secretary, a representative of the operator and a representative authorized by his miners
shall be given an opportunity to accompany the Secretary or his
authorized representative during the physical inspection of any
coal or other mine made pursuant to the provisions of subsection
(a), for the purpose of aiding such inspection and to participate in
pre- or post-inspection conferences held at the mine. Where there
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is no authorized miner representative, the Secretary or his authorized representative shall consult with a reasonable number of miners concerning matters of health and safety in such mine. Such
representative of miners who is also an employee of the operator
shall suffer no loss of pay during the period of his participation in
the inspection made under this subsection. To the extent that the
Secretary or authorized representative of the Secretary determines
that more than one representative from each party would further
aid the inspection, he can permit each party to have an equal number of such additional representatives. However, only one such representative of miners who is an employee of the operator shall be
entitled to suffer no loss of pay during the period of such participation under the provisions of this subsection. Compliance with this
subsection shall not be a jurisdictional prerequisite to the enforcement of any provision of this Act.
(g)(1) Whenever a repersentative 4 of the miners or a miner in
the case of a coal or other mine where there is no such representative has reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of this Act
or a mandatory health or safety standard exists, or an imminent
danger exists, such miner or representative shall have a right to
obtain an immediate inspection by giving notice to the Secretary or
his authorized representative of such violation or danger. Any such
notice shall be reduced to writing, signed by the representative of
the miners or by the miner, and a copy shall be provided the operator or his agent no later than at the time of inspection, except
that the operator or his agent shall be notified forthwith if the complaint indicates that an imminent danger exists. The name of the
person giving such notice and the names of individual miners referred to therein shall not appear in such copy or notification. Upon
receipt of such notification, a special inspection shall be made as
soon as possible to determine if such violation or danger exists in
accordance with the provisions of this title. If the Secretary determines that a violation or danger does not exist, he shall notify the
miner or representative of the miners in writing of such determination.
(2) Prior to or during any inspection of a coal or any other
mine, any representative of miners or a miner in the case of a coal
or other mine where there is no such representative, may notify the
Secretary or any representative of the Secretary responsible for
conducting the inspection, in writing, of any violation of this Act
or of any imminent danger which he has reason to believe exists
in such mine. The Secretary shall, by regulation, establish procedures for informal review of any refusal by a representative of the
Secretary to issue a citation with respect to any such alleged violation or order with respect to such danger and shall furnish the representative of miners or miner requesting such review a written
statement of the reasons for the Secretary’s final disposition of the
case.
(h) In addition to such records as are specifically required by
this Act, every operator of a coal or other mine shall establish and
maintain such records, make such reports, and provide such information, as the Secretary or the Secretary of Health, Education, and
4 So

in law. Probably should read ‘‘representative’’ (see 91 Stat. 1298).

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Welfare may reasonably require from time to time to enable him
to perform his functions under this Act. The Secretary or the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare is authorized to compile,
analyze, and publish, either in summary or detailed form, such reports or information so obtained. Except to the extent otherwise
specifically provided by this Act, all records, information, reports,
findings, citations, notices, orders, or decisions required or issued
pursuant to or under this Act may be published from time to time,
may be released to any interested person, and shall be made available for public inspection.
(i) Whenever the Secretary finds that a coal or other mine liberates excessive quantities of methane or other explosive gases during its operations, or that a methane or other gas ignition or explosion has occurred in such mine which resulted in death or serious
injury at any time during the previous five years, or that there exists in such mine some other especially hazardous condition, he
shall provide a minimum of one spot inspection by his authorized
representative of all or part of such mine during every five working
days at irregular intervals. For purposes of this subsection, ‘‘liberation of excessive quantities of methane or other explosive gases’’
shall mean liberation of more than one million cubic feet of methane or other explosive gases during a 24-hour period. When the
Secretary finds that a coal or other mine liberates more than five
hundred thousand cubic feet of methane or other explosive gases
during a 24-hour period, he shall provide a minimum of one spot
inspection by his authorized representative of all or part of such
mine every 10 working days at irregular intervals. When the Secretary finds that a coal or other mine liberates more than two hundred thousand cubic feet of methane or other explosive gases during a 24-hour period, he shall provide a minimum of one spot inspection by his authorized representative of all or part of such
mine every 15 working days at irregular intervals.
(j) In the event of any accident occurring in any coal or other
mine, the operator shall notify the Secretary thereof and shall take
appropriate measures to prevent the destruction of any evidence
which would assist in investigating the cause or causes thereof. For
purposes of the preceding sentence, the notification required shall
be provided by the operator within 15 minutes of the time at which
the operator realizes that the death of an individual at the mine,
or an injury or entrapment of an individual at the mine which has
a reasonable potential to cause death, has occurred. In the event
of any accident occurring in a coal or other mine, where rescue and
recovery work is necessary, the Secretary or an authorized representative of the Secretary shall take whatever action he deems
appropriate to protect the life of any person, and he may, if he
deems it appropriate, supervise and direct the rescue and recovery
activities in such mine.
(k) In the event of any accident occurring in a coal or other
mine, an authorized representative of the Secretary, when present,
may issue such orders as he deems appropriate to insure the safety
of any person in the coal or other mine, and the operator of such
mine shall obtain the approval of such representative, in consultation with appropriate State representatives, when feasible, of any
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Sec. 104

plan to recover any person in such mine or to recover the coal or
other mine or return affected areas of such mine to normal.
ø30 U.S.C. 813¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title I, sec. 103, 83
Stat. 749; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 91 Stat. 1297;
June 15, 2006, P.L. 109–236, sec. 5(a), 120 Stat. 498.
CITATIONS AND ORDERS

SEC. 104. (a) If, upon inspection or investigation, the Secretary
or his authorized representative believes that an operator of a coal
or other mine subject to this Act has violated this Act, or any mandatory health or safety standard, rule, order, or regulation promulgated pursuant to this Act, he shall, with reasonable promptness,
issue a citation to the operator. Each citation shall be in writing
and shall describe with particularity the nature of the violation, including a reference to the provision of the Act, standard, rule, regulation, or order alleged to have been violated. In addition, the citation shall fix a reasonable time for the abatement of the violation.
The requirement for the issuance of a citation with reasonable
promptness shall not be a jurisdictional prerequisite to the enforcement of any provision of this Act.
(b) If, upon any follow-up inspection of a coal or other mine,
an authorized representative of the Secretary finds (1) that a violation described in a citation issued pursuant to subsection (a) has
not been totally abated within the period of time as originally fixed
therein or as subsequently extended, and (2) that the period of time
for the abatement should not be further extended, he shall determine the extent of the area affected by the violation and shall
promptly issue an order requiring the operator of such mine or his
agent to immediately cause all persons, except those persons referred to in subsection (c), to be withdrawn from, and to be prohibited from entering, such area until an authorized representative of
the Secretary determines that such violation has been abated.
(c) The following persons shall not be required to be withdrawn
from, or prohibited from entering, any area of the coal or other
mine subject to an order issued under this section:
(1) any person whose presence in such area is necessary,
in the judgment of the operator or an authorized representative of the Secretary, to eliminate the condition described in
the order;
(2) any public official whose official duties require him to
enter such area;
(3) any representative of the miners in such mine who is,
in the judgment of the operator or an authorized representative of the Secretary, qualified to make such mine examinations or who is accompanied by such a person and whose presence in such area is necessary for the investigation of the conditions described in the order; and
(4) any consultant to any of the foregoing.
(d)(1) If, upon any inspection of a coal or other mine, an authorized representative of the Secretary finds that there has been
a violation of any mandatory health or safety standard, and if he
also finds that, while the conditions created by such violation do
not cause imminent danger, such violation is of such nature as
could significantly and substantially contribute to the cause and efAugust 26, 2016

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fect of a coal or other mine safety or health hazard, and if he finds
such violation to be caused by an unwarrantable failure of such operator to comply with such mandatory health or safety standards,
he shall include such finding in any citation given to the operator
under this Act. If, during the same inspection or any subsequent
inspection of such mine within 90 days after the issuance of such
citation, an authorized representative of the Secretary finds another violation of any mandatory health or safety standard and
finds such violation to be also caused by an unwarrantable failure
of such operator to so comply, he shall forthwith issue an order requiring the operator to cause all persons in the area affected by
such violation, except those persons referred to in subsection (c) to
be withdrawn from, and to be prohibited from entering, such area
until an authorized representative of the Secretary determines that
such violation has been abated.
(2) If a withdrawal order with respect to any area in a coal or
other mine has been issued pursuant to paragraph (1), a withdrawal order shall promptly be issued by an authorized representative of the Secretary who finds upon any subsequent inspection the
existence in such mine of violations similar to those that resulted
in the issuance of the withdrawal order under paragraph (1) until
such time as an inspection of such mine discloses no similar violations. Following an inspection of such mine which discloses no similar violations, the provisions of paragraph (1) shall again be applicable to that mine.
(e)(1) If an operator has a pattern of violations of mandatory
health or safety standards in the coal or other mine which are of
such nature as could have significantly and substantially contributed to the cause and effect of coal or other mine health or safety
hazards, he shall be given written notice that such pattern exists.
If, upon any inspection within 90 days after the issuance of such
notice, an authorized representative of the Secretary finds any violation of a mandatory health or safety standard which could significantly and substantially contribute to the cause and effect of a coal
or other mine safety or health hazard, the authorized representative shall issue an order requiring the operator to cause all persons
in the area affected by such violation, except those persons referred
to in subsection (c), to be withdrawn from, and to be prohibited
from entering, such area until an authorized representative of the
Secretary determines that such violation has been abated.
(2) If a withdrawal order with respect to any area in a coal or
other mine has been issued pursuant to paragraph (1), a withdrawal order shall be issued by an authorized representative of the
Secretary who finds upon any subsequent inspection the existence
in such mine of any violation of a mandatory health or safety
standard which could significantly and substantially contribute to
the cause and effect of a coal or other mine health or safety hazard.
The withdrawal order shall remain in effect until an authorized
representative of the Secretary determines that such violation has
been abated.
(3) If, upon an inspection of the entire coal or other mine, an
authorized representative of the Secretary finds no violations of
mandatory health or safety standards that could significantly and
substantially contribute to the cause and effect of a coal or other
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mine health and safety hazard, the pattern of violations that resulted in the issuance of a notice under paragraph (1) shall be
deemed to be terminated and the provisions of paragraphs (1) and
(2) shall no longer apply. However, if as a result of subsequent violations, the operator reestablishes a pattern of violations, paragraphs (1) and (2) shall again be applicable to such operator.
(4) The Secretary shall make such rules as he deems necessary
to establish criteria for determining when a pattern of violations of
mandatory health or safety standards exists.
(f) If, based upon samples taken, analyzed, and recorded pursuant to section 202(a), or samples taken during an inspection by an
authorized representative of the Secretary, the applicable limit on
the concentration of respirable dust required to be maintained
under this Act is exceeded and thereby violated, the Secretary or
his authorized representative shall issue a citation fixing a reasonable time for the abatement of the violation. During such time, the
operator of the mine shall cause samples described in section
202(a) to be taken of the affected area during each production shift.
If, upon the expiration of the period of time as originally fixed or
subsequently extended, the Secretary or his authorized representative finds that the period of time should not be further extended,
he shall determine the extent of the area affected by the violation
and shall promptly issue an order requiring the operator of such
mine or his agent to cause immediately all persons, except those
referred to in subsection (c), to be withdrawn from, and to be prohibited from entering, such area until the Secretary or his authorized representative has reason to believe, based on actions taken
by the operator, that such limit will be complied with upon the resumption of production in such mine. As soon as possible after an
order is issued, the Secretary, upon request of the operator, shall
dispatch to the mine involved a person, or team of persons, to the
extent such persons are available, who are knowledgeable in the
methods and means of controlling and reducing respirable dust.
Such person or team of persons shall remain at the mine involved
for such time as they shall deem appropriate to assist the operator
in reducing respirable dust concentrations. While at the mine, such
persons may require the operator to take such actions as they deem
appropriate to insure the health of any person in the coal or other
mine.
(g)(1) If, upon any inspection or investigation pursuant to section 103 of this Act, the Secretary or an authorized representative
shall find employed at a coal or other mine a miner who has not
received the requisite safety training as determined under section
115 of this Act, the Secretary or an authorized representative shall
issue an order under this section which declares such miner to be
a hazard to himself and to others, and requiring that such miner
be immediately withdrawn from the coal or other mine, and be prohibited from entering such mine until an authorized representative
of the Secretary determines that such miner has received the training required by section 115 of this Act.
(2) No miner who is ordered withdrawn from a coal or other
mine under paragraph (1) shall be discharged or otherwise discriminated against because of such order; and no miner who is ordered withdrawn from a coal or other mine under paragraph (1)
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shall suffer a loss of compensation during the period necessary for
such miner to receive such training and for an authorized representative of the Secretary to determine that such miner has received the requisite training.
(h) Any citation or order issued under this section shall remain
in effect until modified, terminated or vacated by the Secretary or
his authorized representative, or modified, terminated or vacated
by the Commission or the courts pursuant to section 105 or 106.
ø30 U.S.C. 814¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title I, sec. 104, 83
Stat. 750; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 91 Stat. 1300.
PROCEDURE FOR ENFORCEMENT

SEC. 105. (a) If, after an inspection or investigation, the Secretary issues a citation or order under section 104, he shall, within
a reasonable time after the termination of such inspection or investigation, notify the operator by certified mail of the civil penalty
proposed to be assessed under section 110(a) for the violation cited
and that the operator has 30 days within which to notify the Secretary that he wishes to contest the citation or proposed assessment of penalty. A copy of such notification shall be sent by mail
to the representative of miners in such mine. If, within 30 days
from the receipt of the notification issued by the Secretary, the operator fails to notify the Secretary that he intends to contest the
citation or the proposed assessment of penalty, and no notice is
filed by any miner or representative of miners under subsection (d)
of this section within such time, the citation and the proposed assessment of penalty shall be deemed a final order of the Commission and not subject to review by any court or agency. Refusal by
the operator or his agent to accept certified mail containing a citation and proposed assessment of penalty under this subsection
shall constitute receipt thereof within the meaning of this subsection.
(b)(1)(A) If the Secretary has reason to believe that an operator
has failed to correct a violation for which a citation has been issued
within the period permitted for its correction, the Secretary shall
notify the operator by certified mail of such failure and of the penalty proposed to be assessed under section 110(b) by reason of such
failure and that the operator has 30 days within which to notify
the Secretary that he wishes to contest the Secretary’s notification
of the proposed assessment of penalty. A copy of such notification
of the proposed assessment of penalty shall at the same time be
sent by mail to the representative of the mine employees. If, within
30 days from the receipt of notification of proposed assessment of
penalty issued by the Secretary, the operator fails to notify the Secretary that he intends to contest the notification of proposed assessment of penalty, such notification shall be deemed a final order
of the Commission and not subject to review by any court or agency. Refusal by the operator or his agent to accept certified mail containing a notification of proposed assessment of penalty issued
under this subsection shall constitute receipt thereof within the
meaning of this subsection.
(B) In determining whether to propose a penalty to be assessed
under section 110(b), the Secretary shall consider the operator’s
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history of previous violations, the appropriateness of such penalty
to the size of the business of the operator charged, whether the operator was negligent, the effect on the operator’s ability to continue
in business, the gravity of the violation, and the demonstrated good
faith of the operator charged in attempting to achieve rapid compliance after notification of a violation.
(2) An applicant may file with the Commission a written request that the Commission grant temporary relief from any modification or termination of any order or from and order issued under
section 104 together with a detailed statement giving the reasons
for granting such relief. The Commission may grant such relief
under such conditions as it may prescribe, if—
(A) a hearing has been held in which all parties were given
an opportunity to be heard;
(B) the applicant shows that there is substantial likelihood
that the findings of the Commission will be favorable to the applicant; and
(C) such relief will not adversely affect the health and
safety of miners.
No temporary relief shall be granted in the case of a citation issued
under subsection (a) or (f) of section 104. The Commission shall
provide a procedure for expedited consideration of applications for
temporary relief under this paragraph.
(c)(1) No person shall discharge or in any manner discriminate
against or cause to be discharged or cause discrimination against
or otherwise interfere with the exercise of the statutory rights of
any miner, representative of miners or applicant for employment in
any coal or other mine subject to this Act because such miner, representative of miners or applicant for employment has filed or
made a complaint under or related to this Act, including a complaint notifying the operator or the operator’s agent, or the representative of the miners at the coal or other mine of an alleged
danger or safety or health violation in a coal or other mine, or because such miner, representative of miners or applicant for employment is the subject of medical evaluations and potential transfer
under a standard published pursuant to section 101 or because
such miner, representative of miners or applicant for employment
has instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or
related to this Act or has testified or is about to testify in any such
proceeding, or because of the exercise by such miner, representative of miners or applicant for employment on behalf of himself or
others of any statutory right afforded by this Act.
(2) Any miner or applicant for employment or representative of
miners who believes that he has been discharged, interfered with,
or otherwise discriminated against by any person in violation of
this subsection may, within 60 days after such violation occurs, file
a complaint with the Secretary alleging such discrimination. Upon
receipt of such complaint, the Secretary shall forward a copy of the
complaint to the respondent and shall cause such investigation to
be made as he deems appropriate. Such investigation shall commence within 15 days of the Secretary’s receipt of the complaint,
and if the Secretary finds that such complaint was not frivolously
brought, the Commission, on an expedited basis upon application
of the Secretary, shall order the immediate reinstatement of the
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miner pending final order on the complaint. If upon such investigation, the Secretary determines that the provisions of this subsection have been violated, he shall immediately file a complaint
with the Commission, with service upon the alleged violator and
the miner, applicant for employment, or representative of miners
alleging such discrimination or interference and propose an order
granting appropriate relief. The Commission shall afford an opportunity for a hearing (in accordance with section 554 of title 5,
United States Code, but without regard to subsection (a)(3) of such
section) and thereafter shall issue an order, based upon findings of
fact, affirming, modifying, or vacating the Secretary’s proposed
order, or directing other appropriate relief. Such order shall become
final 30 days after its issuance. The Commission shall have authority in such proceedings to require a person committing a violation
of this subsection to take such affirmative action to abate the violation as the Commission deems appropriate, including, but not limited to, the rehiring or reinstatement of the miner to his former position with back pay and interest. The complaining miner, applicant, or representative of miners may present additional evidence
on his own behalf during any hearing held pursuant to his 5 paragraph.
(3) Within 90 days of the receipt of a complaint filed under
paragraph (2), the Secretary shall notify, in writing, the miner, applicant for employment, or representative of miners of his determination whether a violation has occurred. If the Secretary, upon
investigation, determines that the provisions of this subsection
have not been violated, the complainant shall have the right, within 30 days notice of the Secretary’s determination, to file an action
in his own behalf before the Commission, charging discrimination
or interference in violation of paragraph (1). The Commission shall
afford an opportunity for a hearing (in accordance with section 554
of title 5, United States Code, but without regard to subsection
(a)(3) of such section), and thereafter shall issue an order, based
upon findings of fact, dismissing or sustaining the complainant’s
charges and, if the charges are sustained, granting such relief as
it deems appropriate, including, but not limited to, an order requiring the rehiring or reinstatement of the miner of his former position with back pay and interest or such remedy as my be appropriate. Such order shall become final 30 days after its issuance.
Whenever an order is issued sustaining the complainant’s charges
under this subsection, a sum equal to the aggregate amount of all
costs and expenses (including attorney’s fees) as determined by the
Commission to have been reasonably incurred by the miner, applicant for employment or representative of miners for, or in connection with, the institution and prosecution of such proceedings shall
be assessed against the person committing such violation. Proceedings under this section shall be expedited by the Secretary and
the Commission. Any order issued by the Commission under this
paragraph shall be subject to judicial review in accordance with
section 106. Violations by any person of paragraph (1) shall be subject to the provisions of sections 108 and 110(a).
5 So

in law. Probably should read ‘‘this’’ (see 91 Stat. 1305).

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Sec. 106

(d) If, within 30 days of receipt thereof, an operator of a coal
or other mine notifies the Secretary that he intends to contest the
issuance or modification of an order issued under section 104, or
citation or a notification of proposed assessment of a penalty issued
under subsection (a) or (b) of this section, or the reasonableness of
the length of abatement time fixed in a citation or modification
thereof issued under section 104, or any miner or representative of
miners notifies the Secretary of an intention to contest the
issuance, modification, or termination or any order issued under
section 104, or the reasonableness of the length of time set for
abatement by a citation or modification thereof issued under section 104, the Secretary shall immediately advise the Commission
of such notification, and the Commission shall afford an opportunity for a hearing (in accordance with section 554 of title 5,
United States Code, but without regard to subsection (a)(3) of such
section), and thereafter shall issue an order, based on findings of
fact, affirming, modifying, or vacating the Secretary’s citation,
order, or proposed penalty, or directing other appropriate relief.
Such order shall become final 30 days after its issuance. The rules
of procedure prescribed by the Commission shall provide affected
miners or representatives of affected miners an opportunity to participate as parties to hearings under this section. The Commission
shall take whatever action is necessary to expedite proceedings for
hearing appeals of orders issued under section 104.
ø30 U.S.C. 815¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title I, sec. 105, 83
Stat. 753; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 91 Stat. 1303.
JUDICIAL REVIEW

SEC. 106. (a)(1) Any person adversely affected or aggrieved by
an order of the Commission issued under this Act may obtain a review of such order in any United States court of appeals for the circuit in which the violation is alleged to have occurred or in the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit,
by filing in such court within 30 days following the issuance of
such order a written petition praying that the order be modified or
set aside. A copy of such petition shall be forthwith transmitted by
the clerk of the court to the Commission and to the other parties,
and thereupon the Commission shall file in the court the record in
the proceeding as provided in section 2112 of title 28, United States
Code. Upon such filing, the court shall have exclusive jurisdiction
of the proceeding and of the questions determined therein, and
shall have the power to make and enter upon the pleadings, testimony, and proceedings set forth in such record a decree affirming,
modifying, or setting aside, in whole or in part, the order of the
Commission and enforcing the same to the extent that such order
is affirmed or modified. No objection that has not been urged before
the Commission shall be considered by the court, unless the failure
or neglect to urge such objection shall be excused because of extraordinary circumstances. The findings of the Commission with respect to questions of fact, if supported by substantial evidence on
the record considered as a whole, shall be conclusive. If any party
shall apply to the court for leave to adduce additional evidence and
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22

dence is material and that there were reasonable grounds for the
failure to adduce such evidence in the hearing before the Commission, the court may order such additional evidence to be taken before the Commission and to be made a part of the record. The Commission may modify its findings as to the facts, or make new findings, by reason of additional evidence so taken and filed, and it
shall file such modified or new findings, which findings with respect to questions of fact, if supported by substantial evidence on
the record considered as a whole, shall be conclusive. The Commission may modify or set aside its original order by reason of such
modified or new findings of fact. Upon the filing of the record after
such remand proceedings, the jurisdiction of the court shall be exclusive and its judgment and degree 6 shall be final, except that the
same shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court of the
United States, as provided in section 1254 of title 28, United States
Code.
(2) In the case of a proceeding to review any order or decision
issued by the Commission under this Act, except an order or decision pertaining to an order issued under section 107(a) or an order
or decision pertaining to a citation issued under section 104(a) or
(f), the court may, under such conditions as it may prescribe, grant
such temporary relief as it deems appropriate pending final determination of the proceeding, if—
(A) all parties to the proceeding have been notified and
given an opportunity to be heard on a request for temporary
relief;
(B) the person requesting such relief shows that there is
a substantial likelihood that he will prevail on the merits of
the final determination of the proceeding; and
(C) such relief will not adversely affect the health and
safety of miners in the coal or other mine.
(3) In the case of a proceeding to review any order or decision
issued by the Panel under this Act, the court may, under such conditions as it may prescribe, grant such temporary relief as it deems
appropriate pending final determination of the proceeding, if—
(A) all parties to the proceeding have been notified and
given an opportunity to be heard on a request for temporary
relief; and
(B) the person requesting such relief shows that there is
a substantial likelihood that he will prevail on the merits of
the final determination of the proceeding.
(b) The Secretary may also obtain review or enforcement of any
final order of the Commission by filing a petition for such relief in
the United States court of appeals for the circuit in which the alleged violation occurred or in the Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia Circuit, and the provisions of subsection (a) shall govern such proceedings to the extent applicable. If no petition for review as provided in subsection (a), is filed within 30 days after
issuance of the Commission’s order, the Commission’s findings of
fact and order shall be conclusive in connection with any petition
for enforcement which is filed by the Secretary after the expiration
of such 30-day period. In any such case, as well as in the case of
6 So

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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Sec. 107

a noncontested citation or notification by the Secretary which has
become a final order of the Commission under subsection (a) or (b)
of section 105, the clerk of the court, unless otherwise ordered by
the court shall forthwith enter a decree enforcing the order and
shall transmit a copy of such decree to the Secretary and the operator named in the petition. In any contempt proceeding brought to
enforce a decree of a court of appeals entered pursuant to this subsection or subsection (a), the court of appeals may assess the penalties provided in section 110, in addition to invoking any other
available remedies.
(c) The commencement of a proceeding under this section shall
not, unless specifically ordered by the court, operate as a stay of
the order or decision of the Commission or the Panel.
ø30 U.S.C. 816¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title I, sec. 106, 83
Stat. 754; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 901 Stat. 1306;
amended November 8, 1984, P.L. 98–620, title IV, sec. 402(34), 98 Stat. 3360.
PROCEDURES TO COUNTERACT DANGEROUS CONDITIONS

SEC. 107. (a) If, upon any inspection or investigation of a coal
or other mine which is subject to this Act, an authorized representative of the Secretary finds that an imminent danger exists, such
representative shall determine the extent of the area of such mine
throughout which the danger exists, and issue an order requiring
the operator of such mine to cause all persons, except those referred to in section 104(c), to be withdrawn from, and to be prohibited from entering, such area until an authorized representative of
the Secretary determines that such imminent danger and the conditions or practices which caused such imminent danger no longer
exist. The issuance of an order under this subsection shall not preclude the issuance of a citation under section 104 or the proposing
of a penalty under section 110.
(b)(1) If, upon any inspection of a coal or other mine, an authorized representative of the Secretary finds (A) that conditions
exist therein which have not yet resulted in an imminent danger,
(B) that such conditions cannot be effectively abated through the
use of existing technology, and (C) that reasonable assurance cannot be provided that the continuance of mining operations under
such conditions will not result in an imminent danger, he shall determine the area throughout which such conditions exist, and
thereupon issue a notice to the operator of the mine or his agent
of such conditions, and shall file a copy thereof, incorporating his
findings therein, with the Secretary and with the representative of
the miners of such mine. Upon receipt of such copy, the Secretary
shall cause such further investigation to be made as he deems appropriate, including an opportunity for the operator or a representative of the miners to present information relating to such notice.
(2) Upon the conclusion of an investigation pursuant to paragraph (1), and an opportunity for a public hearing upon request by
an interested party, the Secretary shall make findings of fact, and
shall by decision incorporating such findings therein, either cancel
the notice issued under this subsection or issue an order requiring
the operator of such mine to cause all persons in the area affected,
expect those persons referred to in subsection (c) of section 104 to
be withdrawn from, and be prohibited from entering, such area
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until the Secretary, after a public hearing affording all interested
persons an opportunity to present their views, determines that
such conditions have been abated. Any hearing under this paragraph shall be of record and shall be subject to section 554 of title
5 of the United States Code.
(c) Orders issued pursuant to subsection (a) shall contain a detailed description of the conditions or practices which cause and
constitute an imminent danger and a description of the area of the
coal or other mine from which persons must be withdrawn and prohibited from entering.
(d) Each finding made and order issued under this section
shall be given promptly to the operator of the coal or other mine
to which it pertains by the person making such finding or order,
and all of such findings and orders shall be in writing, and shall
be signed by the person making them. Any order issued pursuant
to subsection (a) may be modified or terminated by an authorized
representative of the Secretary. Any order issued under subsection
(a) or (b) shall remain in effect until vacated, modified, or terminated by the Secretary, or modified or vacated by the Commission
pursuant to subsection (e), or by the courts pursuant to section
106(a).
(e)(1) Any operator notified of an order under this section or
any representative of miners notified of the issuance, modification,
or termination of such an order may apply to the Commission within 30 days of such notification for reinstatement, modification or
vacation of such order. The Commission shall forthwith afford an
opportunity for a hearing (in accordance with section 554 of title
5, United States Code, but without regard to subsection (a)(3) of
such section) and thereafter shall issue an order, based upon findings of fact, vacating, affirming, modifying, or terminating the Secretary’s order. The Commission and the courts may not grant temporary relief from the issuance of any order under subsection (a).
(2) The Commission shall take whatever action is necessary to
expedite proceedings under this subsection.
ø30 U.S.C. 817¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title I, sec. 107, 83
Stat. 755; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 91 Stat. 1307.
INJUNCTIONS

SEC. 108. (a)(1) The Secretary may institute a civil action for
relief, including a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining
order, or any other appropriate order in the district court of the
United States for the district in which a coal or other mine is located or in which the operator of such mine has his principal office,
whenever such operator or his agent—
(A) violates or fails or refuses to comply with any order or
decision issued under this Act, or fails or refuses to comply
with any order or decision, including a civil penalty assessment
order, that is issued under this Act,
(B) interferes with, hinders, or delays the Secretary or his
authorized representative, or the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare or his authorized representative, in carrying out the provisions of this Act,
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Sec. 109

(C) refuses to admit such representatives to the coal or
other mine,
(D) refuses to permit the inspection of the coal or other
mine, or the investigation of an accident or occupational disease occurring in, or connected with, such mine,
(E) refuses to furnish any information or report requested
by the Secretary or the Secretary of Health, Education, and
Welfare in furtherance of the provisions of this Act, or
(F) refuses to permit access to, and copying of, such
records as the Secretary or the Secretary of Health, Education,
and Welfare determines necessary in carrying out the provisions of this Act.
(2) The Secretary may institute a civil action for relief, including permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or any
other appropriate order in the district court of the United States
for the district in which the coal or other mine is located or in
which the operator of such mine has his principal office whenever
the Secretary believes that the operator of a coal or other mine is
engaged in a pattern of violation of the mandatory health or safety
standards of this Act, which in the judgment of the Secretary constitutes a continuing hazard to the health or safety of miners.
(b) In any action brought under subsection (a), the court shall
have jurisdiction to provide such relief as may be appropriate. In
the case of an action under subsection (a)(2), the court shall in its
order require such assurance or affirmative steps as it deems necessary to assure itself that the protection afforded to miners under
this Act shall be provided by the operator. Temporary restraining
orders shall be issued in accordance with rule 65 of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended, except that the time limit in
such orders, when issued without notice, shall be seven days from
the date of entry. Except as otherwise provided herein, any relief
granted by the court to enforce any order under paragraph (1) of
subsection (a) shall continue in effect until the completion or final
termination of all proceedings for review of such order under this
title, unless prior thereto, the district court granting such relief
sets it aside or modifies it. In any action instituted under this section to enforce an order or decision issued by the Commission or
the Secretary after a public hearing in accordance with section 554
of title 5 of the United States Code, the findings of the Commission
or the Secretary, as the case may be, if supported by substantial
evidence on the record considered as a whole, shall be conclusive.
ø30 U.S.C. 818¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title I, sec. 108, 83
Stat. 756; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 91 Stat. 1309;
June 15, 2006, P.L. 109–236, sec. 9, 120 Stat. 501.
POSTING OF ORDERS AND DECISIONS

SEC.

109. (a) At each coal or other mine there shall be maintained an office with a conspicuous sign designating it as the office
of such mine. There shall be a bulletin board at such office or located at a conspicuous place near an entrance of such mine, in such
manner that orders, citations, notices and decisions required by
law or regulation to be posted, may be posted thereon, and be easily visible to all persons desiring to read them, and be protected
against damage by weather and against unauthorized removal. A
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26

copy of any order, citation, notice or decision required by this Act
to be given to an operator shall be delivered to the office of the affected mine, and a copy shall be immediately posted on the bulletin
board of such mine by the operator or his agent.
(b) The Secretary shall (1) cause a copy of any order, citation,
notice, or decision required by this Act to be given to an operator
to be mailed immediately to a representative of the miners in the
affected coal or other mine, and (2) cause a copy thereof to be
mailed to the public official or agency of the State charged with administering State laws, if any, relating to health or safety in such
mine. Such notice, order, citation, or decision shall be available for
public inspection.
(c) In order to insure prompt compliance with any notice,
order, citation, or decision issued under this Act, the authorized
representative of the Secretary may deliver such notice, order, citation, or decision to an agent of the operator, and such agent shall
immediately take appropriate measures to insure compliance with
such notice, order, citation, or decision.
(d) Each operator of a coal or other mine subject to this Act
shall file with the Secretary the name and address of such mine
and the name and address of the person who controls or operates
the mine. Any revisions in such names or addresses shall be
promptly filed with the Secretary. Each operator of a coal or other
mine subject to this Act shall designate a responsible official at
such mine as the principal officer in charge of health and safety at
such mine, and such official shall receive a copy of any notice,
order, citation, or decision issued under this Act affecting such
mine. In any case where the mine is subject to the control of any
person not directly involved in the daily operations of the coal or
other mine, there shall be filed with the Secretary the name and
address of such person and the name and address of a principal official of such person who shall have overall responsibility for the
conduct of an effective health and safety program at any coal or
other mine subject to the control of such person, and such official
shall receive a copy of any notice, order, citation, or decision issued
affecting any such mine. The mere designation of a health and
safety official under this subsection shall not be construed as making such official subject to any penalty under this Act.
ø30 U.S.C. 819¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title I, sec. 109, 83
Stat. 756; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 91 Stat. 1310.
PENALTIES

SEC. 110. (a)(1) The operator of a coal or other mine in which
a violation occurs of a mandatory health or safety standard or who
violates any other provisions of this Act, shall be assessed a civil
penalty by the Secretary which penalty shall not be more than
$50,000 for each such violation. Each occurrence of a violation of
a mandatory health or safety standard may constitute a separate
offense.
(2) The operator of a coal or other mine who fails to provide
timely notification to the Secretary as required under section 103(j)
(relating to the 15 minute requirement) shall be assessed a civil
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penalty by the Secretary of not less than $5,000 and not more than
$60,000.
(3)(A) The minimum penalty for any citation or order issued
under section 104(d)(1) shall be $2,000.
(B) The minimum penalty for any order issued under section
104(d)(2) shall be $4,000.
(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent an
operator from obtaining a review, in accordance with section 106,
of an order imposing a penalty described in this subsection. If a
court, in making such review, sustains the order, the court shall
apply at least the minimum penalties required under this subsection.
(b)(1) Any operator who fails to correct a violation for which a
citation has been issued under section 104(a) within the period permitted for its correction may be assessed a civil penalty of not more
than $5,000 for each day during which such failure or violation
continues.
(2) Violations under this section that are deemed to be flagrant
may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $220,000. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term ‘‘flagrant’’ with respect to
a violation means a reckless or repeated failure to make reasonable
efforts to eliminate a known violation of a mandatory health or
safety standard that substantially and proximately caused, or reasonably could have been expected to cause, death or serious bodily
injury.
(c) Whenever a corporate operator violates a mandatory health
or safety standard or knowingly violates or fails or refuses to comply with any order issued under this Act or any order incorporated
in a final decision issued under this Act, except an order incorporated in a decision issued under subsection (a) section 105(c), any
director, officer, or agent of such corporation who knowingly authorized, ordered, or carried out such violation, failure, or refusal
shall be subject to the same civil penalties, fines, and imprisonment that may be imposed upon a person under subsections (a) and
(d).
(d) Any operator who willfully violates a mandatory health or
safety standard, or knowingly violates or fails or refuses to comply
with any order issued under section 104 and section 107, or any
order incorporated in a final decision issued under this title, except
an order incorporated in a decision under subsection (a)(1) or section 105(c), shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not
more than $250,000, or by imprisonment for not more than one
year, or by both, except that if the conviction is for a violation committed after the first conviction of such operator under this Act,
punishment shall be by a fine of not more than $500,000, or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.
(e) Unless otherwise authorized by this Act, any person who
gives advance notice of any inspection to be conducted under this
Act shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than
$1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
(f) Whoever knowingly makes any false statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, plan, or
other document filled or required to be maintained pursuant to this
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Act shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than
$10,000, or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.
(g) Any miner who willfully violates the mandatory safety
standards relating to smoking or the carrying of smoking materials, matches, or lighters shall be subject to a civil penalty assessed by the Commission, which penalty shall not be more than
$250 for each occurrence of such violation.
(h) Whoever knowingly distributes, sells, offers for sale, introduces, or delivers in commerce any equipment for use in a coal or
other mine, including, but not limited to, components and accessories of such equipment, which is represented as complying with
the provisions of this Act, or with any specification or regulation
of the Secretary applicable to such equipment, and which does not
so comply, shall, upon conviction, be subject to the same fine and
imprisonment that may be imposed upon a person under subsection (f) of this section.
(i) The Commission shall have authority to assess all civil penalties provided in this Act. In assessing civil monetary penalties,
the Commission shall consider the operator’s history of previous
violations, the appropriateness of such penalty to the size of the
business of the operator charged, whether the operator was negligent, the effect on the operator’s ability to continue in business,
the gravity of the violation, and the demonstrated good faith of the
person charged in attempting to achieve rapid compliance after notification of a violation. In proposing civil penalties under this Act,
the Secretary may rely upon a summary review of the information
available to him and shall not be required to make findings of fact
concerning the above factors.
(j) Civil penalties owed under this Act shall be paid to the Secretary for deposit into the Treasury of the United States and shall
accrue to the United States and may be recovered in a civil action
in the name of the United States brought in the United States district court for the district where the violation occurred or where the
operator has its principal office. Interest at the rate of 8 percent
per annum shall be charged against a person on any final order of
the Commission, or the court. Interest shall begin to accrue 30 days
after the issuance of such order.
(k) No proposed penalty which has been contested before the
Commission under section 105(a) shall be compromised, mitigated,
or settled except with the approval of the Commission. No penalty
assessment which has become a final order of the Commission shall
be compromised, mitigated, or settled except with the approval of
the court.
(l) The provisions of this section shall not be applicable with
respect to title IV of this Act.
ø30 U.S.C. 820¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title I, sec. 110, 83
Stat. 758; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 91 Stat. 1311;
amended November 5, 1990, P.L. 101–508, sec. 3102, 104 Stat. 1388–29; June 15,
2006, P.L. 109–236, secs. 5(b), 8, 120 Stat. 498, 500.
ENTITLEMENT OF MINERS

SEC. 111. If a coal or other mine or area of such mine is closed
by an order issued under section 103, section 104, or section 107,
all miners working during the shift when such order was issued
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who are idled by such order shall be entitled, regardless of the result of any review of such order, to full compensation by the operator at their regular rates of pay for the period they are idled, but
for not more than the balance of such shift. If such order is not terminated prior to the next working shift, all miners on that shift
who are idled by such order shall be entitled to full compensation
by the operator at their regular rates of pay for the period they are
idled, but for not more than four hours of such shift. If a coal or
other mine or area of such mine is closed by an order issued under
section 104 or section 107 of this title for a failure of the operator
to comply with any mandatory health or safety standards, all miners who are idled due to such order shall be fully compensated
after all interested parties are given an opportunity for a public
hearing, which shall be expedited in such cases, and after such
order is final, by the operator for lost time at their regular rates
of pay for such time as the miners are idled by such closing, or for
one week, whichever is the lesser. Whenever an operator violates
or fails or refuses to comply with any order issued under section
103, section 104, or section 107 of this Act, all miners employed at
the affected mine who would have been withdrawn from, or prevented from entering, such mine or area thereof as a result of such
order shall be entitled to full compensation by the operator at their
regular rates of pay, in addition to pay received for work performed
after such order was issued, for the period beginning when such
order was issued and ending when such order is complied with, vacated, or terminated. The Commission shall have authority to order
compensation due under this section upon the filing of a complaint
by a miner or his representative and after opportunity for hearing
subject to section 554 of title 5, United States Code.
ø30 U.S.C. 821¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title I, sec. 111, 83
Stat. 759; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 91 Stat. 1312.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

SEC. 112. Except as provided in section 518(a) of title 28,
United States Code, relating to litigation before the Supreme
Court, the Solicitor of Labor may appear for and represent the Secretary in any civil litigation brought under this Act but all such
litigation shall be subject to the direction and control of the Attorney General.
ø30 U.S.C. 822¿ Added November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 91 Stat.
1313.
THE FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

SEC. 113. (a) The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review
Commission is hereby established. The Commission shall consist of
five members, appointed by the President by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, from among persons who by reason of
training, education, or experience are qualified to carry out the
functions of the Commission under this Act. The President shall
designate one of the members of the Commission to serve as Chairman.
(b)(1) The terms of the members of the Commission shall be six
years, except that—
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(A) members of the Commission first taking office after the
date of enactment of the Federal Mine Safety and Health
Amendments Act of 1977, shall serve, as designated by the
President at the time of appointment, one for a term of two
years, two for a term of four years and two for a term of six
years; and
(B) a vacancy caused by the death, resignation, or removal
of any member prior to the expiration of the term for which he
was appointed shall be filled only for the remainder of such unexpired term.
Any member of the Commission may be removed by the President
for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.
(2) The Chairman shall be responsible on behalf of the Commission for the administrative operations of the Commission. The
Commission shall appoint such employees as it deems necessary to
assist in the performance of the Commission’s functions and to fix
their compensation in accordance with the provisions of chapter 51
and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating to classification and general pay rates. Upon the effective
date of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of
1977, the administrative law judges assigned to the Arlington, Virginia, facility of the Office of Hearings and Appeals, United States
Department of the Interior, shall be automatically transferred in
grade and position to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review
Commission. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 559 of title
5 of the United States Code, the incumbent Chief Administrative
Law Judge of the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Department of the Interior assigned to the Arlington, Virginia facility
shall have the option, on the effective date of the Federal Mine
Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977, of transferring to the
Commission as an administrative law judge, in the same grade and
position as the other administrative law judges. The administrative
law judges (except those presiding over Indian Probate Matters) assigned to the Western facilities of the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Department of the Interior shall remain with that Department at their present grade and position or they shall have the
right to transfer on an equivalent basis to that extended in this
paragraph to the Arlington, Virginia administrative law judges in
accordance with procedures established by the Civil Service Commission. The Commission shall appoint such additional administrative law judges as it deems necessary to carry out the functions of
the Commission. Assignment, removal, and compensation of administrative law judges shall be in accordance with sections 3105,
3344, 5362 and 7521 of title 5, United States Code.
(c) The Commission is authorized to delegate to any group of
three or more members any or all of the powers of the Commission,
except that two members shall constitute a quorum of any group
designated pursuant to this paragraph.
(d)(1) An administrative law judge appointed by the Commission to hear matters under this Act shall hear, and make a determination upon, any proceeding instituted before the Commission
and any motion in connection therewith, assigned to such administrative law judge by the chief administrative law judge of the Commission or by the Commission, and shall make a decision which
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constitutes his final disposition of the proceedings. The decision of
the administrative law judge of the Commission shall become the
final decision of the Commission 40 days after its issuance unless
within such period the Commission has directed that such decision
shall be reviewed by the Commission in accordance with paragraph
(2). An administrative law judge shall not be assigned to prepare
a recommended decision under this Act.
(2) The Commission shall prescribe rules of procedure for its
review of the decisions of administrative law judges in cases under
this Act which shall meet the following standards for review:
(A)(i) Any person adversely affected or aggrieved by a decision
of an administrative law judge, may file and serve a petition for
discretionary review by the Commission of such decision within 30
days after the issuance of such decision. Review by the Commission
shall not be a matter of right but of the sound discretion of the
Commission.
(ii) Petitions for discretionary review shall be filed only upon
one or more of the following grounds:
(I) A finding or conclusion of material fact is not supported
by substantial evidence.
(II) A necessary legal conclusion is erroneous.
(III) The decision is contrary to law or to the duly promulgated rules or decisions of the Commission.
(IV) A substantial question of law, policy or discretion is
involved.
(V) A prejudice error of procedure was committed.
(iii) Each issue shall be separately numbered and plainly and
concisely stated, and shall be supported by detailed citations to the
record when assignments of error are based on the record, and by
statutes, regulations, or principal authorities relied upon. Except
for good cause shown, no assignment of error by any party shall
rely on any question of fact or law upon which the administrative
law judge had not been afforded an opportunity to pass. Review by
the Commission shall be granted only by affirmative vote of two of
the Commissioners present and voting. If granted, review shall be
limited to the questions raised by the petition.
(B) At any time within 30 days after the issuance of a decision
of an administrative law judge, the Commission may in its discretion (by affirmative vote of two of the Commissioners present and
voting) order the case before it for review but only upon the ground
that the decision may be contrary to law or Commission policy, or
that a novel question of policy has been presented. The Commission
shall state in such order the specific issue of law, Commission policy, or novel question of policy involved. If a party’s petition for discretionary review has been granted, the Commission shall not raise
or consider additional issues in such review proceedings except in
compliance with the requirements of this paragraph.
(C) For the purpose of review by the Commission under paragraph (A) or (B) of this subsection, the record shall include: (i) all
matters constituting the record upon which the decision of the administrative law judge was based; (ii) the rulings upon proposed
findings and conclusion; (iii) the decision of the administrative law
judge; (iv) the petition or petitions for discretionary review, responses thereto, and the Commission’s order for review; and (v)
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briefs filed on review. No other material shall be considered by the
Commission upon review. The Commission either may remand the
case to the administrative law judge for further proceedings as it
may direct or it may affirm, set aside, or modify the decision or
order of the administrative law judge in conformity with the record.
If the Commission determines that further evidence is necessary on
an issue of fact it shall remand the case for further proceedings before the administrative law judge.
(The provisions of section 557(b) of title 5, United States Code,
with regard to the review authority of the Commission are hereby
expressly superseded to the extent that they are inconsistent with
the provisions of subparagraphs (A), (B) and (C) of this paragraph.)
(e) In connection with hearings before the Commission or its
administrative law judges under this Act, the Commission and its
administrative law judges may compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books, papers, or documents, or objects, and order testimony to be taken by deposition at
any stage of the proceedings before them. Any person may be compelled to appear and depose and produce similar documentary or
physical evidence, in the same manner as witnesses may be compelled to appear and produce evidence before the Commission and
its administrative law judges. Witnesses shall be paid the same
fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in the courts of the
United States and at depositions ordered by such courts. In case
of contumacy, failure, or refusal of any person to obey a subpoena
or order of the Commission or an administrative law judge, respectively, to appear, to testify, or to produce documentary or physical
evidence, any district court of the United States or United States
courts of any territory or possession, within the jurisdiction of
which such person is found, or resides, or transacts business, shall,
upon the application of the Commission, or the administrative law
judge, respectively, have jurisdiction to issue to such person an
order requiring such persons to appear, to testify, or to produce evidence as ordered by the Commission or the administrative law
judge, respectively, and any failure to obey such order of the court
may be punished by the court as a contempt thereof.
ø30 U.S.C. 823¿ Added November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 91 Stat.
1313.
AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 114. There are authorized to be appropriated, out of any
moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as
may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this title.
ø30 U.S.C. 824¿ Added November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 91 Stat.
1315.
MANDATORY HEALTH AND SAFETY TRAINING

SEC. 115. (a) Each operator of a coal or other mine shall have
a health and safety training program which shall be approved by
the Secretary. The Secretary shall promulgate regulations with respect to such health and safety training programs not more than
180 days after the effective date of the Federal Mine Safety and
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Health Amendments Act of 1977. Each training program approved
by the Secretary shall provide as a minimum that—
(1) new miners having no underground mining experience
shall receive no less than 40 hours of training if they are to
work underground. Such training shall include instruction in
the statutory rights of miners and their representatives under
this Act, use of the self-rescue device and use of respiratory devices, hazard recognition, escapeways, walk around training,
emergency procedures, basic ventilation, basic roof control,
electrical hazards, first aid, and the health and safety aspects
of the task to which he will be assigned;
(2) new miners having no surface mining experience shall
receive no less than 24 hours of training if they are to work
on the surface. Such training shall include instruction in the
statutory rights of miners and their representatives under this
Act, use of the self-rescue device where appropriate and use of
respiratory devices where appropriate, hazard recognition,
emergency procedures, electrical hazards, first aid, walk
around training and the health and safety aspects of the task
to which he will be assigned;
(3) all miners shall receive no less than eight hours of refresher training no less frequently than once each 12 months,
except that miners already employed on the effective date of
the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977
shall receive this refresher training no more than 90 days after
the date of approval of the training plan required by this section;
(4) any miner who is reassigned to a new task in which he
has had no previous work experience shall receive training in
accordance with a training plan approved by the Secretary
under this subsection in the safety and health aspects specific
to that task prior to performing that task;
(5) any training required by paragraphs (1), (2) or (4) shall
include a period of training as closely related as is practicable
to the work in which the miner is to be engaged.
(b) Any health and safety training provided under subsection
(a) shall be provided during normal working hours. Miners shall be
paid at their normal rate of compensation while they take such
training, and new miners shall be paid at their starting wage rate
when they take the new miner training. If such training shall be
given at a location other than the normal place of work, miners
shall also be compensated for the additional costs they may incur
in attending such training sessions.
(c) Upon completion of each training program, each operator
shall certify, on a form approved by the Secretary, that the miner
has received the specified training in each subject area of the approved health and safety training plan. A certificate for each miner
shall be maintained by the operator, and shall be available for inspection at the mine site, and a copy thereof shall be given to each
miner at the completion of such training. When a miner leaves the
operator’s employ, he shall be entitled to a copy of his health and
safety training certificates. False certification by an operator that
training was given shall be punishable under section 110 (a) and
(f); and each health and safety training certificate shall indicate on
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its face, in bold letters, printed in a conspicuous manner the fact
that such false certification is so punishable.
(d) The Secretary shall promulgate appropriate standards for
safety and health training for coal or other mine construction workers.
(e)(1) Within 180 days after the effective date of the Federal
Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977, the Secretary
shall publish proposed regulations which shall provide that mine
rescue teams shall be available for rescue and recovery work to
each underground coal or other mine in the event of an emergency.
The costs of making advance arrangements for such teams shall be
borne by the operator of each such mine.
(2)(A) The Secretary shall issue regulations with regard to
mine rescue teams which shall be finalized and in effect not later
than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006.
(B) Such regulations shall provide for the following:
(i) That such regulations shall not be construed to waive
operator training requirements applicable to existing mine rescue teams.
(ii) That the Mine Safety and Health Administration shall
establish, and update every 5 years thereafter, criteria to certify the qualifications of mine rescue teams.
(iii)(I) That the operator of each underground coal mine
with more than 36 employees—
(aa) have an employee knowledgeable in mine emergency response who is employed at the mine on each shift
at each underground mine; and
(bb) make available two certified mine rescue teams
whose members—
(AA) are familiar with the operations of such coal
mine;
(BB) participate at least annually in two local
mine rescue contests;
(CC) participate at least annually in mine rescue
training at the underground coal mine covered by the
mine rescue team; and
(DD) are available at the mine within one hour
ground travel time from the mine rescue station.
(II)(aa) For the purpose of complying with subclause (I), an
operator shall employ one team that is either an individual
mine site mine rescue team or a composite team as provided
for in item (bb)(BB).
(bb) The following options may be used by an operator to
comply with the requirements of item (aa):
(AA) An individual mine-site mine rescue team.
(BB) A multi-employer composite team that is made
up of team members who are knowledgeable about the operations and ventilation of the covered mines and who
train on a semi-annual basis at the covered underground
coal mine—
(aaa) which provides coverage for multiple operators that have team members which include at least
two active employees from each of the covered mines;
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(bbb) which provides coverage for multiple mines
owned by the same operator which members include
at least two active employees from each mine; or
(ccc) which is a State-sponsored mine rescue team
comprised of at least two active employees from each
of the covered mines.
(CC) A commercial mine rescue team provided by contract through a third-party vendor or mine rescue team
provided by another coal company, if such team—
(aaa) trains on a quarterly basis at covered underground coal mines;
(bbb) is knowledgeable about the operations and
ventilation of the covered mines; and
(ccc) is comprised of individuals with a minimum
of 3 years underground coal mine experience that shall
have occurred within the 10-year period preceding
their employment on the contract mine rescue team.
(DD) A State-sponsored team made up of State employees.
(iv) That the operator of each underground coal mine with
36 or less employees shall—
(I) have an employee on each shift who is knowledgeable in mine emergency responses; and
(II) make available two certified mine rescue teams
whose members—
(aa) are familiar with the operations of such coal
mine;
(bb) participate at least annually in two local mine
rescue contests;
(cc) participate at least semi-annually in mine rescue training at the underground coal mine covered by
the mine rescue team;
(dd) are available at the mine within one hour
ground travel time from the mine rescue station;
(ee) are knowledgeable about the operations and
ventilation of the covered mines; and
(ff) are comprised of individuals with a minimum
of 3 years underground coal mine experience that shall
have occurred within the 10-year period preceding
their employment on the contract mine rescue team.
ø30 U.S.C. 825¿ Added November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 201, 91 Stat.
1315; June 15, 2006, P.L. 109–236, sec. 4, 120 Stat. 497.
SEC. 116. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN LIABILITY FOR RESCUE OPERATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—No person shall bring an action against any

covered individual or his or her regular employer for property damage or an injury (or death) sustained as a result of carrying out activities relating to mine accident rescue or recovery operations.
This subsection shall not apply where the action that is alleged to
result in the property damages or injury (or death) was the result
of gross negligence, reckless conduct, or illegal conduct or, where
the regular employer (as such term is used in this Act) is the operator of the mine at which the rescue activity takes place. Nothing
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in this section shall be construed to preempt State workers’ compensation laws.
(b) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of subsection (a), the
term ‘‘covered individual’’ means an individual—
(1) who is a member of a mine rescue team or who is otherwise a volunteer with respect to a mine accident; and
(2) who is carrying out activities relating to mine accident
rescue or recovery operations.
(c) REGULAR EMPLOYER.—For purposes of subsection (a), the
term ‘‘regular employer’’ means the entity that is the covered employee’s legal or statutory employer pursuant to applicable State
law.
ø30 U.S.C. 826¿ Added June 15, 2006, P.L. 109–236, sec. 3, 120 Stat. 496.

TITLE II—INTERIM MANDATORY HEALTH STANDARDS
COVERAGE

SEC. 201. (a) The provisions of sections 202 through 206 of this
title and the applicable provisions of section 318 of title III shall
be interim mandatory health standards applicable to all underground coal mine until superseded in whole or in part by improved
mandatory health standards promulgated by the Secretary under
the provisions of section 101 of this Act, and shall be enforced in
the same manner and to the same extent as any mandatory health
standard promulgated under the provisions of section 101 of this
Act. Any orders issued in the enforcement of the interim standards
set forth in this title shall be subject to review as provided in title
I of this Act.
(b) Among other things, it is the purpose of this title to provide, to the greatest extent possible, that the working conditions in
each underground coal mine are sufficiently free of respirable dust
concentrations in the mine atmosphere to permit each miner the
opportunity to work underground during the period of this entire
adult working life without incurring any disability from pneumoconiosis or any other occupation-related disease during or at the
end of such period.
ø30 U.S.C. 841¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title II, sec. 201, 83
Stat. 760.
DUST STANDARD AND RESPIRATORY EQUIPMENT

SEC. 202. (a) Each operator of a coal mine shall take accurate
samples of the amount of respirable dust in the mine atmosphere
to which each miner in the active workings of such mine is exposed. Such samples shall be taken by any device approved by the
Secretary and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and
in accordance with such methods, at such locations, at such intervals, and in such manner as the Secretaries shall prescribe in the
Federal Register within sixty days from the date of enactment of
this Act and from time to time thereafter. Such samples shall be
transmitted to the Secretary in a manner established by him, and
analyzed and recorded by him in a manner that will assure application of the provisions of section 104(i) of this Act when the applicable limit on the concentration of respirable dust required to be
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maintained under this section is exceeded. The results of such samples shall also be made available to the operator. Each operator
shall report and certify to the Secretary at such intervals as the
Secretary may require as to the conditions in the active workings
of the coal mine including, but not limited to, the average number
of working hours worked during each shift, the quantity and velocity of air regularly reaching the working faces, the method of mining, the amount and pressure of the water, if any, reaching the
working faces, and the number, location, and type of sprays, if any,
used.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection—
(1) Effective on the operative date of this title, each operator shall continuously maintain the average concentration of
respirable dust in the mine atmosphere during each shift to
which each miner in the active workings of such mine is exposed at or below 3.0 milligrams of respirable dust per cubic
meter of air.
(2) Effective three years after the date of enactment of this
Act, each operator shall continuously maintain the average
concentration of respirable dust in the mine atmosphere during
each shift to which each miner in the active workings of such
mine is exposed at or below 2.0 milligrams of respirable dust
per cubic meter of air.
(3) Any operator who determines that he will be unable,
using available technology, to comply with the provisions of
paragraph (1) of this subsection, or the provisions of paragraph
(2) of this subsection, as appropriate, may file with the Panel,
no later than sixty days prior to the effective date of the applicable respirable dust standard established by such paragraphs,
an application for a permit for noncompliance. If, in the case
of an application for a permit for noncompliance with the 3.0
milligram standard established by paragraph (1) of this subsection, the application satisfies the requirements of subsection
(c) of this section, the Panel shall issue a permit for noncompliance to the operator. If, in the case of an application for a permit for noncompliance with the 2.0 milligram standard established by paragraph (2) of this subsection, the application satisfies the requirements of subsection (c) of this section and the
Panel determines that the applicant will be unable to comply
with such standard, the Panel shall issue to the operator a permit for noncompliance.
(4) In any case in which an operator, who has been issued
a permit (including a renewal permit) for noncompliance under
this section, determines, not more than ninety days prior to the
expiration date of such permit, that he still is unable to comply
with the standard established by paragraph (1) of this subsection or the standard established by paragraph (2) of this
subsection, as appropriate, he may file with the Panel an application for renewal of the permit. Upon receipt of such application, the Panel, if it determines, after all interested persons
have been notified and given an opportunity for a public hearing under section 5 of this Act, that the application is in compliance with the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, and
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that the applicant will be unable to comply with such standard, may renew the permit.
(5) Any such permit or renewal thereof so issued shall be
in effect for a period not to exceed one year and shall entitle
the permittee during such period to maintain continuously the
average concentration of respirable dust in the mine atmosphere during each shift in the working places of such mine to
which the permit applies at a level specified by the Panel,
which shall be at the lowest level which the application shows
the conditions, technology applicable to such mine, and other
available and effective control techniques and methods will
permit, but in no event shall such level exceed 4.5 milligrams
of dust per cubic meter of air during the period when the 3.0
milligram standard is in effect, or 3.0 milligrams of dust per
cubic meter of air during the period when the 2.0 milligram
standard is in effect.
(6) No permit or renewal thereof for noncompliance shall
entitle any operator to an extension of time beyond eighteen
months from the date of enactment of this Act to comply with
the 3.0 milligram standard established by paragraph (1) of this
subsection, or beyond seventy-two months from the date of enactment of this Act to comply with the 2.0 milligram standard
established by paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(c) Any application for an initial or renewal permit made pursuant to this section shall contain—
(1) a representation by the applicant and the engineer conducting the survey referred to in paragraph (2) of this subsection that the applicant is unable to comply with the standard applicable under subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section
at specified working places because the technology for reducing
the concentration of respirable dust at such places is not available, or because of the lack of other effective control techniques
or methods, or because of any combination of such reasons;
(2) an identification of the working places in such mine for
which the permit is requested; the results of an engineering
survey by a certified engineer of the respirable dust conditions
of each working place of the mine with respect to which such
application is filed and the ability to reduce such dust to the
level required to be maintained in such place under this section; a description of the ventilation system of the mine and its
capacity; the quantity and velocity of air regularly reaching the
working faces; the method of mining; the amount and pressure
of the water, if any, reaching the working faces; the number,
location, and type of sprays, if any; action taken to reduce such
dust; and such other information as the Panel may require;
and
(3) statements by the applicant and the engineer conducting such survey, of the means and methods to be employed
to achieve compliance with the applicable standard, the
progress made toward achieving compliance, and an estimate
of when compliance can be achieved.
(d) Beginning six months after the operative date of this title
and from time to time thereafter, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall establish, in accordance with the proviAugust 26, 2016

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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Sec. 203

sions of section 101 of this Act, a schedule reducing the average
concentration of respirable dust in the mine atmosphere during
each shift to which each miner in the active workings is exposed
below the levels established in this section to a level of personal exposure which will prevent new incidences of respiratory disease
and the further development of such disease in any person. Such
schedule shall specify the minimum time necessary to achieve such
levels taking into consideration present and future advancements
in technology to reach these levels.
(e) References to concentrations of respirable dust in this title
mean the average concentration of respirable dust measured with
a device approved by the Secretary and the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare.
(f) For the purpose of this title, the term ‘‘average concentration’’ means a determination which accurately represents the atmospheric conditions with regard to respirable dust to which each
miner in the active workings of a mine is exposed (1) as measured,
during the 18 month period following the date of enactment of this
Act, over a number of continuous production shifts to be determined by the Secretary and the Secretary of Health, Education,
and Welfare, and (2) as measured thereafter, over a single shift
only, unless the Secretary and the Secretary of Health, Education,
and Welfare find, in accordance with the provisions of section 101
of this Act, that such single shift measurement will not, after applying valid statistical techniques to such measurement, accurately
represent such atmospheric conditions during such shift.
(g) The Secretary shall cause to be made such frequent spot inspections as he deems appropriate of the active workings of coal
mines for the purpose of obtaining compliance with the provisions
of this title.
(h) Respiratory equipment approved by the Secretary and the
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall be made available to all persons whenever exposed to concentrations of respirable dust in excess of the levels required to be maintained under
this Act. Use of respirators shall not be substituted for environmental control measures in the active workings. Each operator
shall maintain a supply of respiratory equipment adequate to deal
with occurrences of concentrations of respirable dust in the mine
atmosphere in excess of the levels required to be maintained under
this Act.
ø30 U.S.C. 842¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title II, sec. 202, 83
Stat. 760; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 202(a), 91 Stat.
1317.
MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS

SEC. 203. (a) The operator of a coal mine shall cooperate with
the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in making available to each miner working in a coal mine the opportunity to have
a chest roentgenogram within eighteen months after the date of enactment of this Act, a second chest roentgenogram within three
years thereafter, and subsequent chest roentgenograms at such intervals thereafter of not to exceed five years as the Secretary of
Health, Education, and Welfare prescribes. Each worker who begins work in a coal mine for the first time shall be given, as soon
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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

40

as possible after commencement of his employment, and again
three years later if he is still engaged in coal mining, a chest roentgenogram; and in the event the second such chest roentgenogram
shows evidence of the development of pneumoconiosis the worker
shall be given, two years later if he is still engaged in coal mining,
an additional chest roentgenogram. All chest roentgenograms shall
be given in accordance with specifications prescribed by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and shall be supplemented by such other tests as the Secretary of Health, Education,
and Welfare deems necessary. The films shall be read and classified in a manner to be prescribed by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the results of each reading on each such
person and of such tests shall be submitted to the Secretary and
to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and at the request of the miner, to his physician. The Secretary shall also submit such results to such miners and advise him of his rights under
the Act related thereto. Such specifications, readings, classifications, and tests shall, to the greatest degree possible, be uniform
for all coal mines and miners in such mines.
(b)(1) On and after the operative date of this title, any miner
who, in the judgment of the Secretary of Health, Education, and
Welfare based upon such reading or other medical examinations,
shows evidence of the development of pneumoconiosis shall be afforded the option of transferring from his position to another position in any area of the mine, for such period or periods as may be
necessary to prevent further development of such disease, where
the concentration of respirable dust in the mine atmosphere is not
more than 2.0 milligrams of dust per cubic meter of air.
(2) Effective three years after the date of enactment of this Act,
any miner who, in the judgment of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare based upon such reading or other medical examinations, shows evidence of the development of pneumoconiosis
shall be afforded the option of transferring from his position to another position in any area of the mine, for such period or periods
as may be necessary to prevent further development of such disease, where the concentration of respirable dust in the mine atmosphere is not more than 1.0 millograms 7 of dust per cubic meter of
air, or if such level is not attainable in such mine, to a position in
such mine where the concentration of respirable dust is the lowest
attainable below 2.0 milligrams per cubic meter of air.
(3) Any miner so transferred shall receive compensation for
such work at not less than the regular rate of pay received by him
immediately prior to his transfer.
(c) No payment may be required of any miner in connection
with any examination or test given him pursuant to this title.
Where such examinations or tests cannot be given, due to the lack
of adequate medical or other necessary facilities or personnel, in
the locality where the miner resides, arrangements shall be made
to have them conducted, in accordance with the provisions of this
title, in such locality by the Secretary of Health, Education, and
Welfare, or by an appropriate person, agency, or institution, public
or private, under an agreement or arrangement between the Sec7 So

in law. Probably should read ‘‘milligrams’’ (see 83 Stat. 764).

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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Sec. 206

retary of Health, Education, and Welfare and such person, agency,
or institution. The operator of the mine shall reimburse the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, or such person, agency,
or institution, as the case may be, for the cost of conducting each
examination or test made, in accordance with this title, and shall
pay whatever other costs are necessary to enable the miner to take
such examinations or tests.
(d) If the death of any active miner occurs in any coal mine,
or if the death of any active or inactive miner occurs in any other
place, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare is authorized to provide for an autopsy to be performed on such miner, with
the consent of his surviving widow or, if he has no such widow,
then with the consent of his surviving next of kin. The results of
such autopsy shall be submitted to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and, with the consent of such survivor, to the
miner’s physician or other interested person. Such autopsy shall be
paid for by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.
ø30 U.S.C. 843¿ enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title II, sec. 203, 83
Stat. 763.
DUST FROM DRILLING ROCK

SEC. 204. The dust resulting from drilling in rock shall be controlled by the use of permissible dust collectors, or by water or
water with a wetting agent, or by ventilation, or by any other
method or device approved by the Secretary which is at least as effective in controlling such dust. Respiratory equipment approved by
the Secretary and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
shall be provided persons exposed for short periods to inhalation
hazards from gas, dusts, fumes, or mist. When the exposure is for
prolonged periods, other measures to protect such persons or to reduce the hazard shall be taken.
ø30 U.S.C. 844¿ enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title II, sec. 204, 83
Stat. 764.
DUST STANDARD WHEN QUARTZ IS PRESENT

SEC. 205. In coal mining operations where the concentration of
respirable dust in the mine atmosphere of any working place contains more than 5 per centum quartz, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall prescribe an appropriate formula for determining the applicable respirable dust standard under this title
for such working place and the Secretary shall apply such formula
in carrying out his duties under this title.
ø30 U.S.C. 845¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title II, sec. 205, 83
Stat. 765.
NOISE STANDARD

SEC. 206. On and after the operative date of this title, the
standards on noise prescribed under the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act, as amended, in effect October 1, 1969, shall be applicable to each coal mine and each operator of such mine shall comply
with them. Within six months after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall establish, and the Secretary shall publish, as provided in section 101 of
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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

42

this Act, proposed mandatory health standards establishing maximum noise exposure levels for all underground coal mines. Beginning six months after the operative date of this title, and at intervals of at least every six months thereafter, the operator of each
coal mine shall conduct, in a manner prescribed by the Secretary
of Health, Education, and Welfare, tests by a qualified person of
the noise level at the mine and report and certify the results to the
Secretary and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. In
meeting such standard under this section, the operator shall not require the use of any protective device or system, including personal
devices, which the Secretary or his authorized representative finds
to be hazardous or cause a hazard to the miners in such mine.
ø30 U.S.C. 846¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title II, sec. 206, 83
Stat. 765.

TITLE III—INTERIM MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS FOR
UNDERGROUND COAL MINES
COVERAGE

SEC. 301. (a) The provisions of section 302 through 318 of this
title shall be interim mandatory safety standards applicable to all
underground coal mines until superseded in whole or in part by improved mandatory safety standards promulgated by the Secretary
under the provisions of section 101 of this Act, and shall be enforced in the same manner and to the same extent as any mandatory safety standard promulgated under section 101 of this Act.
Any orders issued in the enforcement of the interim standards set
forth in this title shall be subject to review as provided in title I
of this Act.
(b) The purpose of this title is to provide for the immediate application of mandatory safety standards developed on the basis of
experience and advances in technology and to prevent newly created hazards resulting from new technology in coal mining. The
Secretary of the Interior in coordination with the Secretary shall
immediately initiate studies, investigations, and research to further
upgrade such standards and to develop and promulgate new and
improved standards promptly that will provide increased protection
to the miners, particularly in connection with hazards from trolley
wires, trolley feeder wires, and signal wires, the splicing and use
of trailing cables, and in connection with improvements in vulcanizing of electric conductors, improvement in roof control measures,
methane drainage in advance of mining, improved methods of
measuring methane and other explosive gases and oxygen concentrations, and the use of improved underground equipment and
other sources of power for such equipment.
ø30 U.S.C. 861¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 301, 83
Stat. 765; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec. 203, 91 Stat. 1317.
ROOF SUPPORT

SEC. 302. (a) Each operator shall undertake to carry out on a
continuing basis a program to improve the roof control system of
each coal mine and the means and measures to accomplish such
system. The roof and ribs of all active underground roadways,
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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Sec. 303

travelways, and working places shall be supported or otherwise
controlled adequately to protect persons from falls of the roof or
ribs. A roof control plan and revisions thereof suitable to the roof
conditions and mining system of each coal mine and approved by
the Secretary shall be adopted and set out in printed form within
sixty days after the operative date of this title. The plan shall show
the type of support and spacing approved by the Secretary. Such
plan shall be reviewed periodically, at least every six months by
the Secretary, taking into consideration any falls of roof or ribs or
inadequacy of support of roof or ribs. No person shall proceed beyond the last permanent support unless adequate temporary support is provided or unless such temporary support is not required
under the approved roof control plan and the absence of such support will not pose a hazard to the miners. A copy of the plan shall
be furnished the Secretary or his authorized representative and
shall be available to the miners and their representatives.
(b) The method of mining followed in any coal mine shall not
expose the miner to unusual dangers from roof falls caused by excessive widths of rooms and entries or faulty pillar recovery methods.
(c) The operator, in accordance with the approved plan, shall
provide at or near each working face and at such other locations
in the coal mine as the Secretary may prescribe an ample supply
of suitable materials of proper size with which to secure the roof
of all working places in a safe manner. Safety posts, jacks, or other
approved devices shall be used to protect the workmen when roof
material is being taken down, crossbars are being installed, roof
boltholes are being drilled, roof bolts are being installed, and in
such other circumstances as may be appropriate. Loose roof and
overhanging or loose faces and ribs shall be taken down or supported. Except in the case of recovery work, supports knocked out
shall be replaced promptly.
(d) When installation of roof bolts is permitted, such roof bolts
shall be tested in accordance with the approved roof control plan.
(e) Roof bolts shall not be recovered where complete extractions
of pillars are attempted, where adjacent to clay veins, or at the locations of other irregularities, whether natural or otherwise, that
induce abnormal hazards. Where roof bolt recovery is permitted, it
shall be conducted only in accordance with methods prescribed in
the approved roof control plan, and shall be conducted by experienced miners and only where adequate temporary support is provided.
(f) Where miners are exposed to danger from falls of roof, face,
and ribs the operator shall examine and test the roof, face, and ribs
before any work or machine is started, and as frequently thereafter
as may be necessary to insure safety. When dangerous conditions
are found, they shall be corrected immediately.
ø30 U.S.C. 862¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 302, 83
Stat. 766.
VENTILATION

SEC. 303. (a) All coal mines shall be ventilated by mechanical
ventilation equipment installed and operated in a manner approved
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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

44

by an authorized representative of the Secretary and such equipment shall be examined daily and a record shall be kept of such
examination.
(b) All active working shall be ventilated by a current of air
containing not less than 19.5 volume per centum of oxygen, not
more than 0.5 volume per centum of carbon dioxide, and no harmful quantities of other noxious or poisonous gases; and the volume
and velocity of the current of air shall be sufficient to dilute, render
harmless, and to carry away, flammable, explosive, noxious, and
harmful gases, and dust, and smoke and explosive fumes. The minimum quantity of air reaching the last open crosscut in any pair
or set of developing entries and the last open crosscut in any pair
set of rooms shall be nine thousand cubic feet a minute, and the
minimum quantity of air reaching the intake end of a pillar line
shall be nine thousand cubic feet a minute. The minimum quantity
of air in any coal mine reaching each working face shall be three
thousand cubic feet a minute. Within three months after the operative date of this title, the Secretary shall prescribe the minimum
velocity and quantity of air reaching each working face of each coal
mine in order to render harmless and carry away methane and
other explosive gases and to reduce the level of respirable dust to
the lowest attainable level. The authorized representative of the
Secretary may require in any coal mine a greater quantity and velocity of air when he finds it necessary to protect the health or
safety of miners. Within one year after the operative date of this
title, the Secretary or his authorized representative shall prescribe
the maximum respirable dust level in the intake aircourses in each
coal mine in order to reduce such level to the lowest attainable
level. In robbing areas of anthracite mines, where the air currents
cannot be controlled and measurements of the air cannot be obtained, the air shall perceptible movement.
(c)(1) Properly installed and adequately maintained line
brattice or other approved devices shall be continuously used from
the last open crosscut of an entry or room of each working section
to provide adequate ventilation to the working faces for the miners
and to remove flammable, explosive, and noxious gases, dust, and
explosive fumes, unless the Secretary or his authorized representative permits an exception to the requirement, where such exception
will not pose a hazard to the miners. When damaged by falls or
otherwise, such line brattice or other devices shall be repaired immediately.
(2) The space between the line brattice or other approved device and the rib shall be large enough to permit the flow of a sufficient volume and velocity of air to keep the working face clear of
flammable, explosive, and noxious gases, dust, and explosive fumes.
(3) Brattice cloth used underground shall be of flame-resistant
material.
(d)(1) Within three hours immediately preceding the beginning
of any shift, and before any miner in such shift enters the active
workings of a coal mine, certified persons designated by the operator of the mine shall examine such workings and any underground area of the mine designated by the Secretary or his authorized representative. Each such examiner shall examine every working section in such workings and shall make tests in each such
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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Sec. 303

working section for accumulations of methane with means approved by the Secretary for detecting methane and shall make tests
for oxygen deficiency with a permissible flame safety lamp or other
means approved by the Secretary; examine seals and doors to determine whether they are functioning properly; examine and test
the roof, face, and rib conditions in such working section; examine
active roadways, travelways, and belt conveyors on which men are
carried, approaches to abandoned areas, and accessible falls in such
section for hazards; test by means of an anemometer or other device approved by the Secretary to determine whether the air in
each split is traveling in its proper course and in normal volume
and velocity; and examine for such other hazards and violations of
the mandatory health or safety standards, as an authorized representative of the Secretary may from time to time require. Belt
conveyors on which coal is carried shall be examined after each
coal-producing shift has begun. Such mine examiner shall place his
initials and the date and time at all places he examines. If such
mine examiner finds a condition which constitutes a violation of a
mandatory health or safety standard or any condition which is hazardous to persons who may enter or be in such area, he shall indicate such hazardous place by posting a ‘‘DANGER’’ sign
conspiciously 8 at all points which persons entering such hazardous
place would be required to pass, and shall notify the operator of the
mine. No person, other than an authorized representative of the
Secretary or a State mine inspector or persons authorized by the
operator to enter such place for the purpose of eliminating the hazardous condition therein, shall enter such place while such sign is
so posted. Upon completing his examination, such mine examiner
shall report the results of his examination to a person, designated
by the operator to receive such reports at a designated station on
the surface of the mine, before other persons enter the underground areas of such mine to work in such shift. Each such mine
examiner shall also record the results of his examination with ink
or indelible pencil in a book approved by the Secretary kept for
such purpose in an area on the surface of the mine chosen by the
operator to minimize the danger of destruction by fire or other hazard, and the record shall be open for inspection by interested persons.
(2) No person (other than certified persons designated under
this subsection) shall enter any underground area, except during
any shift, unless an examination of such area as prescribed in this
subsection has been made within eight hours immediately preceding his entrance into such area.
(e) At least once during each coal-producing shift, or more
often if necessary for safety, each working section shall be examined for hazardous conditions by certified persons designated by
the operator to do so. Any such condition shall be corrected immediately. If such condition creates an imminent danger, the operator
shall withdraw all persons from the area affected by such condition
to a safe area, except those persons referred to in section 104(d) of
this Act, until the danger is abated. Such examination shall include
tests for methane with a means approved by the Secretary for de8 So

in law. Probably should read ‘‘conspicuously’’ (see 83 Stat. 768).

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tecting methane and for oxygen deficiency with a permissible flame
safety lamp or other means approved by the Secretary.
(f) In addition to the pre-shift and daily examinations required
by this section, examinations for hazardous conditions, including
tests for methane, and for compliance with the mandatory health
or safety standards, shall be made at least once each week by a
certified person designated by the operator in the return of each
split of air where it enters the main return, on pillar falls, at seals,
in the main return, at least one entry of each intake and return
aircourse in its entirety, idle working, and, insofar as safety considerations permit, abandoned areas. Such weekly examination need
not be made during any week in which the mine is idle for the entire week, except that such examination shall be made before any
other miner returns to the mine. The person making such examinations and tests shall place his initials and the date and time at the
places examined, and if any hazardous condition is found, such condition shall be reported to the operator promptly. Any hazardous
condition shall be corrected immediately. If such condition creates
an imminent danger, the operator shall withdraw all persons from
the area affected by such condition to a safe area, except those persons referred to in section 104(d) of this Act, until such danger is
abated. A record of these examinations, tests, and actions taken
shall be recorded in ink or indelible pencil in a book approved by
the Secretary kept for such purpose in an area on the surface of
the mine chosen by the mine operator to minimize the danger of
destruction by fire or other hazard, and the record shall be open
for inspection by interested persons.
(g) At least once each week, a qualified person shall measure
the volume of air entering the main intakes and leaving the main
returns, the volume passing through the last open crosscut in any
pair or set of developing entries and the last open crosscut in any
pair or set of rooms, the volume and, when the Secretary so prescribes, the velocity reaching each working face, the volume being
delivered to the intake end of each pillar line, and the volume at
the intake and return of each split of air. A record of such measurements shall be recorded in ink or indelible pencil in a book approved by the Secretary kept for such purpose in an area on the
surface of the coal mine chosen by the operator to minimize the
danger of destruction by fire or other hazard, and the record shall
be open for inspection by interested persons.
(h)(1) At the start of each shift, tests for methane shall be
made at each working place immediately before electrically operated equipment is energized. Such tests shall be made by qualified
persons. If 1.0 volume per centum or more of methane is detected,
electrical equipment shall not be energized, taken into, or operated
in, such working place until the air therein contains less than 1.0
volume per centum of methane. Examinations for methane shall be
made during the operation of such equipment at intervals of not
more than twenty minutes during each shift, unless more frequent
examinations are required by an authorized representative of the
Secretary. In conducting such tests, such person shall use means
approved by the Secretary for detecting methane.
(2) If at any time the air at any working place, when tested
at a point not less than twelve inches from the roof, face, or rib,
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Sec. 303

contains 1.0 volume per centum or more of methane, changes or adjustments shall be made at once in the ventilation in such mine so
that such air shall contain less than 1.0 volume per centum of
methane. While such changes or adjustments are underway and
until they have been achieved, power to electric face equipment located in such place shall be cut off, no other work shall be permitted in such place, and due precautions shall be carried out
under the direction of the operator or his agent so as not to endanger other areas of the mine. If at any time such air contains 1.5
volume per centum or more of methane, all persons, except those
referred to in section 104(d) of this Act, shall be withdrawn from
the area of the mine endangered thereby to a safe area, and all
electric power shall be cut off from the endangered area of the
mine, until the air in such working place shall contain less than
1.0 volume per centum of methane.
(i)(1) If, when tested, a split of air returning from any working
section contains 1.0 volume per centum or more of methane,
changes or adjustments shall be made at once in the ventilation in
the mine so that such returning air shall contain less than 1.0 volume per centum of methane. Tests under this paragraph and paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be made at four-hour intervals
during each shift by a qualified person designated by the operator
of the mine. In making such tests, such person shall use means approved by the Secretary for detecting methane.
(2) If, when tested, a split of air returning from any working
section contains 1.5 volume per centum or more of methane, all
persons, except those persons referred to in section 104(d) of this
Act, shall be withdrawn from the area of the mine endangered
thereby to a safe area and all electric power shall be cut off from
the endangered area of the mine, until the air in such split shall
contain less than 1.0 volume per centum of methane.
(3) In virgin territory, if the quantity of air in a split ventilating the active workings in such territory equals or exceeds
twice the minimum volume of air prescribed in subsection (b) of
this section for the last open crosscut, if the air in the split returning from such workings does not pass over trolley wires or trolley
feeder wires, and if a certified person designated by the operator
is continually testing the methane content of the air in such split
during mining operations in such workings, it shall be necessary to
withdraw all persons, except those referred to in section 104(d) of
this Act, from the area of the mine endangered thereby to a safe
area and all electric power shall be cut off from the endangered
area only when the air returning from such workings contains 2.0
volume per centum or more of methane.
(j) Air which has passed by an opening of any abandoned area
shall not be used to ventilate any working place in the coal mine
if such air contains 0.25 volume per centum or more of methane.
Examinations of such air shall be made during the pre-shift examination required by subsection (d) of this section. In making such
tests, a certified person designated by the operator shall use means
approved by the Secretary for detecting methane. For the purposes
of this subsection, an area within a panel shall not be deemed to
be abandoned until such panel is abandoned.
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(k) Air that has passed through an abandoned area or an area
which is inaccessible or unsafe for inspection shall not be used to
ventilate any working place in any mine. No air which has been
used to ventilate an area from which the pillars have been removed
shall be used to ventilate any working place in a mine, except that
such air, if it does not contain 0.25 volume per centum or more of
methane, may be used to ventilate enough advancing working
places immediately adjacent to the line of retreat to maintain an
orderly sequence of pillar recovery on a set of entries.
(l) The Secretary or his authorized representative shall require,
as an additional device for detecting concentrations of methane,
that a methane monitor, approved as reliable by the Secretary
after the operative date of this title, be installed, when available,
on any electric face cutting equipment, continuous miner, longwall
face equipment, and loading machine, except that no monitor shall
be required to be installed on any such equipment prior to the date
on which such equipment is required to be permissible under section 305(a) of this title. When installed on any such equipment,
such monitor shall be kept operative and properly maintained and
frequently tested as prescribed by the Secretary. The sensing device of such monitor shall be installed as close to the working face
as practicable. Such monitor shall be set to deenergize automatically such equipment when such monitor is not operating properly
and to give a warning automatically when the concentration of
methane reaches a maximum percentage determined by an authorized representative of the Secretary which shall not be more than
1.0 volume per centum of methane. An authorized representative
of the Secretary shall require such a monitor to deenergize automatically equipment on which it is installed when the concentration of methane reaches a maximum percentage determined by
such representative which shall not be more than 2.0 volume per
centum of methane.
(m) Idle and abandoned areas shall be inspected for methane
and for oxygen deficiency and other dangerous conditions by a certified person with means approved by the Secretary as soon as possible but not more than three hours before other persons are permitted to enter or work in such areas. Persons, such as pumpmen,
who are required regularly to enter such areas in the performance
of their duties, and who are trained and qualified in the use of
means approved by the Secretary for detecting methane and in the
use of a permissible flame safety lamp or other means approved by
the Secretary for detecting oxygen deficiency are authorized to
make such examinations for themselves, and each such person
shall be properly equipped and shall make such examinations upon
entering any such area.
(n) Immediately before an intentional roof fall is made, pillar
workings shall be examined by a qualified person designated by the
operator to ascertain whether methane is present. Such person
shall use means approved by the Secretary for detecting methane.
If in such examination methane is found in amounts of 1.0 volume
per centum or more, such roof fall shall not be made until changes
or adjustments are made in the ventilation so that the air shall
contain less than 1.0 volume per centum of methane.
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(o) A ventilation system and methane and dust control plan
and revisions thereof suitable to the conditions and the mining system of the coal mine and approved by the Secretary shall be adopted by the operator and set out in printed form within ninety days
after the operative date of this title. The plan shall show the type
and location of mechanical ventilation equipment installed and operated in the mine, such additional or improved equipment as the
Secretary may require, the quantity and velocity of air reaching
each working face, and such other information as the Secretary
may require. Such plan shall be reviewed by the operator and the
Secretary at least every six months.
(p) Each operator shall provide for the proper maintenance and
care of the permissible flame safety lamp or any other approved device for detecting methane and oxygen deficiency by a person
trained in such maintenance, and, before each shift, care shall be
taken to insure that such lamp or other device is in a permissible
condition.
(q) Where areas are being pillared on the operative date of this
title without bleeder entries, or without bleeder systems or an
equivalent means, pillar recovery may be completed in the area, to
the extent approved by an authorized representative of the Secretary, if the edges of pillar lines adjacent to active workings are
ventilated with sufficient air to keep the air in open areas along
the pillar lines below 1.0 volume per centum of methane.
(r) Each mechanized mining section shall be ventilated with a
separate split of intake air directed by overcasts, undercasts, or the
equivalent, except an extension of time, not in excess of nine
months, may be permitted by the Secretary, under such conditions
as he may prescribe, whenever he determines that this subsection
cannot be complied with on the operative date of this title.
(s) In all underground areas of a coal mine, immediately before
firing each shot or group of multiple shots and after blasting is
completed, examinations for methane shall be made by a qualified
person with means approved by the Secretary for detecting methane. If methane is found in amounts of 1.0 volume per centum or
more, changes or adjustments shall be made at once in the ventilation so that the air shall contain less than 1.0 volume per centum
of methane. No shots shall be fired until the air contains less than
1.0 volume per centum of methane.
(t) Each operator shall adopt a plan within sixty days after the
operative date of this title which shall provide that when any mine
fan stops, immediate action shall be taken by the operator or his
agent (1) to withdraw all persons from the working sections, (2) to
cut off the power in the mine in a timely manner, (3) to provide
for restoration of power and resumption of work if ventilation is restored within a reasonable period as set forth in the plan after the
working places and other active workings where methane is likely
to accumulate are reexamined by a certified person to determine if
methane in amounts of 1.0 volume per centum or more exists
therein, and (4) to provide for withdrawal of all persons from the
mine if ventilation cannot be restored within such reasonable time.
The plan and revisions thereof approved by the secretary shall be
set out in printed form and a copy shall be furnished to the Secretary or his authorized representative.
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(u) Changes in ventilation which materially affect the main air
current or any split thereof and which may affect the safety of persons in the coal mine shall be made only when the mine is idle.
Only those persons engaged in making such changes shall be permitted in the mine during the change. Power shall be removed
from the areas affected by the change before work starts to make
the change and shall not be restored until the effect of the change
has been ascertained and the affected areas determined to be safe
by a certified person.
(v) The mine foreman shall read and countersign promptly the
daily reports of the pre-shift examiner and assistant mine foremen,
and he shall read and countersign promptly the weekly report covering the examinations for hazardous conditions. Where such reports disclose hazardous conditions, they shall be corrected promptly. If such conditions create an imminent danger, the operator shall
withdraw all persons from, or prevent any person from entering, as
the case may be, the area affected by such conditions, except those
persons referred to in section 104(d) of this Act, until such danger
is abated. The mine superintendent or assistant superintendent of
the mine shall also read and countersign the daily and weekly reports of such persons.
(w) Each day, the mine foreman and each of his assistants
shall enter plainly and sign with ink or indelible pencil in a book
approved by the Secretary provided for that purpose a report of the
condition of the mine or portion thereof under his supervision,
which report shall state clearly the location and nature of any hazardous condition observed by him or reported to him during the
day and what action was taken to remedy such condition. Such
book shall be kept in an area on the surface of the mine chosen
by the operator to minimize the danger of destruction by fire or
other hazard, and shall be open for inspection by interested persons.
(x) Before a coal mine is reopened after having been abandoned
or declared inactive by the operator, the Secretary shall be notified,
and an inspection shall be made of the entire mine by an authorized representative of the Secretary before mining operations commence.
(y)(1) In any coal mine opened after the operative date of this
title, the entries used as intake and return aircourses shall be separated from belt haulage entries, and each operator of such mine
shall limit the velocity of the air coursed through belt haulage entries to the amount necessary to provide an adequate supply of oxygen in such entries, and to insure that the air therein shall contain
less than 1.0 volume per centum of methane, and such air shall not
be used to ventilate active working places. Whenever an authorized
representative of the Secretary finds, in the case of any coal mine
opened on or prior to the operative date of this title which has been
developed with more than two entries, that the conditions in the
entries, other than belt haulage entries, are such as to permit adequately the coursing of intake or return air through such entries,
(1) the belt haulage entries shall not be used to ventilate, unless
such entries are necessary to ventilate, active working places, and
(2) when the belt haulage entries are not necessary to ventilate the
active working places, the operator of such mine shall limit the veAugust 26, 2016

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locity of the air coursed through the belt haulage entries to the
amount necessary to provide an adequate supply of oxygen in such
entries, and to insure that the air therein shall contain less than
1.0 volume per centum of methane.
(2) In any coal mine opened on or after the operative date of
this title, or, in the case of a coal mine opened prior to such date,
in any new working section of such mine, where trolley haulage
systems are maintained and where trolley wires or trolley feeder
wires are installed, an authorized representative of the Secretary
shall require a sufficient number of entries or rooms as intake
aircourses in order to limit, as prescribed by the Secretary, the velocity of air currents on such haulageways for the purpose of minimizing the hazards associated with fires and dust explosions in
such haulageways.
(z)(1) While pillars are being extracted in any area of a coal
mine, such area shall be ventilated in the manner prescribed by
this section.
(2) Within nine months after the operative date of this title, all
areas from which pillars have been wholly or partially extracted
and abandoned areas, as determined by the Secretary or his authorized representative, shall be ventilated by bleeder entries or by
bleeder systems or equivalent means, or be sealed, as determined
by the Secretary or his authorized representative. When ventilation
of such areas is required, such ventilation shall be maintained so
as continuously to dilute, render harmless, and carry away methane and other explosive gases within such areas and to protect the
active workings of the mine from the hazards of such methane and
other explosive gases. Air coursed through underground areas from
which pillars have been wholly or partially extracted which enters
another split of air shall not contain more than 2.0 volume per centum of methane, when tested at the point it enters such other split.
When sealing is required, such seals shall be made in an approved
manner so as to isolate with explosion-proof bulkheads such areas
from the active workings of the mine.
(3) In the case of mines opened on or after the operative date
of this title, or in the case of working sections opened on or after
such date in mines opened prior to such date, the mining system
shall be designed in accordance with a plan and revisions thereof
approved by the Secretary and adopted by such operator so that,
as each working section of the mine is abandoned, it can be isolated from the active workings of the mine with explosion-proof
seals or bulkheads.
ø30 U.S.C. 863¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title 111, sec. 303, 83
Stat. 767.
COMBUSTIBLE MATERIALS AND ROCK DUSTING

SEC. 304. (a) Coal dust, including float coal dust deposited on
rock-dusted surfaces, loose coal, and other combustible materials,
shall be cleaned up and not be permitted to accumulate in active
workings, or on electric equipment therein.
(b) Where underground mining operations in active workings
create or raise excessive amounts of dust, water or water with a
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proved by the Secretary or his authorized representative, shall be
used to abate such dust. In working places, particularly in distances less than forty feet from the face, water, with or without a
wetting agent, or other no less effective methods approved by the
Secretary or his authorized representative, shall be applied to coal
dust on the ribs, roof, and floor to reduce dispersibility and to minimize the explosion hazard.
(c) All underground areas of a coal mine, except those areas in
which the dust is too wet or too high in incombustible content to
propagate an explosion, shall be rock dusted to within forty feet of
all working faces, unless such areas are inaccessible or unsafe to
enter or unless the Secretary or his authorized representative permits an exception upon his finding that such exception will not
pose a hazard to the miners. All crosscuts that are less than forty
feet from a working face shall also be rock dusted.
(d) Where rock dust is required to be applied, it shall be distributed upon the top, floor, and sides of all underground areas of
a coal mine and maintained in such quantities that the incombustible content of the combined coal dust, rock dust, and other dust
shall be not less than 65 per centum, but the incombustible content
in the return aircourses shall be no less than 80 per centum.
Where methane is present in any ventilating current, the per centum of incombustible content of such combined dusts shall be increased 1.0 and 0.4 per centum for each 0.1 per centum of methane
where 65 and 80 per centum, respectively, of incombustibles are required.
(e) Subsections (b) through (d) of this section shall not apply
to underground anthracite mines.
ø30 U.S.C. 864¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 304, 83
Stat. 774
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT—GENERAL

SEC. 305. (a)(1) Effective one year after the operative date of
this title—
(A) all junction or distribution boxes used for making multiple power connections inby the last open crosscut shall be
permissible;
(B) all handheld electric drills, blower and exhaust fans,
electric pumps, and such other low horsepower electric face
equipment as the Secretary may designate within two months
after the operative date of this title which are taken into or
used inby the last open crosscut of any coal mine shall be permissible;
(C) all electric face equipment which is taken into or used
inby the last open crosscut of any coal mine classified under
any provision of law as gassy prior to the operative date of this
title shall be permissible; and
(D) all other electric face equipment which is taken into or
used inby the last crosscut of any coal mine, except a coal mine
referred to in paragraph (2) of this subsection, which has not
been classified under any provision of law as a gassy mine
prior to the operative date of this title shall be permissible.
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(2) Effective four years after the operative date of this title, all
electric face equipment, other than equipment referred to in paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection, which is taken into or used inby the
last open crosscut of any coal mine which is operated entirely in
coal seams located above the watertable and which has not been
classified under any provision of law as a gassy mine prior to the
operative date of this title and in which one or more openings were
made prior to the date of enactment of this Act, shall be permissible, except that any operator of such mine who is unable to comply with the provisions of this paragraph on such effective date
may file with the Panel an application for a permit for noncompliance ninety days prior to such date. If the Panel determines, after
notice to all interested persons and an opportunity for a public
hearing under section 5 of this Act, that such application satisfies
the provisions of paragraph (10) of this subsection and that such
operator, despite his diligent efforts, will be unable to comply with
such provisions, the Panel may issue to such operator such a permit. Such permit shall entitle the permittee to an additional extension of time to comply with the provisions of this paragraph of not
to exceed twenty-four months, as determined by the Panel, from
such effective date.
(3) The operator of each coal mine shall maintain in permissible condition all electric face equipment required by this subsection to be permissible which is taken into or used inby the last
open crosscut of any such mine.
(4) Each operator of a coal mine shall, within two months after
the operative date of this title, file with the Secretary a statement
listing all electric face equipment by type and manufacturer being
used by such operator in connection with mining operations in such
mine as of the date of such filing, and stating whether such equipment is permissible and maintained in permissible condition or is
nonpermissible on such date of filing, and, if nonpermissible,
whether such nonpermissible equipment has ever been rated as
permissible, and such other information as the Secretary may require.
(5) The Secretary shall promptly conduct a survey as to the
total availability of new or rebuilt permissible electric face equipment and replacement parts for such equipment and, within six
months after the operative date of this title, publish the results of
such survey.
(6) Any operator of a coal mine who is unable to comply with
the provisions of paragraph (1)(D) of this subsection within one
year after the operative date of this title may file with the Panel
an application for a permit for noncompliance. If the Panel determines that such application satisfies the provisions of paragraph
(10) of this subsection, the Panel shall issue to such operator a permit for noncompliance. Such permit shall entitle the permittee to
an extension of time to comply with such provisions of paragraph
(1)(D) of not to exceed twelve months, as determined by the Panel,
from the date that compliance with the provisions of paragraph
(1)(D) of this subsection is required.
(7) Any operator of a coal mine issued a permit under paragraph (6) of this subsection who, ninety days prior to the termination of such permit, or renewal thereof, determines that he will
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be unable to comply with the provisions of paragraph (1)(D) of this
subsection upon the expiration of such permit may file with the
Panel an application for renewal thereof. Upon receipt of such application, the Panel, if it determines, after notice to all interested
persons and an opportunity for a public hearing under section 5 of
this Act, that such application satisfies the provisions of paragraph
(10) of this subsection and that such operator, despite his diligent
efforts, will be unable to comply with the provisions of paragraph
(1)(D), may renew the permit for a period not exceeding twelve
months.
(8) Any permit or renewal thereof issued pursuant to this subsection shall entitle the permittee to use such nonpermissible electric face equipment specified in the permit during the term of such
permit.
(9) Permits for noncompliance issued under paragraphs (6) or
(7) of this subsection shall, in the aggregate, not extend the period
of noncompliance more than forty-eight months after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(10) Any application for a permit of noncompliance filed under
this subsection shall contain a statement by the operator—
(A) that he is unable to comply with paragraph (1)(D) or
paragraph (2) of this subsection, as appropriate, within the
time prescribed.
(B) listing the nonpermissible electric face equipment
being used by such operator in connection with mining operations in such mine on the operative date of this title and the
date of the application by type and manufacturer for which a
noncompliance permit is requested and whether such equipment had ever been rated as permissible;
(C) setting forth the actions taken from and after the operative date of this title to comply with paragraph (1)(D) or paragraph (2) of this subsection, as appropriate, together with a
plan setting forth a schedule of compliance with said paragraphs for each such equipment referred to in such paragraphs
and being used by the operator in connection with mining operations in such mine with respect to which such permit is requested and the means and measures to be employed to
achieve compliance; and
(D) including such other information as the Panel may require.
(11) No permit for noncompliance shall be issued under this
subsection for any nonpermissible electric face equipment, unless
such equipment was being used by an operator in connection with
the mining operations in a coal mine on the operative date of this
title.
(12) Effective one year after the operative date of this title, all
replacement equipment acquired for use in any mine referred to in
this subsection shall be permissible and shall be maintained in a
permissible condition, and in the event of any major overhaul of
any item of equipment in use one year from the operative date of
this title such equipment shall be put in, and thereafter maintained in, a permissible condition, unless, in the opinion of the Secretary, such equipment or necessary replacement parts are not
available.
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(b) A copy of any permit granted under this section shall be
mailed immediately to a representative of the miners of the mine
to which it pertains, and to the public official or agency of the State
charged with administering State laws relating to coal mine health
and safety in such mine.
(c) Any coal mine which, prior to the operative date of this
title, was classed gassy under any provision of law and was required to use permissible electric face equipment and to maintain
such equipment in a permissible condition shall continue to use
such equipment and to maintain such equipment in such condition.
(d) All power-connection points, except where permissible
power connection units are used, outby the last open crosscut shall
be in intake air.
(e) The location and the electrical rating of all stationary electric apparatus in connection with the mine electric system, including permanent cables, switchgear, rectifying substations, transformers, permanent pumps and trolley wires and trolley feeder
wires, and settings of all direct-current circuit breakers protecting
underground trolley circuits, shall be shown on a mine map. Any
changes made in a location, electric rating, or setting shall be
promptly shown on the map when the change is made. Such map
shall be available to an authorized representative of the Secretary
and to the miners in such mine.
(f) All power circuits and electric equipment shall be deenergized before work is done on such circuits and equipment, except
when necessary for trouble shooting or testing. In addition, energized trolley wires may be repaired only by a person trained to perform electrical work and to maintain electrical equipment and the
operator of such mine shall require that such person wear approved and tested insulated shoes and wireman’s gloves. No electrical work shall be performed on low-, medium-, or high-voltage
distribution circuits or equipment, except by a qualified person or
by a person trained to perform electrical work and to maintain
electrical equipment under the direct supervision of a qualified person. Disconnecting devices shall be locked out and suitably tagged
by the persons who performed such work, except that, in cases
where locking out is not possible, such devices shall be opened and
suitably tagged by such persons. Locks or tags shall be removed
only by the persons who installed them or, if such persons are unavailable, by persons authorized by the operator or his agent.
(g) All electric equipment shall be frequently examined, tested,
and properly maintained by a qualified person to assure safe operating conditions. When a potentially dangerous condition is found
on electric equipment, such equipment shall be removed from service until such condition is corrected. A record of such examinations
shall be kept and made available to an authorized representative
of the Secretary and to the miners in such mine.
(h) All electric conductors shall be sufficient in size and have
adequate current-carrying capacity and be of such construction that
a rise in temperature resulting from normal operation will not
damage the insulating materials.
(i) All electrical connections or splices in conductors shall be
mechanically and electrically efficient, and suitable connectors
shall be used. All electrical connections or splices in insulated wire
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shall be reinsulated at least to the same degree of protection as the
remainder of the wire.
(j) Cables shall enter metal frames of motors, splice boxes, and
electric compartments only through proper fittings. When insulated
wires other than cables pass through metal frames the holes shall
be substantially bushed with insulated bushings.
(k) All power wires (except trailing cables on mobile equipment, specially designed cables conducting high-voltage power to
underground rectifying equipment or transformers, or bare or insulated ground and return wires) shall be supported on well-insulated
insulators and shall not contact combustible material, roof, or ribs.
(l) Power wires and cables, except trolley wires, trolley feeder
wires, and bare signal wires, shall be insulated adequately and
fully protected.
(m) Automatic circuit-breaking devices or fuses of the correct
type and capacity shall be installed so as to protect all electric
equipment and circuits against short circuit and overloads. Threephase motors on all electric equipment shall be provided with overload protection that will deenergize all three phases in the event
that any phase is overloaded.
(n) In all main power circuits, disconnecting switches shall be
installed underground within five hundred feet of the bottoms of
shafts and boreholes through which main power circuits enter the
underground area of the mine and within five hundred feet of all
other places where main power circuits enter the underground area
of the mine.
(o) All electric equipment shall be provided with switches or
other controls that are safely designated, constructed, and installed.
(p) Each ungrounded, exposed power conductor that leads underground shall be equipped with suitable lightning arresters of
approved type within one hundred feet of the point where the circuit enters the mine. Lightning arresters shall be connected to a
low resistance grounding medium on the surface which shall be
separated from neutral grounds by a distance of not less than
twenty-five feet.
(q) No device for the purpose of lighting any coal mine which
has not been approved by the Secretary or his authorized representative shall be permitted in such mine.
(r) An authorized representative of the Secretary may require
in any mine that electric face equipment be provided with devices
that will permit the equipment to be deenergized quickly in the
event of an emergency.
ø30 U.S.C. 865¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 305, 83
Stat. 775.
TRAILING CABLES

SEC. 306. (a) Trailing cables used in coal mines shall meet the
requirements established by the Secretary for flame-resistant cables.
(b) Short-circuit protection for trailing cables shall be provided
by an automatic circuit breaker or other no less effective device approved by the Secretary of adequate current-interrupting capacity
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in each ungrounded conductor. Disconnecting devices used to disconnect power from trailing cables shall be plainly marked and
identified and such devices shall be equipped or designed in such
a manner that it can be determined by visual observation that the
power is disconnected.
(c) When two or more trailing cables junction to the same distribution center, means shall be provided to assure against connecting a trailing cable to the wrong size circuit breaker.
(d) One temporary splice may be made in any trailing cable.
Such trailing cable may only be used for the next twenty-four hour
period. No temporary splice shall be made in a trailing cable within
twenty-five feet of the machine, except cable reel equipment. Temporary splices in trailing cables shall be made in a workmanlike
manner and shall be mechanically strong and well insulated. Trailing cables or hand cables which have exposed wires or which have
splices that heat or spark under load shall not be used. As used
in this subsection, the term ‘‘splice’’ means the mechanical joining
of one or more conductors that have been severed.
(e) When permanent splices in trailing cables are made, they
shall be—
(1) mechanically strong with adequate electrical conductivity and flexibility;
(2) effectively insulated and sealed so as to exclude moisture; and
(3) vulcanized or otherwise treated with suitable materials
to provide flame-resistant qualities and good bonding to the
outer jacket.
(f) Trailing cables shall be clamped to machines in a manner
to protect the cables from damage and to prevent strain on the
electrical connections. Trailing cables shall be adequately protected
to prevent damage by mobile equipment.
(g) Trailing cable and power cable connections to junction
boxes shall not be made or broken under load.
ø30 U.S.C. 866¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 306, 83
Stat. 779.
GROUNDING

SEC. 307. (a) All metallic sheaths, armors, and conduits enclosing power conductors shall be electrically continuous throughout
and shall be grounded by methods approved by an authorized representative of the Secretary. Metallic frames, casings, and other enclosures of electric equipment that can become ‘‘alive’’ through failure of insulation or by contact with energized parts shall be
grounded by methods approved by an authorized representative of
the Secretary. Methods other than grounding which provide no less
effective protection may be permitted by the Secretary or his authorized representative.
(b) The frames of all offtrack direct current machines and the
enclosures of related detached components shall be effectively
grounded, or otherwise maintained at no less safe voltages, by
methods approved by an authorized representative of the Secretary.
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(c) The frames of all stationary high-voltage equipment receiving power from ungrounded delta systems shall be grounded by
methods approved by an authorized representative of the Secretary.
(d) High-voltage lines, both on the surface and underground,
shall be deenergized and grounded before work is performed on
them, except that repairs may be permitted, in the case of energized surface high-voltage lines, if such repairs are made by a
qualified person in accordance with procedures and safeguards, including, but not limited to, a requirement that the operator of such
mine provide, test, and maintain protective devices in making such
repairs, to be prescribed by the Secretary prior to the operative
date of this title.
(e) When not in use, power circuits underground shall be deenergized on idle days and idle shifts, except that rectifiers and transformers may remain energized.
ø30 U.S.C. 867¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 307, 83
Stat. 780.
UNDERGROUND HIGH-VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION

SEC. 308. (a) High-voltage circuits entering the underground
area of any coal mine shall be protected by suitable circuit breakers
of adequate interrupting capacity which are properly tested and
maintained as prescribed by the Secretary. Such breakers shall be
equipped with devices to provide protection against under-voltage,
grounded phase, short circuit, and overcurrent.
(b) High-voltage circuits extending underground and supplying
portable, mobile, or stationary high-voltage equipment shall contain either a direct or derived neutral which shall be grounded
through a suitable resistor at the source transformers, and a
grounding circuit, originating at the grounded side of the grounding
resistor, shall extend along with the power conductors and serve as
a ground conductor for the frames of all high-voltage equipment
supplied power from that circuit, except that the Secretary or his
authorized representative may permit ungrounded high-voltage circuits to be extended underground to feed stationary electrical
equipment if such circuits are either steel armored or installed in
grounded, rigid steel conduit throughout their entire length, and
upon his finding that such exception does not pose a hazard to the
miners. Within one hundred feet of the point on the surface where
high-voltage circuits enter the underground portion of the mine,
disconnecting devices shall be installed and so equipped or designed in such a manner that it can be determined by visual observation that the power is disconnected, except that the Secretary or
his authorized representative may permit such devices to be installed at a greater distance from such area of the mine if he determines, based on existing physical conditions, that such installation
will be more accessible at a greater distance and will not pose any
hazard to the miners.
(c) The grounding resistor, where required, shall be of the
proper ohmic value to limit the voltage drop in the grounding circuit external to the resistor to not more than 100 volts under fault
conditions. The grounding resistor shall be rated for maximum
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fault current continuously and insulated from ground for a voltage
equal to the phase-to-phase voltage of the system.
(d) Six months after the operative date of this title, high-voltage, resistance grounded systems shall include a fail safe ground
check circuit to monitor continuously the grounding circuit to assure continuity and the fail safe ground check circuit shall cause
the circuit breaker to open when either the ground or pilot check
wire is broken, or other no less effective device approved by the
Secretary or his authorized representative to assure such continuity, except that an extension of time, not in excess of twelve
months, may be permitted by the Secretary on a mine-by-mine
basis if he determines that such equipment is not available.
(e)(1) Underground high-voltage cables used in resistance
grounded systems shall be equipped with metallic shields around
each power conductor, with one or more ground conductors having
a total cross-sectional area of not less than one-half the power conductor, and with an insulated internal or external conductor not
smaller than No. 8 (AWG) for the ground continuity check circuit.
(2) All such cables shall be adequate for the intended current
and voltage. Splices made in such cables shall provide continuity
of all components.
(f) Couplers that are used with medium-voltage or high-voltage
power circuits shall be of the three-phase type with a full metallic
shell, except that the Secretary may permit, under such guidelines
as he may prescribe, no less effective couplers constructed of materials other than metal. Couplers shall be adequate for the voltage
and current expected. All exposed metal on the metallic couplers
shall be grounded to the ground conductor in the cable. The coupler
shall be constructed so that the ground check continuity conductor
shall be broken first and the ground conductors shall be broken
last when the coupler is being uncoupled.
(g) Single-phase loads, such as transformer primaries, shall be
connected phase to phase.
(h) All underground high-voltage transmission cables shall be
installed only in regularly inspected aircourses and haulageways,
and shall be covered, buried, or placed so as to afford protection
against damage, guarded where men regularly work or pass under
them unless they are six and one-half feet or more above the floor
or rail, securely anchored, properly insulated, and guarded at ends,
and covered, insulated, or placed to prevent contact with trolley
wires and other low-voltage circuits.
(i) Disconnecting devices shall be installed at the beginning of
branch lines in high-voltage circuits and equipped or designed in
such a manner that it can be determined by visual observation that
the circuit is deenergized when the switches are open.
(j) Circuit breakers and disconnecting switches underground
shall be marked for identification.
(k) In the case of high-voltage cables used as trailing cables,
temporary splices shall not be used and all permanent splices shall
be made in accordance with section 306(e) of this title. Terminations and splices in all other high-voltage cables shall be made
in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.
(l) Frames, supporting structures, and enclosures of stationary,
portable, or mobile underground high-voltage equipment and all
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high-voltage equipment supplying power to such equipment receiving power from resistance grounded systems shall be effectively
grounded to the high-voltage ground.
(m) Power centers and portable transformers shall be deenergized before they are moved from one location to another, except
that, when equipment powered by sources other than such centers
or transformers is not available, the Secretary may permit such
centers and transformers to be moved while energized, if he determines that another equivalent or greater hazard may otherwise be
created, and if they are moved under the supervision of a qualified
person, and if such centers and transformers are examined prior to
such movement by such person and found to be grounded by methods approved by an authorized representative of the Secretary and
otherwise protected from hazards to the miner. A record shall be
kept of such examinations. High-voltage cables, other than trailing
cables, shall not be moved or handled at any time while energized,
except that, when such centers and transformers are moved while
energized as permitted under this subsection, energized high-voltage cables attached to such centers and transformers may be
moved only by a qualified person and the operator of such mine
shall require that such person wear approved and tested insulated
wireman’s gloves.
ø30 U.S.C. 868¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 308, k83
Stat. 780.
UNDERGROUND LOW- AND MEDIUM-VOLTAGE ALTERNATING CURRENT
CIRCUITS

SEC. 309. (a) Low- and medium-voltage power circuits serving
three-phase alternating current equipment shall be protected by
suitable circuit breakers of adequate interrupting capacity which
are properly tested and maintained as prescribed by the Secretary.
Such breakers shall be equipped with devices to provide protection
against under-voltage, grounded phase, short circuit, and over-current.
(b) Low- and medium-voltage three-phase alternating-current
circuits used underground shall contain either a direct or derived
neutral which shall be grounded through a suitable resistor at the
power center, and a grounding circuit, originating at the grounded
side of the grounding resistor, shall extend along with the power
conductors and serve as a grounding conductor for the frames of all
the electrical equipment supplied power from that circuit, except
that the Secretary or his authorized representative may permit
ungrounded low- and medium-voltage circuits to be used underground to feed such stationary electrical equipment if such circuits
are either steel armored or installed in grounded rigid steel conduit
throughout their entire length. The grounding resistor, where required, shall be of the proper ohmic value to limit the ground fault
current to 25 amperes. The grounding resistor shall be rated for
maximum fault current continuously and insulated from ground for
a voltage equal to the phase-to-phase voltage of the system.
(c) Six months after the operative date of this title, low- and
medium-voltage resistance grounded systems shall include a fail
safe ground check circuit to monitor continuously the grounding
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circuit to assure continuity which ground check circuit shall cause
the circuit breaker to open when either the ground or pilot check
wire is broken, or other no less effective device approved by the
Secretary or his authorized representative to assure such continuity, except that an extension of time, not in excess of twelve
months, may be permitted by the Secretary on a mine-by-mine
basis if he determines that such equipment is not available. Cable
couplers shall be constructed so that the ground check continuity
conductor shall be broken first and the ground conductors shall be
broken last when the coupler is being uncoupled.
(d) Disconnecting devices shall be installed in conjunction with
the circuit breaker to provide visual evidence that the power is disconnected. Trailing cables for mobile equipment shall contain one
or more ground conductors having a cross sectional area of not less
than one-half the power conductor, and, six months after the operative date of this title, an insulated conductor for the ground continuity check circuit or other no less effective device approved by
the Secretary or his authorized representative to assure such continuity, except that an extension of time, not in excess of twelve
months may be permitted by the Secretary on a mine-by-mine
basis if he determines that such equipment is not available. Splices
made in the cables shall provide continuity of all components.
(e) Single phase loads shall be connected phase to phase.
(f) Circuit breakers shall be marked for identification.
(g) Trailing cables for medium voltage circuits shall include
grounding conductors, a ground check conductor, and ground metallic shields around each power conductor on a grounded metallic
shield over the assembly, except that on equipment employing
cable reels, cables without shields may be used if the insulation is
rated 2,000 volts or more.
ø30 U.S.C. 869¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 309, 83
Stat. 782.
TROLLEY WIRES AND TROLLEY FEEDER WIRES

SEC. 310. (a) Trolley wires and trolley feeder wires shall be
provided with cutout switches at intervals of not more than 2,000
feet and near the beginning of all branch lines.
(b) Trolley wires and trolley feeder wires shall be provided
with overcurrent protection.
(c) Trolley wires and trolley feeder wires, high-voltage cables
and transformers shall not be located inby the last open crosscut
and shall be kept at least 150 feet from pillar workings.
(d) Trolley wires, trolley feeder wires, and bare signal wires
shall be insulated adequately where they pass through doors and
stoppings, and where they cross other power wires and cables. Trolley wires and trolley feeder wires shall be guarded adequately (1)
at all points where men are required to work or pass regularly
under the wires; (2) on both sides of all doors and stoppings; and
(3) at man-trip stations. The Secretary or his authorized representatives shall specify other conditions where trolley wires and trolley
feeder wires shall be adequately protected to prevent contact by
any person, or shall require the use of improved methods to prevent such contact. Temporary guards shall be provided where
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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

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trackmen and other persons work in proximity to trolley wires and
trolley feeder wires.
ø30 U.S.C. 870¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 310, 83
Stat. 783.
SEC. 311. (a) Each coal mine shall be provided with suitable

firefighting equipment adapted for the size and conditions of the
mine. The Secretary shall establish minimum requirements for the
type, quality, and quantity of such equipment, and the interpretations of the Secretary or the Director of the Bureau of Mines 9 relating to such equipment in effect on the operative date of this title
shall continue in effect until modified or superseded by the Secretary. After every blasting operation, an examination shall be
made to determine whether fires have been started.
(b) Underground storage places for lubricating oil and grease
shall be of fireproof construction. Except for specially prepared materials approved by the Secretary, lubricating oil and grease kept
in all underground areas in a coal mine shall be in fireproof, closed
metal containers or other no less effective containers approved by
the Secretary.
(c) Underground transformer stations, battery-charging stations, substations, compressor stations, shops, and permanent
pumps shall be housed in fireproof structures or areas. Air currents
used to ventilate structures or areas enclosing electrical installations shall be coursed directly into the return. Other underground
structures installed in a coal mine as the Secretary may prescribe
shall be of fireproof construction.
(d) All welding, cutting, or soldering with arc or flame in all
underground areas of a coal mine shall, whenever practicable, be
conducted in fireproof enclosures. Welding, cutting or soldering
with arc or flame in other than a fireproof enclosure shall be done
under the supervision of a qualified person who shall make a diligent search for fire during and after such operations and shall, immediately before and during such operations, continuously test for
methane with means approved by the Secretary for detecting methane. Welding, cutting, or soldering shall not be conducted in air
that contains 1.0 volume per centum or more of methane. Rock
dust or suitable fire extinguishers shall be immediately available
during such welding, cutting, or soldering.
(e) Within one year after the operative date of this title, fire
suppression devices meeting specifications prescribed by the Secretary shall be installed on unattended underground equipment
and suitable fire-resistant hydraulic fluids approved by the Secretary shall be used in the hydraulic systems of such equipment.
Such fluids shall be used in the hydraulic systems of other underground equipment unless fire suppression devices meeting specifications prescribed by the Secretary are installed on such equipment.
(f) Deluge-type water sprays or foam generators automatically
actuated by rise in temperature, or other no less effective means
approved by the Secretary of controlling fire, shall be installed at
main and secondary belt-conveyor drives. Where sprays or foam
9 Section 10(b) of P.L. 102–285, 106 Stat. 172, May 18, 1992, provides that the Bureau of
Mines is designated and shall hereafter be known as the United States Bureau of Mines.

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generators are used they shall supply a sufficient quantity of water
or foam to control fires.
(g) Underground belt conveyors shall be equipped with slippage and sequence switches. The Secretary shall, within sixty days
after the operative date of this title, require that devices be installed on all such belts which will give a warning automatically
when a fire occurs on or near such belt. The Secretary shall prescribe a schedule for installing fire suppression devices on belt
haulageways.
(h) On and after the operative date of this title, all conveyors
belts acquired for use underground shall meet the requirements to
be established by the Secretary for flame-resistant conveyor belts.
ø30 U.S.C. 871¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 311, 83
Stat. 783.
MAPS

SEC. 312. (a) The operator of a coal mine shall have in a fireproof repository located in an area on the surface of the mine chosen by the mine operator to minimize the danger of destruction by
fire or other hazard, an accurate and up-to-date map of such mine
drawn on scale. Such map shall show the active workings, all
pillared, worked out, and abandoned areas, except as provided in
this section, entries and air-courses with the direction of airflow indicated by arrows, contour lines of all elevations, elevations of all
main and cross or side entries, dip of the coalbed, escapeways, adjacent mine workings within one thousand feet, mines above or
below, water pools above, and either producing or abandoned oil
and gas wells located within five hundred feet of such mine and
any underground area of such mine, and such other information as
the Secretary may require. Such map shall identify those areas of
the mine which have been pillared, worked out, or abandoned
which are inaccessible or cannot be entered safely and on which no
information is available. Such map shall be made or certified by a
registered engineer or a registered surveyor of the State in which
the mine is located. Such map shall be kept up to date by temporary notations and such map shall be revised and supplemented
at intervals prescribed by the Secretary on the basis of a survey
made or certified by such engineer or surveyor.
(b) The coal mine map and any revision and supplement thereof shall be available for inspection by the Secretary or his authorized representative, by coal mine inspectors of the State in which
the mine is located, by miners in the mine and their representatives and by operators of adjacent coal mines and by persons owning, leasing, or residing on surface areas of such mines or areas adjacent to such mines. The operator shall furnish to the Secretary
or his authorized representative and to the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development, upon request, one or more copies of such
map and any revision and supplement thereof. Such map or revision and supplement thereof shall be kept confidential and its contents shall not be divulged to any other person, except to the extent
necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act and in connection
with the functions and responsibilities of the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development.
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(c) Whenever an operator permanently closes or abandons a
coal mine, or temporarily closes a coal mine for a period of more
than ninety days, he shall promptly notify the Secretary of such
closure. Within sixty days of the permanent closure or abandonment of the mine, or, when the mine is temporarily closed, upon
the expiration of a period of ninety days from the date of closure,
the operator shall file with the Secretary a copy of the mine map
revised and supplemented to the date of the closure. Such copy of
the mine map shall be certified by a registered surveyor or registered engineer of the State in which the mine is located and shall
be available for public inspection.
ø30 U.S.C. 872¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 312, 83
Stat. 785.
BLASTING AND EXPLOSIVES

SEC. 313. (a) Black blasting powder shall not be stored or used
underground. Mudcaps (adobes) or other unconfined shots shall not
be fired underground.
(b) Explosives and detonators shall be kept in separate containers until immediately before blasting. In underground anthracite mines, (1) mudcaps or other open, unconfined shake shots may
be fired, if restricted to battery starting when methane or a fire
hazard is not present, and if it is otherwise impracticable to start
the battery; (2) open, unconfined shake shots in pitching veins may
be fired, when no methane or fire hazard is present, if the taking
down of loose hanging coal by other means is too hazardous; and
(3) tests for methane shall be made immediately before such shots
are fired and if 1.0 volume per centum or more of methane is
present, when tested, such shot shall not be made until the methane content is reduced below 1.0 volume per centum.
(c) Except as provided in this subsection, in all underground
areas of a coal mine only permissible explosives, electric detonators
of proper strength, and permissible blasting devices shall be used
and all explosives and blasting devices shall be used in a permissible manner. Permissible explosives shall be fired only with permissible shot firing units. Only incombustible materials shall be
used for stemming boreholes. The Secretary may, under such safeguards as he may prescribe, permit the firing of more than twenty
shots and allow the use of nonpermissible explosives in sinking
shafts and slopes from the surface in rock. Nothing in this section
shall prohibit the use of compressed air blasting.
(d) Explosives or detonators carried anywhere underground in
a coal mine by any person shall be in containers constructed of
nonconductive material, maintained in good condition, and kept
closed.
(e) Explosives or detonators shall be transported in special
closed containers (1) in cars moved by means of a locomotive or
rope, (2) on belts, (3) in shuttle cars, or (4) in equipment designed
especially to transport such explosives or detonators.
(f) When supplies of explosives and detonators for use in one
or more working sections are stored underground, they shall be
kept in section boxes or magazines of substantial construction with
no metal exposed on the inside, located at least twenty-five feet
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Sec. 314

from roadways and power wires, and in a dry, well rock-dusted location protected from falls of roof, except in pitching beds, where
it is not possible to comply with the location requirement, such
boxes shall be placed in niches cut into the solid coal or rock.
(g) Explosives and detonators stored in the working places
shall be kept in separate closed containers which shall be located
out of the line of blast and not less than fifty feet from the working
face and fifteen feet from any pipeline, powerline, rail, or conveyor,
except that, if kept in niches in the rib, the distance from any pipeline, powerline, rail, or conveyor shall be at least five feet. Such explosives and detonators, when stored, shall be separated by a distance of at least five feet.
ø30 U.S.C. 873¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 313, 83
Stat. 785.
HOISTING AND MANTRIPS

SEC. 314. (a) Every hoist used to transport persons at a coal
mine shall be equipped with overspeed, overwind, and automatic
stop controls. Every hoist handling platforms, cages, or other devices used to transport persons shall be equipped with brakes capable of stopping the fully loaded platform, cage, or other device; with
hoisting cable adequately strong to sustain the fully loaded platform, cage, or other device; and have a proper margin of safety.
Cages, platforms, or other devices which are used to transport persons in shafts and slopes shall be equipped with safety catches or
other no less effective devices approved by the Secretary that act
quickly and effectively in an emergency, and such catches shall be
tested at least once every two months. Hoisting equipment, including automatic elevators, that is used to transport persons shall be
examined daily. Where persons are transported into, or out of, a
coal mine by hoists, a qualified hoisting engineer shall be on duty
while any person is underground, except that no such engineer
shall be required for automatically operated cages, platforms, or
elevators.
(b) Other safeguards adequate, in the judgment of an authorized representative of the Secretary, to minimize hazards with respect to transportation of men and materials shall be provided.
(c) Hoists shall have rated capacities consistent with the loads
handled and the recommended safety factors of the ropes used. An
accurate and reliable indicator of the position of the cage, platform,
skip, bucket, or cars shall be provided.
(d) There shall be at least two effective methods approved by
the Secretary of signaling between each of the shaft stations and
the hoist room, one of which shall be a telephone or speaking tube.
(e) Each locomotive and haulage care used in an underground
coal mine shall be equipped with automatic brakes, where space
permits. Where space does not permit automatic brakes, locomotives and haulage cars, shall be subject to speed reduction gear,
or other similar devices approved by the Secretary which are designed to stop the locomotives and haulage cars with the proper
margin of safety.
(f) All haulage equipment acquired by an operator of a coal
mine on or after one year after the operative date of this title shall
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be equipped with automatic couplers which couple by impact and
uncouple without the necessity of persons going between the ends
of such equipment. All haulage equipment without automatic couplers in use in a mine on the operative date of this title shall also
be so equipped within four years after the operative date of this
title.
ø30 U.S.C. 874¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 314, 83
Stat. 786.
EMERGENCY SHELTERS

SEC. 315. The Secretary or an authorized representative of the
Secretary may prescribe in any coal mine that rescue chambers,
properly sealed and ventilated, be erected at suitable locations in
the mine to which persons may go in case of an emergency for protection against hazards. Such chambers shall be properly equipped
with first aid materials, an adequate supply of air and self-contained breathing equipment, an independent communication system to the surface, and proper accommodations for the persons
while awaiting rescue, and such other equipment as the Secretary
may require. A plan for the erection, maintenance, and revisions of
such chambers and the training of the miners in their proper use
shall be submitted by the operator to the Secretary for his approval.
ø30 U.S.C. 875¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 315, 83
Stat. 787.
COMMUNICATIONS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS

SEC. 316. (a) IN GENERAL.—Telephone service or equivalent
two-way communication facilities, approved by the Secretary or his
authorized representative, shall be provided between the surface
and each landing of main shafts and slopes and between the surface and each working section of any coal mine that is more than
one hundred feet from a portal.
(b) ACCIDENT PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each underground coal mine operator
shall carry out on a continuing basis a program to improve accident preparedness and response at each mine.
(2) RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS PLAN.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the
date of enactment of the Mine Improvement and New
Emergency Response Act of 2006, each underground coal
mine operator shall develop and adopt a written accident
response plan that complies with this subsection with respect to each mine of the operator, and periodically update
such plans to reflect changes in operations in the mine, advances in technology, or other relevant considerations.
Each such operator shall make the accident response plan
available to the miners and the miners’ representatives.
(B) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—An accident response plan
under subparagraph (A) shall—
(i) provide for the evacuation of all individuals endangered by an emergency; and
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(ii) provide for the maintenance of individuals
trapped underground in the event that miners are not
able to evacuate the mine.
(C) PLAN APPROVAL.—The accident response plan
under subparagraph (A) shall be subject to review and approval by the Secretary. In determining whether to approve a particular plan the Secretary shall take into consideration all comments submitted by miners or their representatives. Approved plans shall—
(i) afford miners a level of safety protection at
least consistent with the existing standards, including
standards mandated by law and regulation;
(ii) reflect the most recent credible scientific research;
(iii) be technologically feasible, make use of current commercially available technology, and account
for the specific physical characteristics of the mine;
and
(iv) reflect the improvements in mine safety
gained from experience under this Act and other worker safety and health laws.
(D) PLAN REVIEW.—The accident response plan under
subparagraph (A) shall be reviewed periodically, but at
least every 6 months, by the Secretary. In such periodic reviews, the Secretary shall consider all comments submitted
by miners or miners’ representatives and intervening advancements in science and technology that could be implemented to enhance miners’ ability to evacuate or otherwise
survive in an emergency.
(E) PLAN CONTENT-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—To be
approved under subparagraph (C), an accident response
plan shall include the following:
(i) POST-ACCIDENT COMMUNICATIONS.—The plan
shall provide for a redundant means of communication
with the surface for persons underground, such as secondary telephone or equivalent two-way communication.
(ii) POST-ACCIDENT TRACKING.—Consistent with
commercially available technology and with the physical constraints, if any, of the mine, the plan shall provide for above ground personnel to determine the current, or immediately pre-accident, location of all underground personnel. Any system so utilized shall be
functional, reliable, and calculated to remain serviceable in a post-accident setting.
(iii) POST-ACCIDENT BREATHABLE AIR.—The plan
shall provide for—
(I) emergency supplies of breathable air for
individuals trapped underground sufficient to
maintain such individuals for a sustained period
of time;
(II) in addition to the 2 hours of breathable
air per miner required by law under the emergency temporary standard as of the day before the
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date of enactment of the Mine Improvement and
New Emergency Response Act of 2006, caches of
self-rescuers providing in the aggregate not less
than 2 hours per miner to be kept in escapeways
from the deepest work area to the surface at a distance of no further than an average miner could
walk in 30 minutes;
(III) a maintenance schedule for checking the
reliability of self rescuers, retiring older self-rescuers first, and introducing new self-rescuer technology, such as units with interchangeable air or
oxygen cylinders not requiring doffing to replenish
airflow and units with supplies of greater than 60
minutes, as they are approved by the Administration and become available on the market; and
(IV) training for each miner in proper procedures for donning self-rescuers, switching from
one unit to another, and ensuring a proper fit.
(iv) POST-ACCIDENT LIFELINES.—The plan shall
provide for the use of flame-resistant directional lifelines or equivalent systems in escapeways to enable
evacuation. The flame-resistance requirement of this
clause shall apply upon the replacement of existing
lifelines, or, in the case of lifelines in working sections,
upon the earlier of the replacement of such lifelines or
3 years after the date of enactment of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006.
(v) TRAINING.—The plan shall provide a training
program for emergency procedures described in the
plan which will not diminish the requirements for
mandatory health and safety training currently required under section 115.
(vi) LOCAL COORDINATION.—The plan shall set out
procedures for coordination and communication between the operator, mine rescue teams, and local
emergency response personnel and make provisions for
familiarizing local rescue personnel with surface functions that may be required in the course of mine rescue work.
(F) PLAN CONTENT-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the content requirements contained in subparagraph (E), and subject to the considerations contained in subparagraph
(C), the Secretary may make additional plan requirements with respect to any of the content matters.
(ii) POST ACCIDENT COMMUNICATIONS.—Not later
than 3 years after the date of enactment of the Mine
Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of
2006, a plan shall, to be approved, provide for post accident communication between underground and surface personnel via a wireless two-way medium, and
provide for an electronic tracking system permitting
surface personnel to determine the location of any persons trapped underground or set forth within the plan
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the reasons such provisions can not be adopted. Where
such plan sets forth the reasons such provisions can
not be adopted, the plan shall also set forth the operator’s alternative means of compliance. Such alternative
shall approximate, as closely as possible, the degree of
functional utility and safety protection provided by the
wireless two-way medium and tracking system referred to in this subpart.
(G) PLAN DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—Any dispute between the Secretary and an operator with respect to the content of
the operator’s plan or any refusal by the Secretary to
approve such a plan shall be resolved on an expedited
basis.
(ii) DISPUTES.—In the event of a dispute or refusal
described in clause (i), the Secretary shall issue a citation which shall be immediately referred to a Commission Administrative Law Judge. The Secretary and the
operator shall submit all relevant material regarding
the dispute to the Administrative Law Judge within
15 days of the date of the referral. The Administrative
Law Judge shall render his or her decision with respect to the plan content dispute within 15 days of the
receipt of the submission.
(iii) FURTHER APPEALS.—A party adversely affected by a decision under clause (ii) may pursue all
further available appeal rights with respect to the citation involved, except that inclusion of the disputed
provision in the plan will not be limited by such appeal unless such relief is requested by the operator
and permitted by the Administrative Law Judge.
(H) MAINTAINING PROTECTIONS FOR MINERS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, nothing in this
section, and no response and preparedness plan developed
under this section, shall be approved if it reduces the protection afforded miners by an existing mandatory health or
safety standard.
ø30 U.S.C. 876¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 316, 83
Stat. 787; June 15, 2006, P.L. 109–236, sec. 2, 120 Stat. 493.
MISCELLANEOUS

SEC. 317. (a) Each operator of a coal mine shall take reasonable measures to locate oil and gas wells penetrating coalbeds or
any underground area of a coal mine. When located, such operator
shall establish and maintain barriers around such oil and gas wells
in accordance with State laws and regulations, except that such
barriers shall not be less than three hundred feet in diameter, unless the Secretary or his authorized representative permits a lesser
barrier consistent with the applicable State laws and regulations
where such lesser barrier will be adequate to protect against hazards from such wells to the miners in such mine, or unless the Secretary or his authorized representative requires a greater barrier
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where the depth of the mine, other geologic conditions, or other factors warrant such a greater barrier.
(b) Whenever any working place approaches within fifty feet of
abandoned areas in the mine as shown by surveys made and certified by a registered engineer or surveyor, or within two hundred
feet of any other abandoned areas of the mine which cannot be inspected and which may contain dangerous accumulations of water
or gas, or within two hundred feet of any workings of an adjacent
mine, a borehole or boreholes shall be drilled to a distance of at
least twenty feet in advance of the working face of such working
place and shall be continually maintained to a distance of at least
ten feet in advance of the advancing working face. When there is
more than one borehole, they shall be drilled sufficiently close to
each other to insure that the advancing working face will not accidentally hole through into abandoned areas or adjacent mines.
Boreholes shall also be drilled not more than eight feet apart in the
rib of such working place to a distance of at least twenty feet and
at an angle of forty-five degrees. Such rib holes shall be drilled in
one or both ribs of such working place as may be necessary for adequate protection of miners in such place.
(c) No person shall smoke, carry smoking materials, matches,
or lighters underground, or smoke in or around oil houses, explosives magazines, or other surface areas where such practice may
cause a fire or explosion. The operator shall institute a program,
approved by the Secretary, to insure that any person entering the
underground area of the mine does not carry smoking materials,
matches, or lighters.
(d) Persons underground shall use only permissible electric
lamps approved by the Secretary for portable illumination. No open
flame shall be permitted in the underground area of any coal mine,
except as permitted under section 311(d) of this title.
(e) Within nine months after the operative date of this title,
the Secretary shall propose the standards under which all working
places in a mine shall be illuminated by permissible lighting, within eighteen months after the promulgation of such standards, while
persons are working in such places.
(f)(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection, at least two separate and distinct travelable passageways
which are maintained to insure passage at all times of any person,
including disabled persons, and which are to be designated as
escapeways, at least one of which is ventilated with intake air,
shall be provided from each working section continuous to the surface escape drift opening, or continuous to the escape shaft or slope
facilities to the surface, as appropriate, and shall be maintained in
safe condition and properly marked. Mine openings shall be adequately protected to prevent the entrance into the underground
area of the mine of surface fires, fumes, smoke, and flood water.
Escape facilities approved by the Secretary or his authorized representative, properly maintained and frequently tested, shall be
present at or in each escape shaft or slope to allow all persons, including disabled persons, to escape quickly to the surface in the
event of an emergency.
(2) When new coal mines are opened, not more than twenty
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nection has been made between the two mine openings, and such
connections shall be made as soon as possible.
(3) When only one mine opening is available, owing to final
mining of pillars, not more than twenty miners shall be allowed in
such mine at any one time, and the distance between the mine
opening and working face shall not exceed five hundred feet.
(4) In the case of all coal mines opened on or after the operative date of this title, and in the case of all new working sections
opened on or after such date in mines opened prior to such date,
the escapeway required by this section to be ventilated with intake
air shall be separated from the belt and trolley haulage entries of
the mine for the entire length of such entries to the beginning of
each working section, except that the Secretary or his authorized
representative may permit such separation to be extended for a
greater or lesser distance so long as such extension does not pose
a hazard to the miners.
(g) After the operative date of this title, all structures erected
on the surface within one hundred feet of any mine opening shall
be of fireproof construction. Unless structures existing on or prior
to such date which are located within one hundred feet of any mine
opening are of such construction, fire doors shall be erected at effective points in mine openings to prevent smoke or fire from outside sources endangering miners underground. These doors shall be
tested at least monthly to insure effective operation. A record of
such tests shall be kept in an area on the surface of the mine chosen by the operator to minimize the danger of destruction by fire
or other hazard and shall be available for inspection by interested
persons.
(h) Adequate measures shall be taken to prevent methane and
coal dust from accumulating in excessive concentrations in or on
surface coal-handling facilities, but in no event shall methane be
permitted to accumulate in concentrations in or on surface coalhandling facilities in excess of limits established for methane by
the Secretary within one year after the operative date of this title.
Where coal is dumped at or near air-intake openings, provisions
shall be made to avoid dust from entering the mine.
(i) Every operator of a coal mine shall provide a program, approved by the Secretary, of training and retraining of both qualified
and certified persons needed to carry out functions prescribed in
this Act.
(j) An authorized representative of the Secretary may require
in any coal mine where the height of the coalbed permits that electric face equipment, including shuttle cars, be provided with substantially constructed canopies or cabs to protect the miners operating such equipment from roof falls and from rib and face rolls.
(k) On and after the operative date of this title, the opening
of any coal mine that is declared inactive by its operator or is permanently closed or abandoned for more than ninety days, shall be
sealed by the operator in a manner prescribed by the Secretary.
Openings of all other mines shall be adequately protected in a
manner prescribed by the Secretary to prevent entrance by unauthorized persons.
(l) The Secretary may require any operator to provide adequate
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ground, to provide for the storing of such clothes from shift to shift,
and to provide sanitary and bathing facilities. Sanitary toilet facilities shall be provided in the active workings of the mine when such
surface facilities are not readily accessible to the active workings.
(m) Each operator shall make arrangements in advance for obtaining emergency medical assistance and transportation for injured persons. Emergency communications shall be provided to the
nearest point of assistance. Selected agents of the operator shall be
trained in first aid and first aid training shall be made available
to all miners. Each coal mine shall have an adequate supply of first
aid equipment located on the surface, at the bottom of shafts and
slopes, and at other strategic locations near the working faces. In
fulfilling each of the requirements of this subsection, the operator
shall meet at least minimum requirements prescribed by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Within two months after
the operative date of this title, each operator shall file with the
Secretary a plan setting forth in such detail as the Secretary may
require the manner in which such operator has fulfilled the requirements in this subsection.
(n) A self-rescue device approved by the Secretary shall be
made available to each miner by the operator which shall be adequate to protect such miner for one hour or longer. Each operator
shall train each miner in the use of such device.
(o) The Secretary shall prescribe improved methods of assuring
that miners are not exposed to atmospheres that are deficient in
oxygen.
(p) Each operator of a coal mine shall establish a check-in and
check-out system which will provide positive identification of every
person underground, and will provide an accurate record of the persons in the mine kept on the surface in a place chosen to minimize
the danger of destruction by fire or other hazard. Such record shall
bear a number identical to an identification check that is securely
fastened to the lamp belt worn by the person underground. The
identification check shall be made of a rust resistant metal of not
less than sixteen gauge.
(q) The Secretary shall require, when technologically feasible,
that devices to prevent and suppress ignitions be installed on electric face cutting equipment.
(r) Whenever an operator mines coal from a coal mine opened
after the operative date of this title, or from any new working section of a mine opened prior to such date, in a manner that requires
the construction, operation, and maintenance of tunnels under any
river, stream, lake, or other body of water, that is, in the judgment
of the Secretary, sufficiently large to constitute a hazard to miners,
such operator shall obtain a permit from the Secretary which shall
include such terms and conditions as he deems appropriate to protect the safety of miners working or passing through such tunnels
from cave-ins and other hazards. Such permits shall require, in accordance with a plan to be approved by the Secretary, that a safety
zone be established beneath and adjacent to such body of water. No
plan shall be approved unless there is a minimum of cover to be
determined by the Secretary, based on test holes drilled by the operator in a manner to be prescribed by the Secretary. No such permit shall be required in the case of any new working section of a
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mine which is located under any water resource reservoir being
constructed by a Federal agency on the date of enactment of this
Act, the operator of which is required by such agency to operate in
a manner that adequately protects the safety of miners working in
such section from cave-ins and other hazards.
(s) An adequate supply of potable water shall be provided for
drinking purposes in the active workings of the mine, and such
water shall be carried, stored, and otherwise protected in sanitary
containers.
(t) Within one year after the operative date of this title, the
Secretary shall propose standards of preventing explosions from explosive gases other than methane and for testing for accumulations
of such gases.
ø30 U.S.C. 877¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 317, 83
Stat. 787.
DEFINITIONS

SEC. 318. For the purpose of this title and title II of this Act,
the term—
(a) ‘‘certified’’ or ‘‘registered’’ as applied to any person
means a person certified or registered by the State in which
the coal mine is located to perform duties prescribed by such
titles, except that, in a State where no program of certification
or registration is provided or where the program does not meet
at least minimum Federal standards established by the Secretary, such certification or registration shall be by the Secretary;
(b) ‘‘qualified’’ person means, as the context requires,
(1) an individual deemed qualified by the Secretary
and designated by the operator to make tests and examinations required by this Act; and
(2) an individual deemed, in accordance with minimum requirements to be established by the Secretary,
qualified by training, education, and experience, to perform electrical work, to maintain electrical equipment, and
to conduct examinations and tests of all electrical equipment;
(c) ‘‘permissible’’ as applied to—
(1) equipment used in the operation of a coal mine,
means equipment, other than permissible electric face
equipment, to which an approval plate, label, or other device is attached as authorized by the Secretary and which
meets specifications which are prescribed by the Secretary
for the construction and maintenance of such equipment
and are designed to assure that such equipment will not
cause a mine explosion or a mine fire,
(2) explosives, shot firing units, or blasting devices
used in such mine, means explosives, shot firing units, or
blasting devices which meet specifications which are prescribed by the Secretary, and
(3) the manner of use of equipment or explosives, shot
firing units, and blasting devices, means the manner of
use prescribed by the Secretary;
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(d) ‘‘rock dust’’ means pulverized limestone, dolomite, gypsum, anhydrite, shale, adobe, or other inert material, preferably light colored, 100 per centum of which will pass through
a sieve having twenty meshes per linear inch and 70 per centum or more of which will pass through a sieve having two
hundred meshes per linear inch; the particles of which when
wetted and dried will not cohere to form a cake which will not
be dispersed into separate particles by a light blast of air; and
which does not contain more than 5 per centum of combustible
matter or more than a total of 4 per centum of free and combined silica (SiO2), or, where the Secretary finds that such silica concentrations are not available, which does not contain
more than 5 per centum of free and combined silica;
(e) ‘‘anthracite’’ means coals with a volatile ratio equal to
0.12 or less;
(f) ‘‘volatile ratio’’ means volatile matter content divided by
the volatile matter plus the fixed carbon;
(g)(1) ‘‘working face’’ means any place in a coal mine in
which work of extracting coal from its natural deposit in the
earth is performed during the mining cycle,
(2) ‘‘working place’’ means the area of a coal mine inby the
last open crosscut,
(3) ‘‘working section’’ means all areas of the coal mine from
the loading point of the section to and including the working
faces,
(4) ‘‘active workings’’ means any place in a coal mine
where miners are normally required to work or travel;
(h) ‘‘abandoned areas’’ means sections, panels, and other
areas that are not ventilated and examined in the manner required for working places under section 303 of this title;
(i) ‘‘permissible’’ as applied to electric face equipment
means all electrically operated equipment taken into or used
inby the last open crosscut of an entry or a room of any coal
mine the electrical parts of which, including, but not limited to,
associated electrical equipment, components, and accessories,
are designed, constructed, and installed, in accordance with the
specifications of the Secretary, to assure that such equipment
will not cause a mine explosion or mine fire, and the other features of which are designed and constructed, in accordance
with the specifications of the Secretary, to prevent, to the
greatest extent possible, other accidents in the use of such
equipment; and the regulations of the Secretary or the Director
of the Bureau of Mines 10 in effect on the operative date of this
title relating to the requirements for investigation, testing, approval, certification, and acceptance of such equipment as permissible shall continue in effect until modified or superseded
by the Secretary, except that the Secretary shall provide procedures, including, where feasible, testing, approval, certification,
and acceptance in the field by an authorized representative of
the Secretary, to facilitate compliance by an operator with the
10 Section 10(b) of P.L. 102–285, 106 Stat. 172, May 18, 1992, provides that the Bureau of
Mines is designated and shall hereafter be known as the United States Bureau of Mines.

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requirements of section 305(a) of this title within the periods
prescribed therein:
(j) ‘‘low voltage’’ means up to and including 660 volts; ‘‘medium voltage’’ means voltages from 661 to 1,000 volts; and
‘‘high voltage’’ means more than 1,000 volts;
ø(k) Repealed¿
(l) ‘‘coal mine’’ includes areas of adjoining mines connected
underground.
ø30 U.S.C. 878¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title III, sec. 318, 83
Stat. 791; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title II, sec 202(b), 91 Stat. 317.

TITLE IV—BLACK LUNG BENEFITS
PART A—GENERAL
SEC. 401. (a) Congress finds and declares that there are a significant number of coal miners living today who are totally disabled
due to pneumoconiosis arising out of employment in one or more
of the Nation’s coal mines; that there are a number of survivors of
coal miners whose deaths were due to this disease; and that few
States provide benefits for death or disability due to this disease
to coal miners or their surviving dependents. It is, therefore, the
purpose of this title to provide benefits, in cooperation with the
States, to coal miners who are totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis and to the surviving dependents of miners whose death
was due to such disease; and to ensure that in the future adequate
benefits are provided to coal miners and their dependents in the
event of their death or total disability due to pneumoconiosis.
(b) This title may be cited as the ‘‘Black Lung Benefits Act’’.
ø30 U.S.C. 901¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title IV, sec. 401, 83
Stat. 792; amended May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, secs. 3(a), 4(b)(2), 86 Stat. 153, 154;
amended March 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239, sec. 16, 92 Stat. 105; amended December 29,
1981, P.L. 97–119, title II, sec. 203(a)(4), 95 Stat. 1644.
SEC. 402. For purposes of this title—

(a) The term ‘‘dependent’’ means—
(1) a child as defined in subsection (g) without regard to
subparagraph (2) (B) (ii) thereof; or
(2) a wife who is a member of the same household as the
miner, or is receiving regular contributions from the miner for
her support, or whose husband is a miner who has been ordered by a court to contribute to her support, or who meets the
requirements of section 216(b) (1) or (2) of the Social Security
Act. The determination of an individual’s status as the ‘‘wife’’
of a miner shall be made in accordance with section 216(h)(1)
of the Social Security Act as if such miner were the ‘‘insured
individual’’ referred to therein. The term ‘‘wife’’ also includes a
‘‘divorced wife’’ as defined in section 216(d)(1) of the Social Security Act who is receiving at least one-half of her support, as
determined in accordance with regulations prescribed by the
Secretary, from the miner, or is receiving substantial contributions from the miner (pursuant to a written agreement), or
there is in effect a court order for substantial contributions to
her support from such miner.
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(b) The term ‘‘pneumoconiosis’’ means a chronic dust disease of
the lung and its sequelae, including respiratory and pulmonary impairments, arising out of coal mine employment.
(c) The term ‘‘Secretary’’, except where expressly otherwise provided, means the Secretary of Labor.
(d) The term ‘‘miner’’ means any individual who works or has
worked in or around a coal mine or coal preparation facility in the
extraction or preparation of coal. Such term also includes and individual who works or has worked in coal mine construction or transportation in or around a coal mine, to the extent such individual
was exposed to coal dust as a result of such employment.
(e) The term ‘‘widow’’ includes the wife living with or dependent for support on the miner at the time of his death, or living
apart for reasonable cause or because of his desertion, or who
meets the requirements of section 216(c) (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5), section 216(k) of the Social Security Act, who is not married. The determination of an individual’s status as the ‘‘widow’’ of a miner
shall be made in accordance with section 216(h)(1) of the Social Security Act as if such miner were the ‘‘insured individual’’ referred
to therein. Such term also includes a ‘‘surviving divorced wife’’ as
defined in section 216(d)(2) of the Social Security Act who for the
month preceding the month in which the miner died, was receiving
at least one-half of her support, as determined in accordance with
regulations prescribed by the Secretary, from the miner, or was receiving substantial contributions from the miner (pursuant to a
written agreement) or there was in effect a court order for substantial contributions to her support from the miner at the time of his
death.
(f)(1) The term ‘‘total disability’’ has the meaning given it by
regulations of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare,
which were in effect on the date of enactment of the Black Lung
Consolidation of Administrative Responsibilities 11 Act, for claims
under part B of this title, and by regulations of the Secretary of
Labor for claims under part C of this title, subject to the relevant
provisions of subsections (b) and (d) of section 413, except that—
(A) in the case of a living miner, such regulations shall
provide that a miner shall be considered totally disabled when
pneumoconiosis prevents him or her from engaging in gainful
employment requiring the skills and abilities comparable to
those of any employment in a mine or mines in which he or
she previously engaged with some regularity and over a substantial period of time;
(B) such regulations shall provide that (i) a deceased miner’s employment in a mine at the time of death shall not be
used as conclusive evidence that the miner was not totally disabled; and (ii) in the case of a living miner, if there are
changed circumstances of employment indicative of reduced
ability to perform his or her usual coal mine work, such miner’s employment in a mine shall not be used as conclusive evidence that the miner is not totally disabled;
11 So in law. Probably should read ‘‘Responsibility’’. See section 1 of Public Law 107–275 (116
Stat. 1925).

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(C) such regulations shall not provide more restrictive criteria than those applicable under section 223(d) of the Social
Security Act; and
(D) the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health, shall establish criteria for all appropriate medical tests
under this subsection which accurately reflect total disability
in coal miners as defined in subparagraph (A).
(2) Criteria applied by the Secretary of Labor in the case of—
(A) any claim arising under part B or subject to a determination by the Secretary of Labor under section 435(a);
(B) any claim which is subject to review by the Secretary
of Labor under section 435(b); and
(C) any claim filed on or before the effective date of regulations promulgated under this subsection by the Secretary of
Labor;
shall not be more restrictive than the criteria applicable to a claim
filed on June 30, 1973, whether or not the final disposition of any
such claim occurs after the date of such promulgation of regulations by the Secretary of Labor.
(g) The term ‘‘child’’ means a child or a step-child who is—
(1) unmarried; and
(2)(A) under eighteen years of age, or
(B)(i) under a disability as defined in section 223(d) of the
Social Security Act,
(ii) which began before the age specified in section
202(d)(1)(B)(ii) of the Social Security Act, or, in the case of a
student, before he ceased to be a student; or
(C) a student.
The term ‘‘student’’ means a ‘‘full-time student’’ as defined in section 202(d)(7) of the Social Security Act, or a ‘‘student’’ as defined
in section 8101(17) of title 5, United States Code. The determination of an individual’s status as the ‘‘child’’ of the miner or widow,
as the case may be, shall be made in accordance with section
216(h) (2) or (3) of the Social Security Act as if such miner, or
widow were the ‘‘insured individual’’ referred to therein.
(h) The term ‘‘fund’’ means the Black Lung Disability Trust
Fund established by section 9501 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1954.
(i) For the purposes of subsections (c) and (j) of section 422,
and for the purposes of paragraph (7) of subsection (d) of section
9501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, the term ‘‘claim denied’’
means a claim—
(1) for benefits under part B that was denied by the official
responsible for administration of such part; or
(2) in which (A) the claimant was notified by the Department of Labor of an administrative or informal denial more
than 1 year prior to the date of enactment of the Black Lung
Benefits Reform Act of 1977 and did not, within 1 year from
the date of notification of such denial, request a hearing,
present additional evidence or indicate an intention to present
additional evidence, or (B) the claim was denied under the law
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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

78

efits Reform Act of 1977 following a formal hearing or administrative or judicial review proceeding.
ø30 U.S.C. 902¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title IV, sec. 402, 83
Stat. 792; amended May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, secs. 1(c)(2)–(4), 3(b), 4(a), 86 Stat.
151–153; amended March 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239, sec. 2, 92 Stat. 95; amended December 29, 1981, P.L. 97–119, title I, sec. 104(b)(1), title II, sec. 205(b), 95 Stat. 1639,
1645; amended August 15, 1994, P.L. 103–296, sec. 108(i)(1), 108 Stat. 1488; amended November 2, 2002, P.L. 107–275, sec. 2(b)(1), 116 Stat. 1925.

PART B—CLAIMS

FOR

BENEFITS FILED
31, 1973

ON OR

BEFORE DECEMBER

SEC. 411. (a) The Secretary shall, in accordance with the provisions of this part, and the regulations promulgated by him under
this part, make payments of benefits in respect of total disability
of any miner due to pneumoconiosis, and in respect of the death
of any miner whose death was due to pneumoconiosis or, except
with respect to a claim filed under part C of this title on or after
the effective date of the Black Lung Benefits Amendments of 1981,
who at the time of his death was totally disabled by pneumoconiosis.
(b) The Secretary shall by regulation prescribe standards for
determining for purposes of section 411(a) whether a miner is totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis and for determining whether
the death of a miner was due to pneumoconiosis. Regulations required by this subsection shall be promulgated and published in
the Federal Register at the earliest practicable date after the date
of enactment of this title, and in no event later than the end of the
third month following the month in which this title is enacted.
Final regulations required for implementation of any amendments
to this title shall be promulgated and published in the Federal Register at the earliest practicable date after the date of enactment of
such amendments, and in no event later than the end of the fourth
month following the month in which such amendments are enacted. Such regulations may be modified or additional regulations
promulgated from time to time thereafter.
(c) For purposes of this section—
(1) If a miner who is suffering or suffered from pneumoconiosis was employed for ten years or more in one or more
coal mines there shall be a rebuttable presumption that his
pneumoconiosis arose out of such employment.
(2) If a deceased miner was employed for ten years or more
in one or more coal mines and died from a respirable disease
there shall be rebuttable presumption that his death was due
to pneumoconiosis. The provisions of this paragraph shall not
apply with respect to claims filed on or after the effective date
of the Black Lung Benefits Amendments of 1981.
(3) If a miner is suffering or suffered from a chronic dust
disease of the lung which (A) when diagnosed by chest roentgenogram, yields one or more large opacities (greater than one
centimeter in diameter) and would be classified in category A,
B or C in the International Classification of Radiographs of the
Pneumoconioses by the International Labor Organization, (B)
when diagnosed by biopsy or autopsy yields massive lesions in
the lung, or (C) when diagnosis is made by other means, would
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be a condition which could reasonably be expected to yield results described in clause (A) or (B) if diagnosis had been made
in the manner prescribed in clause (A) or (B), then there shall
be an irrebuttable presumption that he is a totally disabled
due to pneumoconiosis or that his death was due to pneumoconiosis, or that at the time of his death he was totally disabled by pneumoconiosis. 12 as the case may be.
(4) if 13 a miner was employed for fifteen years or more in
one or more underground coal mines, and if there is a chest
roentgenogram submitted in connection with such miner’s, his
widow’s, his child’s, his parent’s, his brother’s, his sister’s, or
his dependent’s claim under this title and it is interpreted as
negative with respect to the requirements of paragraph (3) of
this subsection, and if other evidence demonstrates the existence of a totally disabling respiratory or pulmonary impairment, then there shall be a rebuttable presumption that such
miner is totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis, that this
death was due to pneumoconiosis, or that at the time of his
death he was totally disabled by pneumoconiosis. In the case
of a living miner, a wife’s affidavit may not be used by itself
to establish the presumption. The Secretary shall not apply all
or a portion of the requirement of this paragraph that the
miner worked in an underground mine where he determines
that conditions of a miner’s employment in a coal mine other
than an underground mine were substantially similar to conditions in an underground mine. The Secretary may rebut such
presumption only by establishing that (A) such miner does not,
or did not, have pneumoconiosis, or that (B) his respiratory of
pulmonary impairment did not arise out of, or in connection
with, employment in a coal mine.
(5) In the case of a miner who dies on or before the date
of the enactment of the Black Lung Benefits Reform Act of
1977 who was employed for 25 years or more in one or more
coal mines before June 30, 1971, the eligible survivors of such
miner shall be entitled to the payment of benefits, at the rate
applicable under section 412(a)(2), unless it is established that
at the time of his or her death such miner was not partially
or totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis. Eligible survivors
shall, upon request by the Secretary, furnish such evidence as
is available with respect to the health of the miner at the time
of his or her death. The provisions of this paragraph shall not
apply with respect to claims filed on or after the day that is
180 days after the effective date of the Black Lung Benefits
Amendments of 1981.
(d) Nothing in subsection (c) shall be deemed to affect the applicability of subsection (a) in the case of a claim where the presumptions provided for therein are inapplicable.
ø30 U.S.C. 921¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title IV, sec. 411, 83
Stat. 793; amended May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, secs. 3(a) 4(b)(1), (3), (c), (d), 86 Stat.
153, 154; amended March 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239. sec. 3(a), 92 Stat. 96; amended December 29, 1981, P.L. 97–119, title II, secs. 202(b), 203(a)(5), 95 Stat. 1643–1644;
12 So
13 So

in law. The period should be a comma.
in law. The word ‘‘if’’ should read ‘‘If’’ (see 86 Stat. 154).

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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

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amended August 15, 1994, P.L. 103–296, sec. 108(i)(2), 108 Stat. 1488; amended
March 23, 2010, P.L. 111–148, sec. 1556(a), 124 Stat. 260.
SEC. 412. (a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this

section, benefit payments shall be made by the Secretary under
this part as follows:
(1) In the case of total disability of a miner due to pneumoconiosis, the disabled miner shall be paid benefits during the disability at a rate equal to 371⁄2 per centum of the monthly pay rate
for Federal employees in grade GS–2, step 1.
(2) In the case of death of a miner due to pneumoconiosis or,
except with respect to a claim filed under part C of this title on
or after the effective date of the Black Lung Benefits Amendments
of 1981, of a miner receiving benefits under this part, benefits shall
be paid to his widow (if any) at the rate the deceased miner would
receive such benefits if he were totally disabled.
(3) In the case of the child or children of a miner whose death
is due to pneumoconiosis or, except with respect to a claim filed
under part C of this title on or after the effective date of the Black
Lung Benefits Amendments of 1981, of a miner who is receiving
benefits under this part at the time of his death or who was totally
disabled by pneumoconiosis at the time of his death, in the case of
the child or children of a widow who is receiving benefits under
this part at the time of her death, and in the case of any child or
children entitled to the payment of benefits under paragraph (5) of
section 411(c), benefits shall be paid to such child or children as follows: If there is one such child, he shall be paid benefits at the rate
specified in paragraph (1). If there is more than one such child, the
benefits paid shall be divided equally among them and shall be
paid at a rate equal to the rate specified in paragraph (1), increased by 50 per centum of such rate if there are two such children, by 75 per centum of such rate if there are three such children, and by 100 per centum of such rate if there are more than
three such children: Provided, That benefits shall only be paid to
a child for so long as he meets the criteria for the term ‘‘child’’ contained in section 402(g): And provided further, That no entitlement
to benefits as a child shall be established under this paragraph (3)
for any month for which entitlement to benefits as a widow is established under paragraph (2).
(4) In the case of an individual entitled to benefit payments
under clause (1) or (2) of this subsection who has one or more dependents, the benefit payments shall be increased at the rate of 50
per centum of such benefit payments, if such individual has one dependent, 75 per centum if such individual has two dependents, and
100 per centum if such individual has three or more dependents.
(5) In the case of the dependent parent or parents of a miner
whose death is due to pneumoconiosis, or, except with respect to
a claim filed under part C of this title on or after the effective date
of the Black Lung Benefits Amendments of 1981, of a miner who
is receiving benefits under this part at the time of his death who
was totally disabled by pneumoconiosis at the time of death, and
who is not survived at the time of his death by a widow or a child,
in the case of the dependent surviving brother(s) or sister(s) of such
a miner who is not survived at the time of his death by a widow,
child, or parent, in the case of the dependent parent or parents of
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a miner (who is not survived at the time of his or her death by a
widow or a child) who are entitled to the payment of benefits under
paragraph (5) of section 411(c), or in the case of the dependent surviving brother(s) or sister(s) of a miner (who is not survived at the
time of his or her death by a widow, child, or parent) who are entitled to the payment of benefits under paragraph (5) of section
411(c), benefits shall be paid under this part to such parent(s), or
to such brother(s), or sister(s), at the rate specified in paragraph
(3) (as if such parent(s) or such brother(s) or sister(s), were the
children of such miner). In determining for purposes of this paragraph whether a claimant bears the relationship as the miner’s
parent, brother, or sister, the Secretary shall apply legal standards
consistent with those applicable to relationship determination
under title II of the Social Security Act. No benefits to a sister or
brother shall be payable under this paragraph for any month beginning with the month in which he or she receives support from
his or her spouse, or marries. Benefits shall be payable under this
paragraph to a brother only if he is—
(1)(A) under eighteen years of age, or
(B) under a disability as defined in section 223(d) of the
Social Security Act which began before the age specified in section 202(d)(1)(B)(ii) of such Act, or in the case of a student, before he ceased to be a student, or
(C) a student as defined in section 402(g); or
(2) who is, at the time of the miner’s death, disabled as determined in accordance with section 223(d) of the Social Security Act, during such disability. Any benefit under this paragraph for a month prior to the month in which a claim for such
benefit is filed shall be reduced to any extent that may be necessary, so that it will not render erroneous any benefit which,
before the filing of such claim, the Secretary has certified for
payment for such prior months. As used in this paragraph, ‘‘dependent’’ means that during the one year period prior to and
ending with such miner’s death, such parent, brother, or sister
was living in the miner’s household, and was, during such period, totally dependent on the miner for support. Proof of such
support shall be filed by such claimant within two years after
the month in which this amendment is enacted, or within two
years after the miner’s death, whichever is the later. Any such
proof which is filed after the expiration of such period shall be
deemed to have been filed within such period if it is shown to
the satisfaction of the Secretary that there was good cause for
failure to file such proof within such period. The determination
of what constitutes ‘‘living in the miner’s household’’, ‘‘totally
dependent upon the miner for support,’’ and ‘‘good cause,’’ shall
for purposes of this paragraph be made in accordance with regulations of the Secretary. Benefit payments under this paragraph to a parent, brother, or sister, shall be reduced by the
amount by which such payments would be reduced on account
of excess earnings of such parent, brother, or sister, respectively, under section 203(b)–(1) of the Social Security Act, as if
the benefit under this paragraph were a benefit under section
202 of such Act.
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(6) If an individual’s benefits would be increased under paragraph (4) of this subsection because he or she has one or more dependents, and it appears to the Secretary that it would be in the
interest of any such dependent to have the amount of such increase
in benefits (to the extent attributable to such dependent) certified
to a person other than such individual, then the Secretary may,
under regulations prescribed by him, certify the amount of such increase in benefits (to the extent so attributable) not to such individual but directly to such dependent or to another person for the
use and benefit of such dependent; and any payment made under
this clause, if otherwise valid under this title, shall be a complete
settlement and satisfaction of all claims, rights, and interests in
and to such payment.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), benefit payments under
this section to a miner or his widow, child, parent, brother, or sister shall be reduced, on a monthly or other appropriate basis, by
an amount equal to any payment received by such miner or his
widow, child, parent, bother, or sister under the workmen’s compensation, unemployment compensation, or disability insurance
laws of his State on account of the disability of such miner due to
pneumoconiosis, and the amount by which such payment would be
reduced on account of excess earnings of such miner under section
203 (b) through (l) of the Social Security Act if the amount paid
were a benefit payable under section 202 of such Act. This part
shall not be considered a workmen’s compensation law or plan for
purposes of section 224 of such Act.
(c) Benefits payable under this part shall be deemed not to be
income for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
ø30 U.S.C. 922¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title IV, sec. 412, 83
Stat. 794; amended May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, secs. 1(b)(1), (2), (c)(1), 2(a), 86 Stat.
150, 151, 153; amended March 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239, secs. 3(b)(1), 4, 92 Stat. 96,
97; amended December 29, 1981, P.L. 97–119, title II, sec. 203(a)(1)–(3), (d), 95 Stat.
1643, 1644; amended August 15, 1994, P.L. 103–296, sec. 108(i)(2), 108 Stat. 1488.
SEC. 413. (a) Except as otherwise provided in section 414 of

this part, no payment of benefits shall be made under this part except pursuant to a claim filed therefor on or before December 31,
1973, in such manner, in such form, and containing such information, as the Secretary shall by regulation prescribe.
(b) No claim for benefits under this part shall be denied solely
on the basis of the results of a chest roentgenogram. In determining the validity of claims under this part, all relevant evidence
shall be considered, including, where relevant, medical tests such
as blood gas studies, X-ray examination, electrocardiogram, pulmonary function studies, or physical performance tests, and any
medical history, evidence submitted by the claimant’s physician, or
his wife’s affidavits, and in the case of a deceased miner, other appropriate affidavits of persons with knowledge of the miner’s physical condition, and other supportive materials. Where there is no
medical or other relevant evidence in the case of a deceased miner,
such affidavits, from persons not eligible for benefits in such case
with respect to claims filed on or after the effective date of the
Black Lung Benefits Amendments of 1981, shall be considered to
be sufficient to establish that the miner was totally disabled due
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coniosis. In any case, other than that involving a claim filed on or
after the effective date of the Black Lung Benefits Amendments of
1981, in which there is other evidence that a miner has a pulmonary or respiratory impairment, the Secretary shall accept a
board certified or board eligible radiologist’s, interpretation of a
chest roentgenogram which is of a quality sufficient to demonstrate
the presence of pneumoconiosis submitted in support of a claim for
benefits under this title if such roentgenogram has been taken by
a radiologist or qualified technician, except where the Secretary
has reason to believe that the claim has been fraudulently represented. In order to insure that any such roentgenogram is of adequate quality to demonstrate the presence of pneumoconiosis, and
in order to provide for uniform quality in the roentgenograms, the
Secretary of Labor may, by regulation, establish specific requirements for the techniques used to take roentgenograms of the chest.
Unless the Secretary has good cause to believe that an autopsy report is not accurate, or that the condition of the miner is being
fraudulently misrepresented, the Secretary shall accept such autopsy report concerning the presence of pneumoconiosis and the
stage of advancement of pneumoconiosis. Claimants under this part
shall be reimbursed for reasonable medical expenses incurred by
them in establishing their claims. For purposes of determining
total disability under this part, the provisions of subsections (a),
(b), (c), (d), and (g) of section 221 of such Act shall be applicable.
The provisions of sections 204, 205 (a), (b), (d), (e), (g), (h), (j), (k),
(l), and (n), 206, 207, and 208 of the Social Security Act shall be
applicable under this part with respect to a miner, widow, child,
parent, brother, sister, or dependent, as if benefits under this part
were benefits under title II of such Act. Each miner who files a
claim for benefits under this title shall upon request be provided
an opportunity to substantiate his or her claim by means of a complete pulmonary evaluation.
(c) No claim for benefits under this section shall be considered
unless the claimant has also filed a claim under the applicable
State workmen’s compensation law prior to or at the same time his
claim was filed for benefits under this section; except that the foregoing provisions of this paragraph shall not apply in any case in
which the filing of a claim under such law would clearly be futile
because the period within which such a claim may be filed thereunder has expired or because pneumoconiosis is not compensable
under such law, or in any other situation in which, in the opinion
of the Secretary, the filing of a claim would clearly be futile.
(d) No miner who is engaged in coal mine employment shall
(except as provided in section 411(c)(3)) be entitled to any benefits
under this part while so employed. Any miner who has been determined to be eligible for benefits pursuant to a claim filed while
such miner was engaged in coal mine employment shall be entitled
to such benefits if his or her employment terminates within one
year after the date such determination becomes final.

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ø30 U.S.C. 923¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title IV, sec. 413, 83
Stat. 794; amended May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, secs. 1(c)(5)(A), 4(f), 5(2), 86 Stat.
152, 154, 155; amended March 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239, sec. 5, 92 Stat. 97; amended
December 29, 1981, P.L. 97–119, title II, sec. 202 (a), (c), 95 Stat. 1643; amended
August 15, 1994, P.L. 103–296, sec. 108(i)(2), 108 Stat. 1488; amended November
2, 2002, P.L. 107–275, sec. 2(b)(2), 116 Stat. 1925.
As Amended Through P.L. 111-148, Enacted March 23, 2010

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SEC. 414. (a)(1) No claim for benefits under this part on account of total disability of a miner shall be considered unless it is
filed on or before December 31, 1973, or, in the case of a claimant
who is a widow, within six months after the death of her husband
or by December 31, 1973, whichever is the later.
(2) In the case of a claim by a child this paragraph shall apply,
notwithstanding any other provision of this part.
(A) If such claim is filed within six months following the month
in which this paragraph is enacted, and if entitlement to benefits
is established pursuant to such claim, such entitlement shall be effective retroactively from December 30, 1969, or from the date such
child would have been first eligible for such benefit payments had
section 412(a)(3) been applicable since December 30, 1969, whichever is the lesser period. If on the date such claim is filed the
claimant is not eligible for benefit payments, but was eligible at
any period of time during the period from December 30, 1969, to
the date such claim is filed, entitlement shall be effective for the
duration of eligibility during such period.
(B) If such claim is filed after six months following the month
in which this paragraph is enacted, and if entitlement to benefits
is established pursuant to such claim, such entitlement shall be effective retroactively from a date twelve months preceding the date
such claim is filed, or from the date such child would have been
first eligible for such benefit payments had section 412(a)(3) been
applicable since December 30, 1969, whichever is the lesser period.
If on the date such claim is filed the claimant is not eligible for
benefit payments, but was eligible at any period of time during the
period from a date twelve months preceding the date such claim is
filed, to the date such claim is filed, entitlements shall be effective
for the duration of eligibility during such period.
(C) No claim for benefits under this part, in the case of a
claimant who is a child, shall be considered unless it is filed within
six months after the death of his father or mother (whichever last
occurred) or by December 31, 1973, whichever is the later.
(D) Any benefit under subparagraph (A) or (B) for a month
prior to the month in which a claim is filed shall be reduced, to any
extent that may be necessary, so that it will not render erroneous
any benefit which, before the filing of such claim, the Secretary has
certified for payment for such prior month.
(3) No claim for benefits under this part, in the case of a claimant who is a parent, brother, or sister shall be considered unless
it is filed within six months after the death of the miner or by December 31, 1973, whichever is the later.
(b) No benefits shall be paid under this part after December
31, 1973, if the claim therefor was filed after June 30, 1973.
(c) No benefits under this part shall be payable for any period
prior to the date a claim therefor is filed.
(d) No benefits shall be paid under this part to the residents
of any State which, after the date of enactment of this Act, reduces
the benefits payable to persons eligible to receive benefits under
this part, under its State laws which are applicable to its general
work force with regard to workmen’s compensation, unemployment
compensation, or disability insurance.
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(e) No benefits shall be payable to a widow, child, parent,
brother, or sister under this part on account of the death of a miner
unless (1) benefits under this part were being paid to such miner
with respect to disability due to pneumoconiosis prior to his death,
(2) the death of such miner occurred prior to January 1, 1974, or
(3) any such individual is entitled to benefits under paragraph (5)
of section 411(c).
ø30 U.S.C. 924¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title IV, sec. 414, 83
Stat. 795; amended May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, secs. 1(c)(1), (6), 5(1)–(3), 86 Stat.
151, 152, 155; amended March 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239, sec. 3(b)(2), 92 Stat. 97; amended August 15, 1994, P.L. 103–296, sec. 108(i)(2), 108 Stat. 1488.
SEC. 415. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision in this title,

for the purpose of assuring the uninterrupted receipt of benefits by
claimants at such time as responsibility for administration of the
benefits program is assumed by either a State workmen’s compensation agency or the Secretary of Labor, any claim for benefits
under this part filed during the period from July 1, 1973 to December 31, 1973, shall be considered and determined in accordance
with the procedures of this section. With respect to any such
claim—
(1) Such claim shall be determined and, where appropriate
under this part or section 9501(d) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1954, benefits shall be paid with respect to such claim
by the Secretary of Labor.
(2) The Secretary of Labor shall promptly notify any operator who he believes, on the basis of information contained in
the claims, or any other information available to him, may be
liable to pay benefits to the claimant under part C of this title
for any month after December 31, 1973.
(3) In determining such claims, the Secretary of Labor
shall, to the extent appropriate, follow the procedures described in sections 19 (b), (c), and (d) of Public law 803, 69th
Congress (44 Stat. 1424, approved March 4, 1927), as amended.
(4) Any operator who has been notified of the pendency of
a claim under paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be bound
by the determination of the Secretary of Labor on such claim
as if the claim had been filed pursuant to part C of this title
and section 422 thereof had been applicable to such operator.
Nothing in this paragraph shall require any operator to pay
any benefits for any month prior to January 1, 1974.
(b) The Secretary of Labor may issue such regulations as are
necessary or appropriate to carry out the purpose of this section.
ø30 U.S.C. 925¿ Added May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, sec. 7, 86 Stat. 156; amended
December 29, 1981, P.L. 97–119, title I, sec. 104(b)(2), 95 Stat. 1639; amended August 15, 1994, P.L. 103–296, sec. 108(i)(2), 108 Stat. 1488; amended November 2,
2002, P.L. 107–275, sec. 2(b)(3), 116 Stat. 1925.

PART C—CLAIMS

FOR

BENEFITS AFTER DECEMBER 31, 1973

SEC. 421. (a) On and after January 1, 1974, any claim for benefits for death or total disability due to pneumoconiosis shall be filed
pursuant to the applicable State workmen’s compensation law, except that during any period when miners or their surviving widows, children, parents, brothers, or sisters, as the case may be, are
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not covered by a State workmen’s compensation law which provides
adequate coverage for pneumoconiosis, and in any case in which
benefits based upon eligibility under paragraph (5) of section 411(c)
are involved. 14 they shall be entitled to claim benefits under this
part.
(b)(1) For purposes of this section, a State workmen’s compensation law shall not be deemed to provide adequate coverage for
pneumoconiosis during any period unless it is included in the list
of State laws found by the Secretary to provide such adequate coverage during such period. The Secretary shall, no later than October 1, 1972, publish in the Federal Register a list of State workmen’s compensation laws which provide adequate coverage for
pneumoconiosis and shall revise and republish in the Federal Register such list from time to time, as may be appropriate to reflect
changes in such State laws due to legislation or judicial or administrative interpretation.
(2) The Secretary shall include a State workmen’s compensation law on such list during any period only if he finds that during
such period under such law—
(A) benefits must be paid for total disability or death of a
miner due to pneumoconiosis, except that (i) such law shall not
be required to provide such benefits where the miner’s last employment in a coal mine terminated before the Secretary’s approval of the State law pursuant to this section; and (ii) each
operator of a coal mine shall secure the payment of benefits
pursuant to section 423 with respect to any miner whose last
employment in a coal mine terminated before the Secretary’s
approval of the State law pursuant to this section;
(B) the amount of such cash benefits is substantially
equivalent to or greater than the amount of benefits prescribed
by section 412(a) of this title;
(C) the standards for determining death or total disability
due to pneumoconiosis are substantially equivalent to section
402(f) of this title and to those standards established under
this part, and by the regulations of the Secretary promulgated
under this part;
(D) any claim for benefits on account of total disability of
a miner due to pneumoconiosis is deemed to be timely filed if
such claim in filed within three years after a medical determination of total disability due to pneumoconiosis;
(E) there are in effect provisions with respect to prior and
successor operators which are substantially equivalent to the
provisions contained in section 433(i) of this part; and
(F) there are applicable such other provisions, regulations
or interpretations, which are consistent with the provisions
contained in Public Law 803, 69th Congress (44 Stat. 1424, approved March 4, 1927), as amended, with are applicable under
section 422(a), but are not inconsistent with any of the criteria
set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of this paragraph,
as the Secretary, in accordance with regulations promulgated
by him, determines to be necessary or appropriate to assure
14 So

in law. Probably should read ‘‘involved,’’ (see 92 Stat. 97).

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adequate compensation for total disability or death due to
pneumoconiosis.
The action of the Secretary in including or failing to include any
State workmen’s compensation law on such list shall be subject to
judicial review exclusively in the United States court of appeals for
the circuit in which the State is located or the United States Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
(c) Final regulations required for implementation of any
amendments to this part shall be promulgated and published in the
Federal Register at the earliest practicable date after the date of
enactment of such amendments, and in no event later then the end
of the sixth month following the month in which such amendments
are enacted.
ø30 U.S.C. 931¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title IV, sec. 421, 83
Stat. 795; amended May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, secs. 1(c)(1), 4(e), 5(3), (5), 86 Stat.
151, 154, 155; amended March 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239, secs 3(b)(3), 6, 92 Stat. 97, 98.
SEC. 422. (a) Subject to section 28(h)(1) of the Longshore and

Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act Amendments of 1984, during
any period after December 31, 1973, in which a State workmen’s
compensation law is not included on the list published by the Secretary under section 421(b) of this part, the provisions of Public
Law 803, 69th Congress (44 Stat. 1424, approved March 4, 1927),
as amended, and as it may be amended from time to time (other
than the provisions contained in sections 1, 2, 3, 4,, 15 8, 9, 10, 12,
13, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 37, 38, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, and
51 thereof), shall (except as otherwise provided in this subsection
or by regulations of the Secretary and except that references in
such Act to the employer shall be considered to refer to the trustees
of the fund, as the Secretary considers appropriate and as is consistent with the provisions of section 9501(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954), be applicable to each operator of a coal mine
in such State with respect to death or total disability due to pneumoconiosis arising out of employment in such mine, or with respect
to entitlements established in paragraph (5) of section 411(c). In
administering this part, the Secretary is authorized to prescribe in
the Federal Register such additional provisions, not inconsistent
with those specifically excluded by this subsection, as he deems
necessary to provide for the payment of benefits by such operator
to persons entitled thereto as provided in this part and thereafter
those provisions shall be applicable to such operator.
(b) During any such period each such operator shall be liable
for and shall secure the payment of benefits, as provided in this
section and section 423 of this part. An employer, other than an operator of a coal mine, shall not be required to secure the payment
of such benefits with respect to any employee of such employer to
the extent such employee is engaged in the transportation of coal
or in coal mine construction. Upon determination by the Secretary
of the eligibility of the employee, the Secretary may require such
employer to secure a bond or otherwise guarantee the payment of
such benefits to the employee.
(c) Benefits shall be paid during such period by each such operator under this section to the categories of persons entitled to bene15 Two

commas are so in law.

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88

fits under section 412(a) of this title in accordance with the regulations of the Secretary applicable under this section: Provided, That,
except as provided in subsection (i) of this section, no benefit shall
be payable by any operator on account of death or total disability
due to pneumoconiosis (1) which did not arise, at least in part, out
of employment in a mine during a period after December 31, 1969,
when it was operated by such operator; of (2) which was the subject
of a claim denied before March 1, 1978, and which is or has been
approved in accordance with the provisions of section 435.
(d) Benefits payable under this section shall be paid on a
monthly basis and, except as otherwise provided in this section,
such payments shall be equal to the amounts specified in section
412(a) of this title. If payment is not made within the time required, interest shall accrue to such amounts at the rates set forth
in section 424(b)(5) of this title for interest owed to the fund. With
respect to payment withheld pending final adjudication of liability,
in the case of claims filed on or after the effective date of the Black
Lung Benefits Amendments of 1981, such interest shall commence
to accumulate 30 days after the date of the determination that
such an award should be made.
(e) No payment of benefits shall be required under this section:
(1) except pursuant to a claim filed therefor in such manner,
in such form, and containing such information, as the Secretary
shall by regulation prescribe; or
(2) for any period prior to January 1, 1974.
(f) Any claim for benefits by a miner under this section shall
be filed within three years after whichever of the following occurs
later—
(1) a medical determination of total disability due to pneumoconiosis; or
(2) the date of the enactment of the Black Lung Benefits Reform Act of 1977.
(g) The amount of benefits payable under this section shall be
reduced, on a monthly or other appropriate basis, by the amount
of any compensation received under or pursuant to any Federal or
State workmen’s compensation law because of death or disability
due to pneumoconiosis. In addition, the amount of benefits payable
under this section with respect to any claim filed on or after the
effective date of the Black Lung Benefits Amendments of 1981
shall be reduced, on a monthly or other appropriate basis, by the
amount by which such benefits would be reduced on account of excess earnings of such miner under section 203 (b) through (l) of the
Social Security Act if the amount paid were a benefit payable
under section 202 of such Act.
(h) The Secretary of Labor shall by regulation establish standards, which may include appropriate presumptions, for determining
whether pneumoconiosis arose out of employment in a particular
coal mine or mines. The Secretary may also, by regulation, establish standards for apportioning liability for benefits under this subsection among more than one operator, where such apportionment
is appropriate.
(i)(1) During any period in which this section is applicable to
the operator of a coal mine who on or after January 1, 1970, acquired such mine or substantially all the assets thereof, from a perAugust 26, 2016

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son (hereinafter in this subsection referred to as a ‘‘prior operator’’)
who was an operator of such mine, or owner of such assets on or
after January 1, 1970, such operator shall be liable for and shall,
in accordance with section 423, secure the payment of all benefits
which would have been payable by the prior operator under this
section with respect to miners previously employed by such prior
operator as if the acquisition had not occurred and the prior operator had continued to be an operator of a coal mine.
(2) Nothing in this subsection shall relieve any prior operator
of any liability under this section.
(3)(A) For purposes of paragraph (1) of this subsection, the provisions of this paragraph shall apply to corporate reorganizations,
liquidations, and such other transactions as are specified in this
paragraph.
(B) If an operator ceases to exist by reason of a reorganization
or other transaction or series of transactions which involves a
change in identity, form, or place of business or organization, however effected, the successor operator or other corporate or business
entity resulting from such reorganization or other change shall be
treated as the operator to whom this section applies.
(C) If an operator ceases to exist by reason of a liquidation into
a parent or successor corporation, the parent or successor corporation shall be treated as the operator to whom this section applies.
(D) If an operator ceases to exist by reason of a sale of substantially all his or her assets, or as the result of a merger, consolidation, or division, the successor operator, corporation, or other business entity shall be treated as the operator to whom this section
applies.
(4) In any case in which there is a determination under section
9501(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 that no operator is
liable for the payment of benefits to a claimant, nothing in this
subsection may be construed to require the payment of benefits to
a claimant by or on behalf of any operator.
(j) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, section 9501
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 shall govern the payment of
benefits in cases—
(1) described in section 9501(d)(1) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1954;
(2) in which the miner’s last coal mine employment was
before January 1, 1970; or
(3) in which there was a claim denied before March 1,
1978, and such claim is or has been approved in accordance
with the provisions of section 435.
(k) The Secretary shall be a party in any proceeding relative
to a claim for benefits under this part.
(l) In no case shall the eligible survivors of a miner who was
determined to be eligible to receive benefits under this title at the
time of his or her death be required to file a new claim for benefits,
or refile or otherwise revalidate the claim of such miner,. 16
ø30 U.S.C. 932¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title IV, sec. 422, 83
Stat. 796; amended May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, secs. 3 (a), (b), 5(2)–(4), (9),8, 86
16 So in law. The comma before the period at the end of subsection (l) probably should not
appear.

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Stat. 153, 155–157; amended March 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239, secs. 3(b)(4), 7(a)–(h), 92
Stat. 97–99; amended December 29, 1981, P.L. 97–119, title I, sec. 104(b)(3)–(5),
title II, secs. 203(a)(6), (b), 204, 205(a), 95 Stat. 1639, 1644, 1645; amended September 28, 1984, P.L. 98–426, sec. 28(h)(2), 98 Stat. 1655; amended March 23, 2010,
P.L. 111–148, sec. 1556(b), 124 Stat. 260.
SEC. 423. (a) During any period in which a State workmen’s

compensation law is not included on the list published by the Secretary under section 421(b) each operator of a coal mine in such
State shall secure the payment of benefits for which he is liable
under section 422 by (1) qualifying as a self-insurer in accordance
with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, or (2) insuring and
keeping insured the payment of such benefits with any stock company or mutual company or association, or with any other person
or fund, including any State fund, while such company, association,
person or fund is authorized under the laws of any State to insure
workmen’s compensation.
(b) In order to meet the requirements of clause (2) of subsection (a) of this section, every policy or contract of insurance
must contain—
(1) a provision to pay benefits required under section 422,
notwithstanding the provisions of the State workmen’s compensation law which may provide for lesser payments;
(2) a provision that insolvency or bankruptcy of the operator or discharge therein (or both) shall not relieve the carrier
from liability for such payments; and
(3) such other provisions as the Secretary, by regulation,
may require.
(c) No policy or contract of insurance issued by a carrier to
comply with the requirements of clause (2) of subsection (a) of this
subsection shall be canceled prior to the date specified in such policy or contract for its expiration until at least thirty days have
elapsed after notice of cancellation has been sent by registered or
certified mail to the Secretary and to the operator at his last
known place of business.
(d)(1) Any employer required to secure the payment of benefits
under this section who fails to secure such benefits shall be subject
to a civil penalty assessed by the Secretary of not more than $1,000
for each day during which such failure occurs. In any case where
such employer is a corporation, the president, secretary, and treasurer thereof also shall be severally liable to such civil penalty as
provided in this subsection for the failure of such corporation to secure the payment of benefits. Such president, secretary, and treasurer shall be severally personally liable, jointly with such corporation, for any benefit which may accrue under this title in respect
to any disability which may occur to any employee of such corporation while it shall so fail to secure the payment of benefits as required by this section.
(2) Any employer of a miner who knowingly transfers, sells, encumbers, assigns, or in any manner disposes of, conceals, secrets 17,
or destroys any property belonging to such employer, after any
miner employed by such employer has filed a claim under this title,
and with intent to avoid the payment of benefits under this title
to such miner or his or her dependents, shall be guilty of a mis17 So

in law. Probably should read ‘‘secretes’’.

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demeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine
of not more than $1,000, or by imprisonment for not more than one
year, or both. In any case where such employer is a corporation,
the president, secretary, and treasurer thereof also shall be severally liable for such penalty of imprisonment as well as jointly liable
with such corporation for such fine.
(3) This subsection shall not affect any other liability of the
employer under this part.
ø30 U.S.C. 933¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title IV, sec. 423, 83
Stat. 797; amended May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, sec. 3(b), 86 Stat. 153; amended
march 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239, sec. 8, 92 Stat. 100.
SEC. 424. (a) For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘fund’’ has

the meaning set forth in section 402(h).
(b)(1) If—
(A) an amount is paid out of the fund to an individual entitled to benefits under section 422, and
(B) the Secretary determines, under the provision of sections 422 and 423, that an operator was required to secure the
payment of all or a portion of such benefits,
then the operator is liable to the United States for repayment to
the fund of the amount of such benefits the payment of which is
properly attributed to him plus interest thereon. No operator or
representative of operators may bring any proceeding, or intervene
in any proceeding, held for the purpose of determining claims for
benefits to be paid by the fund, except that nothing in this section
shall affect the rights, duties, or liabilities of any operator in proceedings under section 422 or section 423. In a case where no operator responsibility is assigned pursuant to section 422 and 423, a
determination by the Secretary that the fund is liable for the payment of benefits shall be final.
(2) If an operator liable to the fund under paragraph (1) refuses to pay, after demand, the amount of such liability (including
interest), then there shall be a lien in favor of the United States
for such amount upon all property and rights to property, whether
real or personal, belonging to such operator. The lien arises on the
date on which such liability is finally determined, and continues
until it is satisfied or becomes unenforceable by reason of lapse of
time.
(3)(A) Except as otherwise provided under this subsection, the
priority of the lien shall be determined in the same manner as
under section 6323 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. That section shall be applied for such purposes—
(i) by substituting ‘‘lien imposed by section 424(b)(2) of the
Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969’’ for ‘‘lien imposed by section 6321’’; ‘‘operator liability lien’’ for ‘‘tax lien’’;
‘‘operator ’’ for ‘‘taxpayer’’; ‘‘lien arising under section 424(b) (2)
of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969’’ for
‘‘assessment of the tax’’; ‘‘payment of the liability is made to
the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund’’ for ‘‘satisfaction of a
levy pursuant to section 6332(b)’’; and ‘‘satisfaction of operator
liability’’ for ‘‘collection of any tax under this title’’ each place
such terms appear; and
(ii) by treating all references to the ‘‘Secretary’’ as references to the Secretary of Labor.
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(B) In the case of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding, the
lien imposed under paragraph (2) shall be treated in the same
manner as a lien for taxes due and owing to the United States for
purposes of the Bankruptcy Act or section 3466 of the Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 191).
(C) For purposes of applying section 6323(a) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1954 to determine the priority between the lien
imposed under paragraph (2) and the Federal tax lien, each shall
be treated as a judgment lien arising as of the time notice of such
lien is filed.
(D) For purposes of this subsection, notice of the lien imposed
under paragraph (2) shall be filed in the same manner as under
subsections (f) and (g) of section 6323 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1954.
(4)(A) In any case where there has been a refusal or neglect
to pay the liability imposed under paragraph (2), the Secretary may
bring a civil action in a district court of the United States to enforce the lien of the United States under this section with respect
to such liability or to subject any property, of whatever nature, of
the operator, or in which he has any right, title, or interest to the
payment of such liability.
(B) The liability imposed by paragraph (1) may be collected at
a proceeding in court if the proceeding is commenced within 6
years after the date on which the liability was finally determined,
or before the expiration of any period for collection agreed upon in
writing by the operator and the United States before the expiration
of such 6-year period. The running of the period of limitation provided under this subparagraph shall be suspended for any period
during which the assets of the operator are in the custody or control of any court of the United States, or of any State, or the District of Columbia, and for 6 months thereafter, and for any period
during which the operator is outside the United States if such period of absence is for a continuous period of at least 6 months.
(5) The rate of interest under this subsection—
(A) for any period during calendar year 1982, shall be 15
percent, and
(B) for any period after calendar year 1982, shall be the
rate established by section 6621 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1954 which is in effect for such period.
ø30 U.S.C. 934¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title IV, sec. 424, 83
Stat. 798; amended May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, sec. 1(c)(1), 86 Stat. 151; amended
February 10, 1978, P.L. 95–227, sec. 3(d), 92 Stat. 13; amended April 1, 1980, P.L.
96–222, title I, sec. 108(b)(2)(A), 94 Stat. 226; amended December 29, 1981, P.L. 97–
119, title I, sec. 104(a)(1), (2), (b) (6), 95 Stat. 1639.
SEC. 425. With the consent and cooperation of State agencies

charged with administration of State workmen’s compensation
laws, the Secretary may, for the purpose of carrying out his functions and duties under section 422, utilize the services of State and
local agencies and their employees and, notwithstanding any other
provision of law, may advance funds to or reimburse such State
and local agencies and their employees for services rendered for
such purposes.
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ø30 U.S.C. 935¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title IV, sec. 425, 83
Stat. 798.
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Sec. 428

SEC. 426. (a) The Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of
Health and Human Services are authorized to issue such regulations as each deems appropriate to carry out the provisions of this
title. Such regulations shall be issued in conformity with section
553 of title 5 of the United States Code, notwithstanding subsection
(a) thereof.
(b) At the end of fiscal year 2003 and each succeeding fiscal
year, the Secretary of Labor shall submit to the Congress an annual report on the subject matter of parts B and C of this title.
Each such report shall be prepared and submitted to Congress in
accordance with the requirement with respect to submission under
section 42 of the Longshore Harbor 18 Workers’ Compensation Act
(33 U.S.C. 942).
(c) Nothing in this title shall relieve any operator of the duty
to comply with any State workmen’s compensation law, except insofar as such State law is in conflict with the provisions of this title
and the Secretary by regulation, so prescribes. The provisions of
any State workmen’s compensation law which provide greater benefits than the benefits payable under this title shall not thereby be
construed or held to be in conflict with the provisions of this title.
ø30 U.S.C. 936¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title IV, sec. 426, 83
Stat. 798; amended May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, sec. 5(3), 86 Stat. 155; amended August 15, 1994, P.L. 103–296, Sec. 108(i)(3), 108 Stat. 1488; amended December 21,
1995, P.L. 104–66, sec. 1102(b)(2), 109 Stat. 723.
SEC. 427. (a) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare

is authorized to enter into contracts with, and make grants to, public and private agencies and organizations and individuals for the
construction, purchase, and operation of fixed-site and mobile clinical facilities for the analysis, examination, and treatment of respiratory and pulmonary impairments in active and inactive coal
miners. The Secretary shall coordinate the making of such contracts and grants with the Appalachian Regional Commission.
(b) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall initiate research within the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health, and is authorized to make research grants to public
and private agencies and organizations and individuals for the purpose of devising simple and effective tests to measure, detect, and
treat respiratory and pulmonary impairments in active and inactive coal miners. Any grant made pursuant to this subsection shall
be conditioned upon all information, uses, products, processes, patents, and other developments resulting from such research being
available to the general public, except to the extent of such exceptions and limitations as the Secretary of Health, Education, and
Welfare may deem necessary in the public interest.
(c) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of subsection (a) of this section $10,000,000 for each fiscal
year. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of subsection (b) of this section such sums as are necessary.
ø30 U.S.C. 937¿ Added May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, sec. 5(6), 86 Stat. 155; amended March 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239, sec. 9, 92 Stat. 100.
SEC. 428. (a) No operator shall discharge or in any other way

discriminate against any miner employed by him by reason of the
18 So

in law. Probably should read ‘‘Longshore and Harbor’’.

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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

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fact that such miner is suffering from pneumoconiosis. No person
shall cause or attempt to cause an operator to violate this section.
For the purposes of this subsection the term ‘‘miner’’ shall not include any person who has been found to be totally disabled.
(b) Any miner who believes that he has been discharged or otherwise discriminated against by any person in violation of subsection (a) of this section, or any representative of such miner may,
within ninety days after such violation occurs, apply to the Secretary for a review of such alleged discharge or discrimination. A
copy of the application shall be sent to such person who shall be
the respondent. Upon receipt of such application, the Secretary
shall cause such investigation to be made as he deems appropriate.
Such investigation shall provide an opportunity for a public hearing at the request of any party to enable the parties to present information relating to such violation. The parties shall be given
written notice of the time and place of the hearing at least five
days prior to the hearing. Any such hearing shall be of record and
shall be subject to section 554 of title 5 of the United States Code.
Each administrative law judge presiding under this section and
under the provisions of titles I, II and III of this Act shall receive
compensation at a rate determined under section 5372 of title 5,
United States Code. Upon receiving the report of such investigation, the Secretary shall make findings of fact. If he finds that such
violation did occur, he shall issue a decision, incorporating an order
therein, requiring the person committing such violation to take
such affirmative action as the Secretary deems appropriate, including, but not limited to, the rehiring or reinstatement of the miner
to his former position with back pay. If he finds that there was no
such violation, he shall issue an order denying the application.
Such order shall incorporate the Secretary’s findings therein.
(c) Whenever an order is issued under this subsection granting
relief to a miner at the request of such miner, a sum equal to the
aggregate amount of all costs and expenses (including the attorney’s fees) as determined by the Secretary to have been reasonably
incurred by such miner for, or in connection with, the institution
and prosecution of such proceedings, shall be assessed against the
person committing the violation.
ø30 U.S.C. 938¿ Added May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, sec. 5(7), 86 Stat. 155; amended March 27, 1978, P.L. 95–251, sec. 2(a)(9), 92 Stat. 183.
SEC. 429. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-

retary of Labor such sums as may be necessary to carry out his responsibilities under this title. Such sums shall remain available
until expended.
ø30 U.S.C. 939¿ Added May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, sec. 5(8), 86 Stat. 156.
SEC. 430. The amendments made by the Black Lung Benefits

Act of 1972, the Black Lung Benefits Reform Act of 1977 and the
Black Lung Benefits Amendments of 1981 to part B of this title
shall, to the extent appropriate, also apply to part C of this title.
ø30 U.S.C. 940¿ Added May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, sec. 5(10), 86 Stat. 156;
amended March 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239, sec. 10, 92 Stat. 100; amended December 29,
1981, P.L. 97–119, title II, sec. 202(d), 95 Stat. 1643.
SEC. 431. Any person who willfully makes any false or mis-

leading statement or representation for the purpose of obtaining
any benefit or payment under this title shall be guilty of a misAugust 26, 2016

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95

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Sec. 433

demeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of
not more than $1,000, or by imprisonment for not more than one
year, or both.
ø30 U.S.C. 941¿ Added May 19, 1972, P.L. 92–303, sec. 6, 86 Stat. 156; amended
March 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239, sec. 12(a), 92 Stat. 101.
SEC. 432. (a) The Secretary may by regulation require employ-

ers to file reports concerning miners who may be or are entitled to
benefits under this part, including the date of commencement and
cessation of benefits and the amount of such benefits. Any such report shall not be evidence of any fact stated therein in any proceeding relating to death or total disability due to pneumoconiosis
of any miner to which such report relates.
(b) Any employer who fails or refuses to file any report required of such employer under this section shall be subject to a
civil penalty of not more than $500 for each such failure or refusal.
ø30 U.S.C. 942¿ Added March 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239, sec. 12(b), 92 Stat. 101
SEC. 433. (a) The Secretary is authorized to establish and

carry
out a black lung insurance program which will enable operators of
coal mines to purchase insurance covering their obligations under
section 422.
(b) The Secretary may exercise his or her authority under this
section only if, and to the extent that, insurance coverage is not
otherwise available, at reasonable cost, to operators of coal mines.
(c)(1) The Secretary may enter into agreements with operators
of coal mines who may be liable for the payment of benefits under
section 422, under which the Black Lung Compensation Insurance
Fund established under subsection (a) (hereinafter in this section
referred to as the ‘‘insurance fund’’) shall assume all or part of the
liability of such operator in return for the payment of premiums to
the insurance fund, and on such terms and conditions as will fully
protect the financial solvency of the insurance fund. During any period in which such agreement is in effect the operator shall be
deemed in compliance with the requirements of section 423 with
respect to the risks covered by such agreement.
(2) The Secretary may also enter into reinsurance agreements
with one or more insurers of pools of insurers under which, in return for the payment of premiums to the insurance fund, and on
such terms and conditions as will fully protect the financial solvency of the insurance fund, the insurance fund shall provide reinsurance coverage for benefits required to be paid under section 422.
(d) The Secretary may by regulation provide for general terms
and conditions of insurability as applicable to operators of coal
mines or insurers eligible for insurance or reinsurance under this
sections, including—
(1) the types, classes, and locations or operators or facilities which shall be eligible for such insurance or reinsurance;
(2) the classification, limitation, and rejection of any operator or facility which may be advisable;
(3) appropriate premiums for different classifications of operators or facilities;
(4) appropriate loss deductibles;
(5) experience rating; and
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(6) any other terms and conditions relating to insurance or
reinsurance coverage or exclusion which may be appropriate to
carry out the purposes of this section.
(e) The Secretary may undertake and carry out such studies
and investigations, and receive or exchange such information, as
may be necessary to formulate a premium schedule which will enable the insurance and reinsurance authorized by this section to be
provided on a basis which is (1) in accordance with accepted actuarial principles; and (2) fair and equitable.
(f)(1) On the basis of estimates made by the Secretary in formulating a premium schedule under subsection (e), and such other
information as may be available, the Secretary shall from time to
time prescribe by regulation the chargeable premium rates for
types and classes of insurers, operators of coal mines, and facilities
for which insurance or reinsurance coverage shall be available
under this section and the terms and conditions under which, and
the area within which, such insurance or reinsurance shall be
available and such rates shall apply.
(2) Such premium rates shall be (A) based on a consideration
of the risks involved, taking into account differences, if any, in
risks based on location, type of operations, facilities, type of coal,
experience, and any other matter which may be considered under
accepted actuarial principles; and (B) adequate, on the basis of accepted actuarial principles, to provide reserves for anticipated
losses.
(3) All premiums received by the Secretary shall be paid into
the insurance fund.
(g)(1) The Secretary may establish in the Department of Labor
a Black Lung Compensation Insurance Fund which shall be available, without fiscal year limitation—
(A) to pay claims of miners for benefits covered by insurance or reinsurance issued under this section;
(B) to pay the administrative expenses of carrying out the
black lung compensation insurance program under this section;
and
(C) to repay to the Secretary of the Treasury such sums as
may be borrowed in accordance with the authority provided in
subsection (i).
(2) The insurance fund shall be credited with—
(A) premiums, fees, or other charges which may be collected in connection with insurance or reinsurance coverage
provided under this section;
(B) such amounts as may be advanced to the insurance
fund from appropriations in order to maintain the insurance
fund in an operative condition adequate to meet its liabilities;
and
(C) income which may be earned on investments of the insurance fund pursuant to paragraph (3).
(3) If, after all outstanding current obligations of the insurance
fund have been liquidated and any outstanding amounts which
may have been advanced to the insurance fund from appropriations
authorized under subsection (i) have been credited to the appropriation from which advanced, the Secretary determines that the
moneys of the insurance fund are in excess of current needs, he or
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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Sec. 501

she may request the investment of such amounts as he or she
deems advisable by the Secretary of the Treasury in public debt securities with maturities suitable for the needs of the insurance
fund and bearing interest at prevailing market rates.
(h) The Secretary shall report to the Congress not later than
the first day of April of each year on the financial condition of the
insurance fund and the result of the operations of the insurance
fund during the preceding fiscal year and on its expected condition
and operations during the fiscal year in which the report is made.
(i) There are authorized to be appropriated to the insurance
fund, as repayable advances, such sums as may be necessary to
meet obligations incurred under subsection (g). All such sums shall
remain available without fiscal year limitation. Advances made
pursuant to this subsection shall be repaid, with interest, to the
general fund of the Treasury when the Secretary determines that
moneys are available in the insurance fund for such repayments.
Interest on such advances shall be computed in the same manner
as provided in subsection (b)(2) of section 3 of the Black Lung Benefits Revenue Act of 1977.
ø30 U.S.C. 943¿ Added March 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239, sec. 13, 92 Stat. 101.
SEC. 434. Any individual whose claim for benefits under

this
title is denied shall receive from the Secretary a written statement
of the reasons for denial of such claim, and a summary of the administrative hearing record or, upon good cause shown, a copy of
any transcript thereof.
ø30 U.S.C. 944¿ Added March 1, 1978, P.L. 95–239, sec. 14, 92 Stat. 103.
øSEC. 435. Repealed. P.L. 107–275, sec. 2(c)(1), 116

Stat.

1926.¿
TITLE V—ADMINISTRATION
RESEARCH

SEC. 501. (a) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary
of Health, Education, and Welfare, as appropriate, shall conduct
such studies, research, experiments, and demonstrations as may be
appropriate—
(1) to improve working conditions and practices in coal or
other mines, and to prevent accidents and occupational diseases originating in the coal or other mining industry;
(2) to develop new or improved methods of recovering persons in coal or other mines after an accident;
(3) to develop new or improved means and methods of communication from the surface to the underground area of a coal
or other mine;
(4) to develop new or improved means and methods of reducing concentrations of respirable dust in the mine atmosphere of active workings of the coal or other mine;
(5) to develop epidemiological information to (A) identify
and define positive factors involved in occupational diseases of
miners, (B) provide information on the incidence and prevalence of pneumoconiosis and other respiratory ailments of miners, and (C) improve mandatory health standards;
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(6) to develop techniques for the prevention and control of
occupational diseases of miners, including tests for
hypersusceptibility and early detection;
(7) to evaluate the effect on bodily impairment and occupational disability of miners afflicted with an occupational disease;
(8) to prepare and publish from time to time, reports on all
significant aspects of occupational diseases of miners as well as
on the medical aspects of injuries, other than diseases, which
are revealed by the research carried on pursuant to this subsection;
(9) to study the relationship between coal or other mine
environments and occupational diseases of miners;
(10) to develop new and improved underground equipment
and other sources of power for such equipment which will provide greater safety;
(11) to determine, upon the written request by any operator or authorized representative of miners, specifying with
reasonable particularity the grounds upon which such request
is made, whether any substance normally found in a coal or
other mine has potentially toxic effects in the concentrations
normally found in the coal or other mine or whether any physical agents or equipment found or used in a coal or other mine
has potentially hazardous effects, and shall submit such determinations to both the operators and miners as soon as possible;
and
(12) for such other purposes as they deem necessary to
carry out the purposes of this Act.
(b) Activities under this section in the field of coal or other
mine health shall be carried out by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare through the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health established under the Occupational Safety and
Health Act of 1970, and activities under this section in the field of
coal or other mine safety shall be carried out by the Secretary of
the Interior in coordination with the Secretary.
(c) In carrying out the provisions for research, demonstrations,
experiments, studies, training, and education under this section
and sections 301(b) and 502(a) of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in coordination with the Secretary may enter into contracts with, and
make grants to, public and private agencies and organizations and
individuals. No research, demonstrations, or experiments shall be
carried out, contracted for, sponsored, cosponsored, or authorized
under authority of this Act, unless all information, uses, products,
processes, patents, and other developments resulting from such research, demonstrations, or experiments will (with such exception
and limitation, if any, as the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in coordination with the
Secretary may find to be necessary in the public interest) be available to the general public.
(d) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall also
conduct studies and research into matters involving the protection
of life and the prevention of diseases in connection with persons,
who although not miners, work with, or around the products of,
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99

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Sec. 502

coal or other mines in areas outside of such mines and under conditions which may adversely affect the health and well-being of such
persons.
(e) There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of
the Interior such sums as may be necessary to carry out his responsibilities under this section and section 301(b) of this Act at an
annual rate of not to exceed $20,000,000 for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1970, $25,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30,
1971, and $60,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1972, and
for each succeeding fiscal year thereafter. There is authorized to be
appropriated annually to the Secretary of Health, Education, and
Welfare such sums as may be necessary to carry out his responsibilities under this Act. Such sums shall remain available until expended.
(f) The Secretary is authorized to grant on a mine-by-mine
basis an exception to any mandatory health or safety standard
under this Act for the purpose of permitting, under such terms and
conditions as he may prescribe, accredited educational institutions
the opportunity for experimenting with new and improved techniques and equipment to improve the health and safety of miners.
No such exception shall be granted unless the Secretary finds that
the granting of the exception will not adversely affect the health
and safety of miners and publishes his findings.
(g) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare is authorized to make grants to any public or private agency, institution, or
organization, and operators or individuals for research and experiments to develop effective respiratory equipment.
ø30 U.S.C. 951¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title V, sec. 501, 83
Stat. 798; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title III, sec. 303(a), 91 Stat.
1320.
TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SEC. 502. (a) The Secretary shall expand programs for the education and training of operators and agents thereof, and miners
in—
(1) the recognition, avoidance, and prevention of accidents
or unsafe or unhealthful working conditions in coal or other
mines; and
(2) in the use of flame safety lamps, permissible methane
detectors, and other means approved by the Secretary for detecting methane and other explosive gases accurately.
(b) The Secretary shall, to the greatest extent possible, provide
technical assistance to operators in meeting the requirements of
this Act and in further improving the health and safety conditions
and practices in coal or other mines.
(c)(1) The National Mine Health and Safety Academy shall be
maintained as an agency of the Department of Labor. The Academy
shall be responsible for the training of mine safety and health inspectors under section 505 of this Act, and in training of technical
support personnel of the Mine Safety and Health Administration
established under section 302 of the Federal Mine Safety and
Health Amendments Act of 1977; and for any other training programs for mine inspectors, mining personnel, or other persons as
the Secretary of Interior shall designate. In performing this funcAugust 26, 2016

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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

100

tion, the Academy shall have the authority to enter into cooperative educational and training agreements with educational institutions, State governments, labor organizations, and mine operators
and related industries. Such training shall be conducted by the
Academy in accordance with curriculum needs and assignment of
instructional personnel established by the user.
øParagraph (2) was repealed by section 100 of P.L. 96–38, 93
Stat. 111.¿
(3) The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct his safety research responsibilities under section 501 of this Act in coordination
with the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretaries of Labor and the
Interior are authorized to enter into contractual or other agreements for the performance of such safety related research.
ø30 U.S.C. 952¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title V, sec. 502, 83
Stat. 800; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title III, sec. 303(b), (h), 91 Stat.
1320, 1321; amended July 25, 1979, P.L. 96–38, title I, sec. 100, 93 Stat. 111.
ASSISTANCE TO STATES

SEC. 503. (a) The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary
of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Secretary of the Interior, is authorized to make grants in accordance with an application approved under this section to any State in which coal or other
mining takes place—
(1) to assist such State in developing and enforcing effective coal or other mine health and safety laws and regulations
consistent with the provisions of section 506 of this Act;
(2) to improve State workmen’s compensation and occupational disease laws and programs related to coal or other mine
employment; and
(3) to promote Federal-State coordination and cooperation
in improving the health and safety conditions in the coal or
other mines.
(b) The Secretary shall approve any application or any modification thereof, submitted under this section by a State, through
its official coal or other mine inspection or safety agency, which—
(1) sets forth the programs, policies, and methods to be followed in carrying out the application in accordance with the
purposes of subsection (a) of this section;
(2) provides research and planning studies to carry out
plans designed to improve State workmen’s compensation and
occupational disease laws and programs, as they relate to compensation to miners for occupationally caused diseases and injuries arising out of employment in any coal or other mine;
(3) designates such State coal or other mine inspection or
safety agency as the sole agency responsible for administering
grants under this section throughout the State, and contains
satisfactory evidence that such agency will have the authority
to carry out the purposes of this section;
(4) gives assurances that such agency has or will employ
an adequate and competent staff of trained inspectors qualified
under the laws of such State to make coal or other mine inspections within such State;
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(5) provides for the extension and improvement of the
State program for the improvement of coal or other mine
health and safety in the State, and provides that no advance
notice of an inspection will be provided anyone;
(6) provides such fiscal control and fund accounting procedures as may be a appropriate to assure proper disbursement
and accounting of grants made to the States under this section;
(7) provides that the designated agency will make such reports to the Secretary in such form and containing such information as the Secretary may from time to time require;
(8) contains assurances that grants provided under this
section will supplement, not supplant, existing State coal or
other mine health and safety programs; and
(9) meets additional conditions which the Secretary may
prescribe in furtherance of, and consistent with, the purposes
of this section.
(c) The Secretary shall not finally disapprove any State application or modification thereof without first affording the State
agency reasonable notice and opportunity for a public hearing.
(d) Any State aggrieved by a decision of the Secretary under
subsection (b) or (c) of this section may file within thirty days from
the date of such decision with the United States Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia a petition praying that such action be
modified or set aside in whole or in part. The court shall hear such
appeal on the record made before the Secretary. The decision of the
Secretary incorporating his findings of fact therein, if supported by
substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole, shall be
conclusive. The court may affirm, vacate, or remand the proceedings to the Secretary for such further action as it directs. The
filing of a petition under this subsection shall not stay the application of the decisions of the Secretary, unless the court so orders.
The provisions of section 106 (a), (b), and (c) of this Act shall not
be applicable to this section.
(e) Any State application or modification thereof submitted to
the Secretary under this section may include a program to train
State inspectors.
(f) The Secretary shall cooperate with such State in carrying
out the application or modification thereof and shall, as appropriate, develop and, where appropriate, construct facilities for, and
finance a program of, training of Federal and State inspectors jointly. The Secretary shall also cooperate with such State in establishing a system by which State and Federal inspection reports of
coal or other mines located in the State are exchanged for the purpose of improving health and safety conditions in such mines.
(g) The amount granted to any coal or other mining State for
a fiscal year under this section shall not exceed 80 per centum of
the amount expended by such State in such year for carrying out
such application.
(h) There is authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000 for fiscal
year 1970, and $10,000,000 annually in each succeeding fiscal year
to carry out the provisions of this section, which shall remain available until expended. The Secretary shall provide for an equitable
distribution of sums appropriated for grants under this section to
the States where there is an approved application, except that no
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Sec. 504

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

102

less than one-half of such sum shall be allocated to coal-producing
States.
ø30 U.S.C. 953¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title V, sec. 503, 83
Stat. 800; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title III, sec. 303(c), 91 Stat.
1320.
ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE

SEC. 504. (a) Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act, as amended, is amended—
(1) by striking out the period at the end of paragraph (4)
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘; and’’; and
(2) by adding after paragraph (4) a new paragraph as follows:
‘‘(5) to make such loans (either directly or in cooperation
with banks or other lending institutions through agreements to
participate on an immediate or deferred basis) as the Administration may determine to be necessary or appropriate to assist
any small business concern operating a coal mine in affecting
additions to or alterations in the equipment, facilities, or methods of operation of such mine to requirements imposed by the
Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, if the Administration determines that such concern is likely to suffer
substantial economic injury without assistance under this
paragraph.’’
(b) The third sentence of section 7(b) of such Act is amended
by inserting ‘‘or (5)’’ after ‘‘paragraph (3)’’.
(c) Section 4(c)(1) of the Small Business Act, as amended, is
amended by inserting ‘‘7(b)(5),’’ after ‘‘7(b)(4),’’.
(d) Loans may also be made or guaranteed for the purposes set
forth in section 7(b)(5) of the Small Business Act, as amended pursuant to the provisions of section 202 of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, as amended.
Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title V, Sec. 504, 83 Stat. 802.
INSPECTORS: QUALIFICATIONS: TRAINING

SEC. 505. The Secretary may, subject to the civil service laws,
appoint such employees as he deems requisite for the administration of this Act and prescribe their duties. Persons appointed as authorized representatives of the Secretary shall be qualified by practical experience in mining or by experience as a practical mining
engineer or by education: Provided, however, That, to the maximum
extent feasible, in the selection of persons for appointment as mine
inspectors, no person shall be so selected unless he has the basic
qualification of at least five years practical mining experience and
in assigning mine inspectors to the inspection and investigation of
individual mines, due consideration shall be given to the extent
possible to their previous experience in the particular type of mining operation where such inspections are to be made. Persons appointed to assist such representatives in the taking of samples of
respirable dust for the purpose of enforcing title II of this Act shall
be qualified by training, experience, or education. The provisions of
section 201 of the Revenue and Expenditure Control Act of 1968
(82 Stat. 251, 270) shall not apply with respect to the appointment
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103

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Sec. 507

of such authorized representatives of the Secretary or to persons
appointed to assist such representatives and to carry out the provisions of this Act, and, in applying the provisions of such section to
other agencies under the Secretary and to other agencies of the
Government, such appointed persons shall not be taken into account. Such persons shall be adequately trained by the Secretary.
The Secretary shall develop programs with educational institutions
and operators designed to enable persons to qualify for positions in
the administration of this Act. In selecting persons and training
and retraining persons to carry out the provisions of this Act, the
Secretary shall work with appropriate educational institutions, operators, and representatives of miners in developing and maintaining adequate programs for the training and continuing education
of persons, particularly inspectors, and where appropriate, the Secretary shall cooperate with such institutions in carrying out the
provisions of this section by providing financial and technical assistance to such institutions.
ø30 U.S.C. 954¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title V, sec. 505, 83
Stat. 802; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title III, sec. 303(d), 91 Stat.
1320.
EFFECT ON STATE LAWS

SEC. 506. (a) No State law in effect on the date of enactment
of this Act or which may become effective thereafter shall be superseded by any provision of this Act or order issued or any mandatory health or safety standard, except insofar as such State law is
in conflict with this Act or with any order issued or any mandatory
health or safety standard.
(b) The provisions of any State law or regulation in effect upon
the operative date of this Act, or which may become effective thereafter, which provide for more stringent health and safety standards
applicable to coal or other mines than do the provisions of this Act
or any order issued or any mandatory health and safety standard
shall not thereby be construed or held to be in conflict with this
Act. The provisions of any State law or regulation in effect on the
date of enactment of this Act, or which may become effective thereafter, which provide for health and safety standards applicable to
coal or other mines for which no provision is contained in this Act
or in any order issued or any mandatory health and safety standard, shall not be held to be in conflict with this Act.
ø30 U.S.C. 955¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title V, sec. 506, 83
Stat. 803; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title III, sec. 303(e), 91 Stat.
1321.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES

SEC. 507. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the provisions of sections 551–559 and sections 701–706 of title 5 of the
United States Code shall not apply to the making of any order, notice, or decision made pursuit to this Act, or to any proceeding for
the review thereof.
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ø30 U.S.C. 956¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title V, sec. 507, 83
Stat. 803.
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Sec. 508

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

104

REGULATIONS

SEC. 508. The Secretary, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, the Commissioner of Social Security, and the Panel are
authorized to issue such regulations as each deems appropriate to
carry out any provision of this Act.
ø30 U.S.C. 957¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title V, sec. 508, 83
Stat. 803; amended August 15, 1994, P.L. 103–296, sec. 108(i)(5) 108 Stat. 1488.
OPERATIVE DATE AND REPEAL

SEC. 509. Except to the extent an earlier date is specifically
provided in this Act, the provisions of titles I and III of this Act
shall become operative ninety days after the date of enactment of
this Act, and the provisions of title II of this Act shall become operative six months after the date of enactment of this Act. The provisions of the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act, as amended, are repealed on the operative date of titles I and III of this Act, except
that such provisions shall continue to apply to any order, notice,
decision, or finding issued under that Act prior to such operative
date and to any proceedings related to such order, notice, decision
or findings. All other provisions of this Act shall be effective on the
date of enactment of this Act.
ø30 U.S.C. 801 nt¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title V, sec. 509, 83
Stat. 803.
SEPARABILITY

SEC. 510. If any provision of this Act, or the application of such
provision to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the
remainder of this Act, or the application of such provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby.
ø30 U.S.C. 801 nt¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title V, sec. 510, 83
Stat. 803.
REPORTS

SEC. 511. (a) Within one hundred and twenty days following
the convening of each session of Congress the Secretary shall submit through the President to the Congress and to the Office of
Science and Technology an annual report upon the subject matter
of this Act, the progress concerning the achievement of its purposes, the needs and requirements in the field of coal or other mine
health and safety, the amount and status of each loan made pursuant to this Act, a description and the anticipated cost of each
project and program he has undertaken under sections 301(b) and
501, and any other relevant information, including any recommendations he deems appropriate.
ø30 U.S.C. 958¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title V, sec. 511, 83
Stat. 803; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title III, sec. 303(f), 91 Stat.
1321; amended October 19, 1980, P.L. 96–470, title I, sec. 106(f), 94 Stat. 2238.
SPECIAL REPORT

SEC. 512. (a) The Secretary shall make a study to determine
the best manner to coordinate Federal and State activities in the
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105

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Sec. 514

field of coal or other mine health and safety so as to achieve (1)
maximum health and safety protection for miners, (2) an avoidance
of duplication of effort, (3) maximum effectiveness, (4) a reduction
of delay to a minimum, and (5) most effective use of Federal inspectors.
(b) The Secretary shall make a report of the results of his
study to the Congress as soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act.
ø30 U.S.C. 959¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title V, sec. 512, 83
Stat. 804; amended November 9, 1977, P.L. 95–164, title III, sec. 303(g), 91 Stat.
1321.
JURISDICTION; LIMITATION

SEC. 513. In any proceeding in which the validity of any interim mandatory health or safety standard set forth in titles II and
III of this Act is in issue, no justice, judge, or court of the United
States shall issue any temporary restraining order or preliminary
injunction restraining the enforcement of such standard pending a
determination of such issue on its merits.
ø30 U.S.C. 960¿ Enacted December 30, 1969, P.L. 91–173, title V, sec. 513, 83
Stat. 804.
SEC. 514. TECHNICAL STUDY PANEL.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is

established a Technical Study
Panel (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Panel’’) which shall provide independent scientific and engineering review and recommendations with respect to the utilization of belt air and the
composition and fire retardant properties of belt materials in underground coal mining.
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Panel shall be composed of—
(1) two individuals to be appointed by the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Director
of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
and the Associate Director of the Office of Mine Safety;
(2) two individuals to be appointed by the Secretary of
Labor, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Mine
Safety and Health; and
(3) two individuals, one to be appointed jointly by the majority leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives and
one to be appointed jointly by the minority leader of the Senate
and House of Representatives, each to be appointed prior to
the sine die adjournment of the second session of the 109th
Congress.
(c) QUALIFICATIONS.—Four of the six individuals appointed to
the Panel under subsection (b) shall possess a masters or doctoral
level degree in mining engineering or another scientific field demonstrably related to the subject of the report. No individual appointed to the Panel shall be an employee of any coal or other
mine, or of any labor organization, or of any State or Federal agency primarily responsible for regulating the mining industry.
(d) REPORT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date on
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Sec. 515

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

106

retary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of
the Senate, and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives a report concerning the
utilization of belt air and the composition and fire retardant
properties of belt materials in underground coal mining.
(2) RESPONSE BY SECRETARY.—Not later than 180 days
after the receipt of the report under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Labor shall provide a response to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the
Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of
Representatives containing a description of the actions, if any,
that the Secretary intends to take based upon the report, including proposing regulatory changes, and the reasons for such
actions.
(e) COMPENSATION.—Members appointed to the Panel, while
carrying out the duties of the Panel shall be entitled to receive
compensation, per diem in lieu of subsistence, and travel expenses
in the same manner and under the same conditions as that prescribed under section 208(c) of the Public Health Service Act.
ø30 U.S.C. 963¿ Enacted June 15, 2006, P.L. 109–236, sec. 11, 120 Stat. 501.
SEC. 515. SCHOLARSHIPS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The

Secretary of Education (referred to
in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), in consultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
shall establish a program to provide scholarships to eligible individuals to increase the skilled workforce for both private sector coal
mine operators and mine safety inspectors and other regulatory
personnel for the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
(b) FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS SCHOLARSHIPS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Under the program under subsection (a),
the Secretary may award scholarship to fully or partially pay
the tuition costs of eligible individuals enrolled in 2-year associate’s degree programs at community colleges or other colleges
and universities that focus on providing the fundamental skills
and training that is of immediate use to a beginning coal
miner.
(2) SKILLS.—The skills described in paragraph (1) shall include basic math, basic health and safety, business principles,
management and supervisory skills, skills related to electric
circuitry, skills related to heavy equipment operations, and
skills related to communications.
(3) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a scholarship
under this subsection an individual shall—
(A) have a high school diploma or a GED;
(B) have at least 2 years experience in full-time employment in mining or mining-related activities;
(C) submit to the Secretary an application at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information;
and
(D) demonstrate an interest in working in the field of
mining and performing an internship with the Mine Safety
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FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Sec. 515

and Health Administration or the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health Office of Mine Safety.
(c) MINE SAFETY INSPECTOR SCHOLARSHIPS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Under the program under subsection (a),
the Secretary may award scholarship to fully or partially pay
the tuition costs of eligible individuals enrolled in undergraduate bachelor’s degree programs at accredited colleges or
universities that provide the skills needed to become mine
safety inspectors.
(2) SKILLS.—The skills described in paragraph (1) include
skills developed through programs leading to a degree in mining engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering,
electrical engineering, industrial engineering, environmental
engineering, industrial hygiene, occupational health and safety, geology, chemistry, or other fields of study related to mine
safety and health work.
(3) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a scholarship
under this subsection an individual shall—
(A) have a high school diploma or a GED;
(B) have at least 5 years experience in full-time employment in mining or mining-related activities;
(C) submit to the Secretary an application at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information;
and
(D) agree to be employed for a period of at least 5
years at the Mine Safety and Health Administration or, to
repay, on a pro-rated basis, the funds received under this
program, plus interest, at a rate established by the Secretary upon the issuance of the scholarship.
(d) ADVANCED RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIPS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Under the program under subsection (a),
the Secretary may award scholarships to fully or partially pay
the tuition costs of eligible individuals enrolled in undergraduate bachelor’s degree, masters degree, and Ph.D. degree
programs at accredited colleges or universities that provide the
skills needed to augment and advance research in mine safety
and to broaden, improve, and expand the universe of candidates for mine safety inspector and other regulatory positions
in the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
(2) SKILLS.—The skills described in paragraph (1) include
skills developed through programs leading to a degree in mining engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering,
electrical engineering, industrial engineering, environmental
engineering, industrial hygiene, occupational health and safety, geology, chemistry, or other fields of study related to mine
safety and health work.
(3) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a scholarship
under this subsection an individual shall—
(A) have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent from an accredited 4-year institution;
(B) have at least 5 years experience in full-time employment in underground mining or mining-related activities; and
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(C) submit to the Secretary an application at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information.
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this
section.
ø30 U.S.C. 964¿ Enacted June 15, 2006, P.L. 109–236, sec. 12, 120 Stat. 502.

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