EFFECTIVE DATE: 03/08/2012 EXPIRATION DATE: 03/31/2014

(Reissue of I09-III-01)

PROCEDURE INSTRUCTION LETTER NO. I12-III-01

FROM: KEVIN G. STRICKLIN

 Administrator for

Coal Mine Safety and Health

SUBJECT: Re-Issue of I09-III-01- MSHA Procedures for Assigning Legal Identity

 Numbers and Relocation Notices at Auger and Highwall Mining 

 Operations

Scope

This Procedure Instruction Letter (PIL) applies to all Coal Mine Safety and Health 

(CMS&H) enforcement personnel.

Purpose

The purpose of this instruction letter is to establish uniform procedures for application 

of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) regulations to portable auger 

and highwall coal mining operations. These types of mining operations are subject to 

requirements applicable to a mine operator. Because these types of mining operations 

routinely move from location to location, uniform application of MSHA’s enforcement 

scheme is difficult. Assigning permanent identification numbers to each machine 

owned by a contract operator will eliminate the need to reassign numbers each time a 

machine is moved to a different location within a MSHA district or to another location 

in a different MSHA district.

With this identification method, MSHA can track the location of the equipment and 

establish an enforcement and accident history that follows the equipment wherever it 

goes. This procedure will simplify compliance while protecting the health and safety of 

the miners. This procedure will further provide for portability of training and mining 

plans from district to district and a means to track inspections, health sampling and 

accident history. It will also set out procedures to transfer approved or accepted plans 

from district to district and eliminate the need for operators to resubmit these plans as 

equipment is moved.
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Procedure Instruction

MSHA will assign each mobile auger and highwall miner a seven-digit mine 

identification number. This identification number is to be tied to a machine’s serial 

number and will remain with the specific equipment wherever it goes until it is retired 

from service. Contractors who own several machines will receive a different 

identification number for each machine because these machines generally work 

independently and at separate locations. This permanent ID number assignment will 

provide a means to track inspection activity, enforcement history, civil penalty 

assessments, and accident and injury reporting. These identification numbers will be 

assigned when the required Notification of Legal Identity is filed, either by direct online completion of the form on the MSHA website or submission of the form to the 

appropriate District Manager. The MSHA district in which the portable mining unit 

will first operate will complete a Mine Identification Request form to secure an 

identification number through the MSHA Standardized Information System (MSIS).

In addition, MSHA will complete a Mine Information Form for each portable mining 

operation. A manual instructing users in the data entry procedures is available as part 

of the MSIS User Guide Library.

Some surface mine operators use auger and highwall mining machines to produce coal 

as an integral part of their mining cycle. Since these machines remain at the same mine, 

they are not subject to the identification number assignment as described here. These 

augers and highwall miners will operate under the same mine identification number as 

the surface mining operations.

Many auger and highwall operations move between locations and often switch between 

an active and an idle status. When these changes occur, the operator shall notify the 

appropriate MSHA District(s) of every new operating location in a timely fashion by the 

submittal of an updated Legal Identity Report and revised ground control plan. Such 

location and address changes cannot be considered an operational status change

meeting the requirements of 30 C.F.R. §§ 71.208 and 71.220 (notification within 3 days) 

unless that entity has a Designated Work Position (DWP) being sampled for respirable 

dust concentrations. Where the operator fails to notify MSHA of an impending change 

in location, MSHA inspection personnel, from the current district, shall notify the 

MSHA District to which the unit is relocating, if known, or notify CMS&H headquarters 

if an operation has relocated without prior notice to an unknown location. When one 

MSHA District is able to notify another of the relocation (by e-mail or other written 

notification), the notification is to be followed by the transmittal of copies of the 

complete mine file and the uniform mine file within 15 working days.

Special attention is to be given to any outstanding enforcement actions by providing 

immediate e-mail or facsimile notification to the receiving district of the move and of 

the termination of any outstanding citations or orders. The procedure for handling 
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outstanding citations and orders is in the Citation and Order Writing Handbook for 

Coal Mines and Metal and Nonmetal Mines, Handbook Number PH 08-I-1.

In addition, each portable auger or highwall miner operation is to establish and follow a 

suitable ground control plan. The plan should address specific mine conditions, as well 

as most generic situations. The operator should update the plan to each new location 

and file the update with the new location’s MSHA District Manager per 30 C.F.R.

§ 77.1000-1 prior to coal extraction.

The MSHA District will receive and acknowledge that an appropriate highwall/ground 

control plan conforms to the requirements of 30 C.F.R. § 77.1000. MSHA should make 

sure that all auger holes/highwall entries are properly closed or blocked, in accordance 

with 30 C.F.R. § 77.1505 at the abandoned areas. Highwall ground control plans should 

be reviewed to assure they address the web spacing and other measures necessary to 

safely conduct the high rates of recovery typical of highwall mining methods, as well as 

other relevant factors, such as depth of penetration and the confined work areas 

experienced by highwall mining operations. 

Regarding training, each auger and highwall miner operator may now submit a single 

training plan to MSHA for approval that addresses typical conditions and operations 

for one or more machines. This training plan reflects the MSHA assigned identification 

number(s) and the serial number(s) for the machine(s) that the training plan(s) covers. 

Hazard training that covers the specifics of the site is to be given when miners are 

transferred to a new location. Otherwise, new employees receive either new miner or 

experienced miner training, as applicable. Annual refresher and task training 

requirements remain unchanged.

Background

The Agency recognizes the unique needs of auger and highwall mining operators that 

are dictated by the mobile nature of their business. This procedure document provides 

uniform methods of assigning identification numbers to these types of operations and 

notifying MSHA when these operations relocate that simplify compliance with 

regulations. This method of assigning identification numbers will permit training plans 

to be moved from district to district. This will ease the burden on operators in that they 

will not have to resubmit these documents and duplicate certain training when 

equipment is moved. The incorporation of portable mining units into MSHA’s system 

of identifying coal mine activities subject to mandatory inspections will also improve 

uniformity of inspection and the continuity of accident and violation histories.

Authority

The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, as amended, 30 U.S.C. § 801 et seq.; 30 

C.F.R. Part 41; 30 C.F.R. §§ 77.1000, 77.1000-1 and 77.1505.
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Internet Availability

This instruction letter may be viewed on the Internet by accessing the MSHA Home 

Page at (www.msha.gov) and then choosing “Compliance Info” and Procedures 

Instruction Letters.

Issuing Office and Contact Person

Coal Mine Safety and Health, Safety Division

John Arrington, (202) 693-9549

E-mail: arrington.john@dol.gov

Distribution

Program Policy Manual Holders

Coal Surface Mine Operators

Coal Contractors