109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2803

AN ACT

To amend the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977

to improve the safety of mines and mining.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mine Improvement and

5 New Emergency Response Act of 2006’’ or the ‘‘MINER

6 Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. EMERGENCY RESPONSE.

2 Section 316 of the Federal Mine Safety and Health

3 Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 876) is amended—

4 (1) in the section heading by adding at the end

5 the following: ‘‘AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS’’;

6 (2) by striking ‘‘Telephone’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)

7 IN GENERAL.—Telephone’’; and

8 (3) by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(b) ACCIDENT PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each underground coal

11 mine operator shall carry out on a continuing basis

12 a program to improve accident preparedness and re13 sponse at each mine.

14 ‘‘(2) RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS PLAN.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60

16 days after the date of enactment of the Mine

17 Improvement and New Emergency Response

18 Act of 2006, each underground coal mine oper19 ator shall develop and adopt a written accident

20 response plan that complies with this subsection

21 with respect to each mine of the operator, and

22 periodically update such plans to reflect

23 changes in operations in the mine, advances in

24 technology, or other relevant considerations.

25 Each such operator shall make the accident re-
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1 sponse plan available to the miners and the

2 miners’ representatives.

3 ‘‘(B) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—An accident

4 response plan under subparagraph (A) shall—

5 ‘‘(i) provide for the evacuation of all

6 individuals endangered by an emergency;

7 and

8 ‘‘(ii) provide for the maintenance of

9 individuals trapped underground in the

10 event that miners are not able to evacuate

11 the mine.

12 ‘‘(C) PLAN APPROVAL.—The accident re13 sponse plan under subparagraph (A) shall be

14 subject to review and approval by the Secretary.

15 In determining whether to approve a particular

16 plan the Secretary shall take into consideration

17 all comments submitted by miners or their rep18 resentatives. Approved plans shall—

19 ‘‘(i) afford miners a level of safety

20 protection at least consistent with the ex21 isting standards, including standards man22 dated by law and regulation;

23 ‘‘(ii) reflect the most recent credible

24 scientific research;
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1 ‘‘(iii) be technologically feasible, make

2 use of current commercially available tech3 nology, and account for the specific phys4 ical characteristics of the mine; and

5 ‘‘(iv) reflect the improvements in mine

6 safety gained from experience under this

7 Act and other worker safety and health

8 laws.

9 ‘‘(D) PLAN REVIEW.—The accident re10 sponse plan under subparagraph (A) shall be

11 reviewed periodically, but at least every 6

12 months, by the Secretary. In such periodic re13 views, the Secretary shall consider all comments

14 submitted by miners or miners’ representatives

15 and intervening advancements in science and

16 technology that could be implemented to en17 hance miners’ ability to evacuate or otherwise

18 survive in an emergency.

19 ‘‘(E) PLAN CONTENT-GENERAL REQUIRE20 MENTS.—To be approved under subparagraph

21 (C), an accident response plan shall include the

22 following:

23 ‘‘(i) POST-ACCIDENT COMMUNICA24 TIONS.—The plan shall provide for a re25 dundant means of communication with the
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1 surface for persons underground, such as

2 secondary telephone or equivalent two-way

3 communication.

4 ‘‘(ii) POST-ACCIDENT TRACKING.—

5 Consistent with commercially available

6 technology and with the physical con7 straints, if any, of the mine, the plan shall

8 provide for above ground personnel to de9 termine the current, or immediately pre-ac10 cident, location of all underground per11 sonnel. Any system so utilized shall be

12 functional, reliable, and calculated to re13 main serviceable in a post-accident setting.

14 ‘‘(iii) POST-ACCIDENT BREATHABLE

15 AIR.—The plan shall provide for—

16 ‘‘(I) emergency supplies of

17 breathable air for individuals trapped

18 underground sufficient to maintain

19 such individuals for a sustained period

20 of time;

21 ‘‘(II) in addition to the 2 hours

22 of breathable air per miner required

23 by law under the emergency tem24 porary standard as of the day before

25 the date of enactment of the Mine Im-
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1 provement and New Emergency Re2 sponse Act of 2006, caches of self-res3 cuers providing in the aggregate not

4 less than 2 hours per miner to be kept

5 in escapeways from the deepest work

6 area to the surface at a distance of no

7 further than an average miner could

8 walk in 30 minutes;

9 ‘‘(III) a maintenance schedule for

10 checking the reliability of self res11 cuers, retiring older self-rescuers first,

12 and introducing new self-rescuer tech13 nology, such as units with inter14 changeable air or oxygen cylinders not

15 requiring doffing to replenish airflow

16 and units with supplies of greater

17 than 60 minutes, as they are approved

18 by the Administration and become

19 available on the market; and

20 ‘‘(IV) training for each miner in

21 proper procedures for donning self22 rescuers, switching from one unit to

23 another, and ensuring a proper fit.

24 ‘‘(iv) POST-ACCIDENT LIFELINES.—

25 The plan shall provide for the use of
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1 flame-resistant directional lifelines or

2 equivalent systems in escapeways to enable

3 evacuation. The flame-resistance require4 ment of this clause shall apply upon the re5 placement of existing lifelines, or, in the

6 case of lifelines in working sections, upon

7 the earlier of the replacement of such life8 lines or 3 years after the date of enact9 ment of the Mine Improvement and New

10 Emergency Response Act of 2006.

11 ‘‘(v) TRAINING.—The plan shall pro12 vide a training program for emergency pro13 cedures described in the plan which will

14 not diminish the requirements for manda15 tory health and safety training currently

16 required under section 115.

17 ‘‘(vi) LOCAL COORDINATION.—The

18 plan shall set out procedures for coordina19 tion and communication between the oper20 ator, mine rescue teams, and local emer21 gency response personnel and make provi22 sions for familiarizing local rescue per23 sonnel with surface functions that may be

24 required in the course of mine rescue work.
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1 ‘‘(F) PLAN CONTENT-SPECIFIC REQUIRE2 MENTS.—

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the

4 content requirements contained in subpara5 graph (E), and subject to the consider6 ations contained in subparagraph (C), the

7 Secretary may make additional plan re8 quirements with respect to any of the con9 tent matters.

10 ‘‘(ii) POST ACCIDENT COMMUNICA11 TIONS.—Not later than 3 years after the

12 date of enactment of the Mine Improve13 ment and New Emergency Response Act of

14 2006, a plan shall, to be approved, provide

15 for post accident communication between

16 underground and surface personnel via a

17 wireless two-way medium, and provide for

18 an electronic tracking system permitting

19 surface personnel to determine the location

20 of any persons trapped underground or set

21 forth within the plan the reasons such pro22 visions can not be adopted. Where such

23 plan sets forth the reasons such provisions

24 can not be adopted, the plan shall also set

25 forth the operator’s alternative means of
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1 compliance. Such alternative shall approxi2 mate, as closely as possible, the degree of

3 functional utility and safety protection pro4 vided by the wireless two-way medium and

5 tracking system referred to in this subpart.

6 ‘‘(G) PLAN DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any dispute be8 tween the Secretary and an operator with

9 respect to the content of the operator’s

10 plan or any refusal by the Secretary to ap11 prove such a plan shall be resolved on an

12 expedited basis.

13 ‘‘(ii) DISPUTES.—In the event of a

14 dispute or refusal described in clause (i),

15 the Secretary shall issue a citation which

16 shall be immediately referred to a Commis17 sion Administrative Law Judge. The Sec18 retary and the operator shall submit all

19 relevant material regarding the dispute to

20 the Administrative Law Judge within 15

21 days of the date of the referral. The Ad22 ministrative Law Judge shall render his or

23 her decision with respect to the plan con24 tent dispute within 15 days of the receipt

25 of the submission.
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1 ‘‘(iii) FURTHER APPEALS.—A party

2 adversely affected by a decision under

3 clause (ii) may pursue all further available

4 appeal rights with respect to the citation

5 involved, except that inclusion of the dis6 puted provision in the plan will not be lim7 ited by such appeal unless such relief is re8 quested by the operator and permitted by

9 the Administrative Law Judge.

10 ‘‘(H) MAINTAINING PROTECTIONS FOR

11 MINERS.—Notwithstanding any other provision

12 of this Act, nothing in this section, and no re13 sponse and preparedness plan developed under

14 this section, shall be approved if it reduces the

15 protection afforded miners by an existing man16 datory health or safety standard.’’.

17 SEC. 3. INCIDENT COMMAND AND CONTROL.

18 Title I of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act

19 of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 811 et seq.) is amended by adding

20 at the end the following:

21 ‘‘SEC. 116. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN LIABILITY FOR RES22 CUE OPERATIONS.

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No person shall bring an action

24 against any covered individual or his or her regular em25 ployer for property damage or an injury (or death) sus-
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1 tained as a result of carrying out activities relating to

2 mine accident rescue or recovery operations. This sub3 section shall not apply where the action that is alleged to

4 result in the property damages or injury (or death) was

5 the result of gross negligence, reckless conduct, or illegal

6 conduct or, where the regular employer (as such term is

7 used in this Act) is the operator of the mine at which the

8 rescue activity takes place. Nothing in this section shall

9 be construed to preempt State workers’ compensation

10 laws.

11 ‘‘(b) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of sub12 section (a), the term ‘covered individual’ means an

13 individual—

14 ‘‘(1) who is a member of a mine rescue team

15 or who is otherwise a volunteer with respect to a

16 mine accident; and

17 ‘‘(2) who is carrying out activities relating to

18 mine accident rescue or recovery operations.

19 ‘‘(c) REGULAR EMPLOYER.—For purposes of sub20 section (a), the term ‘regular employer’ means the entity

21 that is the covered employee’s legal or statutory employer

22 pursuant to applicable State law.’’.

23 SEC. 4. MINE RESCUE TEAMS.

24 Section 115(e) of the Federal Mine Safety and

25 Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 825(e)) is amended—
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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after the subsection des2 ignation; and

3 (2) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall issue regulations with re5 gard to mine rescue teams which shall be finalized and

6 in effect not later than 18 months after the date of enact7 ment of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Re8 sponse Act of 2006.

9 ‘‘(B) Such regulations shall provide for the following:

10 ‘‘(i) That such regulations shall not be con11 strued to waive operator training requirements appli12 cable to existing mine rescue teams.

13 ‘‘(ii) That the Mine Safety and Health Admin14 istration shall establish, and update every 5 years

15 thereafter, criteria to certify the qualifications of

16 mine rescue teams.

17 ‘‘(iii)(I) That the operator of each underground

18 coal mine with more than 36 employees—

19 ‘‘(aa) have an employee knowledgeable in

20 mine emergency response who is employed at

21 the mine on each shift at each underground

22 mine; and

23 ‘‘(bb) make available two certified mine

24 rescue teams whose members—
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1 ‘‘(AA) are familiar with the operations

2 of such coal mine;

3 ‘‘(BB) participate at least annually in

4 two local mine rescue contests;

5 ‘‘(CC) participate at least annually in

6 mine rescue training at the underground

7 coal mine covered by the mine rescue team;

8 and

9 ‘‘(DD) are available at the mine with10 in one hour ground travel time from the

11 mine rescue station.

12 ‘‘(II)(aa) For the purpose of complying with

13 subclause (I), an operator shall employ one team

14 that is either an individual mine site mine rescue

15 team or a composite team as provided for in item

16 (bb)(BB).

17 ‘‘(bb) The following options may be used by an

18 operator to comply with the requirements of item

19 (aa):

20 ‘‘(AA) An individual mine-site mine rescue

21 team.

22 ‘‘(BB) A multi-employer composite team

23 that is made up of team members who are

24 knowledgeable about the operations and ventila25 tion of the covered mines and who train on a
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1 semi-annual basis at the covered underground

2 coal mine—

3 ‘‘(aaa) which provides coverage for

4 multiple operators that have team mem5 bers which include at least two active em6 ployees from each of the covered mines;

7 ‘‘(bbb) which provides coverage for

8 multiple mines owned by the same operator

9 which members include at least two active

10 employees from each mine; or

11 ‘‘(ccc) which is a State-sponsored

12 mine rescue team comprised of at least two

13 active employees from each of the covered

14 mines.

15 ‘‘(CC) A commercial mine rescue team pro16 vided by contract through a third-party vendor

17 or mine rescue team provided by another coal

18 company, if such team—

19 ‘‘(aaa) trains on a quarterly basis at

20 covered underground coal mines;

21 ‘‘(bbb) is knowledgeable about the op22 erations and ventilation of the covered

23 mines; and

24 ‘‘(ccc) is comprised of individuals with

25 a minimum of 3 years underground coal
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1 mine experience that shall have occurred

2 within the 10-year period preceding their

3 employment on the contract mine rescue

4 team.

5 ‘‘(DD) A State-sponsored team made up of

6 State employees.

7 ‘‘(iv) That the operator of each underground

8 coal mine with 36 or less employees shall—

9 ‘‘(I) have an employee on each shift who is

10 knowledgeable in mine emergency responses;

11 and

12 ‘‘(II) make available two certified mine res13 cue teams whose members—

14 ‘‘(aa) are familiar with the operations

15 of such coal mine;

16 ‘‘(bb) participate at least annually in

17 two local mine rescue contests;

18 ‘‘(cc) participate at least semi-annu19 ally in mine rescue training at the under20 ground coal mine covered by the mine res21 cue team;

22 ‘‘(dd) are available at the mine within

23 one hour ground travel time from the mine

24 rescue station;
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1 ‘‘(ee) are knowledgeable about the op2 erations and ventilation of the covered

3 mines; and

4 ‘‘(ff) are comprised of individuals with

5 a minimum of 3 years underground coal

6 mine experience that shall have occurred

7 within the 10-year period preceding their

8 employment on the contract mine rescue

9 team.’’.

10 SEC. 5. PROMPT INCIDENT NOTIFICATION.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 103(j) of the Federal

12 Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 813(j))

13 is amended by inserting after the first sentence the fol14 lowing: ‘‘For purposes of the preceding sentence, the noti15 fication required shall be provided by the operator within

16 15 minutes of the time at which the operator realizes that

17 the death of an individual at the mine, or an injury or

18 entrapment of an individual at the mine which has a rea19 sonable potential to cause death, has occurred.’’.

20 (b) PENALTY.—Section 110(a) of the Federal Mine

21 Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 820(a)) is

22 amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘The operator’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘(1) The operator’’; and

25 (2) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(2) The operator of a coal or other mine who fails

2 to provide timely notification to the Secretary as required

3 under section 103(j) (relating to the 15 minute require4 ment) shall be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary

5 of not less than $5,000 and not more than $60,000.’’.

6 SEC. 6. NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

7 AND HEALTH.

8 (a) GRANTS.—Section 22 of the Occupational Safety

9 and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 671) is amended by

10 adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(h) OFFICE OF MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be permanently

13 established within the Institute an Office of Mine

14 Safety and Health which shall be administered by an

15 Associate Director to be appointed by the Director.

16 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Office is to

17 enhance the development of new mine safety tech18 nology and technological applications and to expedite

19 the commercial availability and implementation of

20 such technology in mining environments.

21 ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.—In addition to all purposes

22 and authorities provided for under this section, the

23 Office of Mine Safety and Health shall be respon24 sible for research, development, and testing of new

25 technologies and equipment designed to enhance
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1 mine safety and health. To carry out such functions

2 the Director of the Institute, acting through the Of3 fice, shall have the authority to—

4 ‘‘(A) award competitive grants to institu5 tions and private entities to encourage the de6 velopment and manufacture of mine safety

7 equipment;

8 ‘‘(B) award contracts to educational insti9 tutions or private laboratories for the perform10 ance of product testing or related work with re11 spect to new mine technology and equipment;

12 and

13 ‘‘(C) establish an interagency working

14 group as provided for in paragraph (5).

15 ‘‘(4) GRANT AUTHORITY.—To be eligible to re16 ceive a grant under the authority provided for under

17 paragraph (3)(A), an entity or institution shall—

18 ‘‘(A) submit to the Director of the Insti19 tute an application at such time, in such man20 ner, and containing such information as the Di21 rector may require; and

22 ‘‘(B) include in the application under sub23 paragraph (A), a description of the mine safety

24 equipment to be developed and manufactured

25 under the grant and a description of the rea-
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1 sons that such equipment would otherwise not

2 be developed or manufactured, including rea3 sons relating to the limited potential commer4 cial market for such equipment.

5 ‘‘(5) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.—

6 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of

7 the Institute, in carrying out paragraph (3)(D)

8 shall establish an interagency working group to

9 share technology and technological research and

10 developments that could be utilized to enhance

11 mine safety and accident response.

12 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The working group

13 under subparagraph (A) shall be chaired by the

14 Associate Director of the Office who shall ap15 point the members of the working group, which

16 may include representatives of other Federal

17 agencies or departments as determined appro18 priate by the Associate Director.

19 ‘‘(C) DUTIES.—The working group under

20 subparagraph (A) shall conduct an evaluation

21 of research conducted by, and the technological

22 developments of, agencies and departments who

23 are represented on the working group that may

24 have applicability to mine safety and accident

25 response and make recommendations to the Di-
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1 rector for the further development and eventual

2 implementation of such technology.

3 ‘‘(6) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year

4 after the establishment of the Office under this sub5 section, and annually thereafter, the Director of the

6 Institute shall submit to the Committee on Health,

7 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and

8 the Committee on Education and the Workforce of

9 the House of Representatives a report that, with re10 spect to the year involved, describes the new mine

11 safety technologies and equipment that have been

12 studied, tested, and certified for use, and with re13 spect to those instances of technologies and equip14 ment that have been considered but not yet certified

15 for use, the reasons therefore.

16 ‘‘(7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

17 There is authorized to be appropriated, such sums

18 as may be necessary to enable the Institute and the

19 Office of Mine Safety and Health to carry out this

20 subsection.’’.

21 SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT CONCERNING FAMILY LIAISONS.

22 The Secretary of Labor shall establish a policy that—

23 (1) requires the temporary assignment of an in24 dividual Department of Labor official to be a liaison
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1 between the Department and the families of victims

2 of mine tragedies involving multiple deaths;

3 (2) requires the Mine Safety and Health Ad4 ministration to be as responsive as possible to re5 quests from the families of mine accident victims for

6 information relating to mine accidents; and

7 (3) requires that in such accidents, that the

8 Mine Safety and Health Administration shall serve

9 as the primary communicator with the operator,

10 miners’ families, the press and the public.

11 SEC. 8. PENALTIES.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 110 of the Federal Mine

13 Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 820) is

14 amended—

15 (1) in subsection (a)—

16 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after the subsection

17 designation; and

18 (B) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(2) Any operator who willfully violates a mandatory

20 health or safety standard, or knowingly violates or fails

21 or refuses to comply with any order issued under section

22 104 and section 107, or any order incorporated in a final

23 decision issued under this title, except an order incor24 porated in a decision under paragraph (1) or section

25 105(c), shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of
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1 not more than $250,000, or by imprisonment for not more

2 than one year, or by both, except that if the conviction

3 is for a violation committed after the first conviction of

4 such operator under this Act, punishment shall be by a

5 fine of not more than $500,000, or by imprisonment for

6 not more than five years, or both.

7 ‘‘(3)(A) The minimum penalty for any citation or

8 order issued under section 104(d)(1) shall be $2,000.

9 ‘‘(B) The minimum penalty for any order issued

10 under section 104(d)(2) shall be $4,000.

11 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to

12 prevent an operator from obtaining a review, in accord13 ance with section 106, of an order imposing a penalty de14 scribed in this subsection. If a court, in making such re15 view, sustains the order, the court shall apply at least the

16 minimum penalties required under this subsection.’’; and

17 (2) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the

18 following: ‘‘Violations under this section that are

19 deemed to be flagrant may be assessed a civil pen20 alty of not more than $220,000. For purposes of the

21 preceding sentence, the term ‘flagrant’ with respect

22 to a violation means a reckless or repeated failure to

23 make reasonable efforts to eliminate a known viola24 tion of a mandatory health or safety standard that

25 substantially and proximately caused, or reasonably
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1 could have been expected to cause, death or serious

2 bodily injury.’’.

3 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than December 30,

4 2006, the Secretary of Labor shall promulgate final regu5 lations with respect to penalties.

6 SEC. 9. FINE COLLECTIONS.

7 Section 108(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Mine Safety and

8 Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 818(a)(1)(A)) is amended

9 by inserting before the comma, the following: ‘‘, or fails

10 or refuses to comply with any order or decision, including

11 a civil penalty assessment order, that is issued under this

12 Act’’.

13 SEC. 10. SEALING OF ABANDONED AREAS.

14 Not later than 18 months after the issuance by the

15 Mine Safety and Health Administration of a final report

16 on the Sago Mine accident or the date of enactment of

17 the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act

18 of 2006, whichever occurs earlier, the Secretary of Labor

19 shall finalize mandatory heath and safety standards relat20 ing to the sealing of abandoned areas in underground coal

21 mines. Such health and safety standards shall provide for

22 an increase in the 20 psi standard currently set forth in

23 section 75.335(a)(2) of title 30, Code of Federal Regula24 tions.
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1 SEC. 11. TECHNICAL STUDY PANEL.

2 Title V of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act

3 of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 951 et seq.) is amended by adding

4 at the end the following:

5 ‘‘SEC. 514. TECHNICAL STUDY PANEL.

6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Tech7 nical Study Panel (referred to in this section as the

8 ‘Panel’) which shall provide independent scientific and en9 gineering review and recommendations with respect to the

10 utilization of belt air and the composition and fire retard11 ant properties of belt materials in underground coal min12 ing.

13 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Panel shall be composed

14 of—

15 ‘‘(1) two individuals to be appointed by the Sec16 retary of Health and Human Services, in consulta17 tion with the Director of the National Institute for

18 Occupational Safety and Health and the Associate

19 Director of the Office of Mine Safety;

20 ‘‘(2) two individuals to be appointed by the Sec21 retary of Labor, in consultation with the Assistant

22 Secretary for Mine Safety and Health; and

23 ‘‘(3) two individuals, one to be appointed jointly

24 by the majority leaders of the Senate and House of

25 Representatives and one to be appointed jointly by

26 the minority leader of the Senate and House of Rep-
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1 resentatives, each to be appointed prior to the sine

2 die adjournment of the second session of the 109th

3 Congress.

4 ‘‘(c) QUALIFICATIONS.—Four of the six individuals

5 appointed to the Panel under subsection (b) shall possess

6 a masters or doctoral level degree in mining engineering

7 or another scientific field demonstrably related to the sub8 ject of the report. No individual appointed to the Panel

9 shall be an employee of any coal or other mine, or of any

10 labor organization, or of any State or Federal agency pri11 marily responsible for regulating the mining industry.

12 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after

14 the date on which all members of the Panel are ap15 pointed under subsection (b), the Panel shall pre16 pare and submit to the Secretary of Labor, the Sec17 retary of Health and Human Services, the Com18 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

19 of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and

20 the Workforce of the House of Representatives a re21 port concerning the utilization of belt air and the

22 composition and fire retardant properties of belt ma23 terials in underground coal mining.

24 ‘‘(2) RESPONSE BY SECRETARY.—Not later

25 than 180 days after the receipt of the report under
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1 paragraph (1), the Secretary of Labor shall provide

2 a response to the Committee on Health, Education,

3 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Com4 mittee on Education and the Workforce of the

5 House of Representatives containing a description of

6 the actions, if any, that the Secretary intends to

7 take based upon the report, including proposing reg8 ulatory changes, and the reasons for such actions.

9 ‘‘(e) COMPENSATION.—Members appointed to the

10 panel, while carrying out the duties of the Panel shall be

11 entitled to receive compensation, per diem in lieu of sub12 sistence, and travel expenses in the same manner and

13 under the same conditions as that prescribed under section

14 208(c) of the Public Health Service Act.’’.

15 SEC. 12. SCHOLARSHIPS.

16 Title V of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act

17 of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 951 et seq.), as amended by section

18 11, is further amended by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘SEC. 515. SCHOLARSHIPS.

20 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Education

21 (referred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’), in consulta22 tion with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of

23 Health and Human Services, shall establish a program to

24 provide scholarships to eligible individuals to increase the

25 skilled workforce for both private sector coal mine opera-
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1 tors and mine safety inspectors and other regulatory per2 sonnel for the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

3 ‘‘(b) FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS SCHOLARSHIPS.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under the program under

5 subsection (a), the Secretary may award scholarship

6 to fully or partially pay the tuition costs of eligible

7 individuals enrolled in 2-year associate’s degree pro8 grams at community colleges or other colleges and

9 universities that focus on providing the fundamental

10 skills and training that is of immediate use to a be11 ginning coal miner.

12 ‘‘(2) SKILLS.—The skills described in para13 graph (1) shall include basic math, basic health and

14 safety, business principles, management and super15 visory skills, skills related to electric circuitry, skills

16 related to heavy equipment operations, and skills re17 lated to communications.

18 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a

19 scholarship under this subsection an individual

20 shall—

21 ‘‘(A) have a high school diploma or a

22 GED;

23 ‘‘(B) have at least 2 years experience in

24 full-time employment in mining or mining-re25 lated activities;
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1 ‘‘(C) submit to the Secretary an applica2 tion at such time, in such manner, and con3 taining such information; and

4 ‘‘(D) demonstrate an interest in working in

5 the field of mining and performing an intern6 ship with the Mine Safety and Health Adminis7 tration or the National Institute for Occupa8 tional Safety and Health Office of Mine Safety.

9 ‘‘(c) MINE SAFETY INSPECTOR SCHOLARSHIPS.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under the program under

11 subsection (a), the Secretary may award scholarship

12 to fully or partially pay the tuition costs of eligible

13 individuals enrolled in undergraduate bachelor’s de14 gree programs at accredited colleges or universities

15 that provide the skills needed to become mine safety

16 inspectors.

17 ‘‘(2) SKILLS.—The skills described in para18 graph (1) include skills developed through programs

19 leading to a degree in mining engineering, civil engi20 neering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineer21 ing, industrial engineering, environmental engineer22 ing, industrial hygiene, occupational health and safe23 ty, geology, chemistry, or other fields of study re24 lated to mine safety and health work.
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1 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a

2 scholarship under this subsection an individual

3 shall—

4 ‘‘(A) have a high school diploma or a

5 GED;

6 ‘‘(B) have at least 5 years experience in

7 full-time employment in mining or mining-re8 lated activities;

9 ‘‘(C) submit to the Secretary an applica10 tion at such time, in such manner, and con11 taining such information; and

12 ‘‘(D) agree to be employed for a period of

13 at least 5 years at the Mine Safety and Health

14 Administration or, to repay, on a pro-rated

15 basis, the funds received under this program,

16 plus interest, at a rate established by the Sec17 retary upon the issuance of the scholarship.

18 ‘‘(d) ADVANCED RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIPS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under the program under

20 subsection (a), the Secretary may award scholar21 ships to fully or partially pay the tuition costs of eli22 gible individuals enrolled in undergraduate bach23 elor’s degree, masters degree, and Ph.D. degree pro24 grams at accredited colleges or universities that pro25 vide the skills needed to augment and advance re-
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1 search in mine safety and to broaden, improve, and

2 expand the universe of candidates for mine safety in3 spector and other regulatory positions in the Mine

4 Safety and Health Administration.

5 ‘‘(2) SKILLS.—The skills described in para6 graph (1) include skills developed through programs

7 leading to a degree in mining engineering, civil engi8 neering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineer9 ing, industrial engineering, environmental engineer10 ing, industrial hygiene, occupational health and safe11 ty, geology, chemistry, or other fields of study re12 lated to mine safety and health work.

13 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a

14 scholarship under this subsection an individual

15 shall—

16 ‘‘(A) have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent

17 from an accredited 4-year institution;

18 ‘‘(B) have at least 5 years experience in

19 full-time employment in underground mining or

20 mining-related activities; and

21 ‘‘(C) submit to the Secretary an applica22 tion at such time, in such manner, and con23 taining such information.
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1 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be

3 necessary to carry out this section.’’.

4 SEC. 13. RESEARCH CONCERNING REFUGE ALTERNATIVES.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Institute of Occupa6 tional Safety and Health shall provide for the conduct of

7 research, including field tests, concerning the utility, prac8 ticality, survivability, and cost of various refuge alter9 natives in an underground coal mine environment, includ10 ing commercially-available portable refuge chambers.

11 (b) REPORT.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the National

14 Institute for Occupational Safety and Health shall

15 prepare and submit to the Secretary of Labor, the

16 Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Com17 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

18 of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and

19 the Workforce of the House of Representatives a re20 port concerning the results of the research con21 ducted under subsection (a), including any field

22 tests.

23 (2) RESPONSE BY SECRETARY.—Not later than

24 180 days after the receipt of the report under para25 graph (1), the Secretary of Labor shall provide a re-
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1 sponse to the Committee on Health, Education,

2 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Com3 mittee on Education and the Workforce of the

4 House of Representatives containing a description of

5 the actions, if any, that the Secretary intends to

6 take based upon the report, including proposing reg7 ulatory changes, and the reasons for such actions.

8 SEC. 14. BROOKWOOD-SAGO MINE SAFETY GRANTS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall es10 tablish a program to award competitive grants for edu11 cation and training, to be known as Brookwood-Sago Mine

12 Safety Grants, to carry out the purposes of this section.

13 (b) PURPOSES.—It is the purpose of this section, to

14 provide for the funding of education and training pro15 grams to better identify, avoid, and prevent unsafe work16 ing conditions in and around mines.

17 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant

18 under this section, an entity shall—

19 (1) be a public or private nonprofit entity; and

20 (2) submit to the Secretary of Labor an appli21 cation at such time, in such manner, and containing

22 such information as the Secretary may require.

23 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts received under a

24 grant under this section shall be used to establish and im25 plement education and training programs, or to develop
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1 training materials for employers and miners, concerning

2 safety and health topics in mines, as determined appro3 priate by the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

4 (e) AWARDING OF GRANTS.—

5 (1) ANNUAL BASIS.—Grants under this section

6 shall be awarded on an annual basis.

7 (2) SPECIAL EMPHASIS.—In awarding grants

8 under this section, the Secretary of Labor shall give

9 special emphasis to programs and materials that tar10 get workers in smaller mines, including training

11 miners and employers about new Mine Safety and

12 Health Administration standards, high risk activi13 ties, or hazards identified by such Administration.

14 (3) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this

15 section, the Secretary of Labor shall give priority to

16 the funding of pilot and demonstration projects that

17 the Secretary determines will provide opportunities

18 for broad applicability for mine safety.

19 (f) EVALUATION.—The Secretary of Labor shall use

20 not less than 1 percent of the funds made available to

21 carry out this section in a fiscal year to conduct evalua22 tions of the projects funded under grants under this sec23 tion.
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1 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

2 are authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year,

3 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.

Passed the Senate May 24, 2006.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2803

AN ACT

of 1977 to improve the safety of mines and mining.

To amend the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act