77258 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 1, 2020 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Office of the Secretary 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission for OMB 

Review; Comment Request; Mine 

Accident, Injury, and Illness Report 

and Quarterly Mine Employment and 

Coal Production Report 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor 

(DOL) is submitting this Mining Safety 

and Health Administration (MSHA)- 

sponsored information collection 

request (ICR) to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and approval in accordance with 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA). Public comments on the ICR are 

invited. 

DATES: The OMB will consider all 

written comments that agency receives 

on or before December 31, 2020. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. 

Comments are invited on: (1) Whether 

the collection of information is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; (2) if the 

information will be processed and used 

in a timely manner; (3) the accuracy of 

the agency’s estimates of the burden and 

cost of the collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (4) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility and 

clarity of the information collection; and 

(5) ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Anthony May by telephone at 202–693– 

4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or 

by email at DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

103(h) of the Federal Mine Safety and 

Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act), 30 U.S.C. 

813(h), authorizes MSHA to collect 

information necessary to carry out its 

duty in protecting the safety and health 

of miners. Further, section 101(a) of the 

Mine Act, 30 U.S.C. 811, authorizes the 

Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to 

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. The 

reporting and recordkeeping provisions 

in 30 CFR part 50 (Part 50), Notification, 

Investigation, Reports and Records of 

Accidents, Injuries and Illnesses, 

Employment and Coal Production in 

Mines, are essential elements in 

MSHA’s statutory mandate to reduce 

work-related injuries and illnesses 

among the nation’s miners (30 U.S.C. 

801). Section 50.10 requires mine 

operators and independent contractors 

to immediately notify MSHA in the 

event of an accident. This immediate 

notification is critical to MSHA’s timely 

investigation and assessment of the 

cause of the accident. Section 50.11 

requires that the mine operator or 

independent contractor investigate each 

accident and occupational injury and 

prepare a report. The mine operator or 

independent contractor may not use 

MSHA Form 7000–1 as the investigation 

report, except if the operator or 

contractor employs fewer than 20 

miners and the injury is not related to 

an accident. Section 50.20 requires mine 

operators and independent contractors 

to report each accident, injury, and 

illness to MSHA on Form 7000–1 within 

10 working days after an accident or 

injury has occurred or an occupational 

illness has been diagnosed. The use of 

MSHA Form 7000–1 provides for 

uniform information gathering across 

the mining industry. Section 50.30 

requires that all mine operators and 

independent contractors working on 

mine property report employment to 

MSHA quarterly on Form 7000–2, and 

that coal mine operators and 

independent contractors also report coal 

production. Accident, injury, and 

illness data, when correlated with 

employment and production data, 

provide information that MSHA uses to 

improve its safety and health 

enforcement programs, focus its 

education and training efforts, and 

establish priorities for its technical 

assistance activities in mine safety and 

health. Maintaining a current database 

allows MSHA to identify and direct 

increased attention to those mines, 

industry segments, and geographical 

areas where hazardous trends are 

developing. This could not be done 

effectively using historical data. The 

information collected under Part 50 is 

the most comprehensive and reliable 

occupational data available concerning 

the mining industry. Section 103(d) of 

the Mine Act mandates that each 

accident be investigated by the operator 

to determine the cause and means of 

preventing a recurrence. Operators must 

keep records of such accidents and 

investigations and make them available 

to the Secretary or the Secretary’s 

authorized representative and the 

appropriate State agency. Section 103(h) 

requires operators to keep any records 

and make any reports that are 

reasonably necessary for MSHA to 

perform its duties under the Mine Act. 

Section 103(j) requires operators to 

notify MSHA of the occurrence of an 

accident and to take appropriate 

measures to preserve any evidence that 

would assist in the investigation into 

the causes of the accident. For 

additional substantive information 

about this ICR, see the related notice 

published in the Federal Register on 

September 14, 2020 (85 FR 56637). 

This information collection is subject 

to the PRA. A Federal agency generally 

cannot conduct or sponsor a collection 

of information, and the public is 

generally not required to respond to an 

information collection, unless the OMB 

approves it and displays a currently 

valid OMB Control Number. In addition, 

notwithstanding any other provisions of 

law, no person shall generally be subject 

to penalty for failing to comply with a 

collection of information that does not 

display a valid OMB Control Number. 

See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. 

DOL seeks PRA authorization for this 

information collection for three (3) 

years. OMB authorization for an ICR 

cannot be for more than three (3) years 

without renewal. The DOL notes that 

information collection requirements 

submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs 

receive a month-to-month extension 

while they undergo review. 

Agency: DOL–MSHA. 

Title of Collection: Mine Accident, 

Injury, and Illness Report and Quarterly 

Mine Employment and Coal Production 

Report. 

OMB Control Number: 1219–0007. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profits institutions. 

Total Estimated Number of 

Respondents: 25,067. 

Total Estimated Number of 

Responses: 112,414. 

Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 

131,631 hours. 

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs 

Burden: $2,946. 

(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D)) 

Dated: November 23, 2020. 

Anthony May, 

Management and Program Analyst. 

[FR Doc. 2020–26384 Filed 11–30–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–43–P 


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