I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5481 

To amend the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to improve 

the safety of mines and mining. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 25, 2006 

Mr. NORWOOD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

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 ‘‘Modernizing and Im5 proving the National Emergency Response System for 

6 Mining Act’’ or the ‘‘MINERS for Mining Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. EMERGENCY RESPONSE. 

8 Section 316 of the Federal Mine Safety and Health 

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


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

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

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

4 IN GENERAL.—Telephone’’; and 

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

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

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

8 mine operator shall carry out on a continuing basis 

9 a program to improve accident preparedness and re10 sponse at each mine. 

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

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

13 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

14 each underground coal mine operator shall de15 velop and adopt a written accident response 

16 plan that complies with this subsection with re17 spect to each mine of the operator, and periodi18 cally update such plans to reflect changes in op19 erations in the mine, advances in technology, or 

20 other relevant considerations. Each such oper21 ator shall make the accident response plan 

22 available to the miners and the miners’ rep23 resentatives. 

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

25 response plan under subparagraph (A) shall— 


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

2 individuals endangered by an emergency; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) provide for the maintenance of 

5 individuals trapped underground in the 

6 event that miners are not able to evacuate 

7 the mine. 

8 ‘‘(C) PLAN APPROVAL.—The accident re9 sponse plan under subparagraph (A) shall be 

10 subject to review and approval by the Secretary. 

11 Approved plans shall— 

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

13 protection at least consistent with existing 

14 standards, including standards mandated 

15 by law and regulation; 

16 ‘‘(ii) reflect the most recent credible 

17 scientific research; 

18 ‘‘(iii) be technologically feasible, make 

19 use of current commercially available tech20 nology, and account for the specific phys21 ical characteristics of the mine; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) reflect the improvements in mine 

23 safety gained from experience under this 

24 Act and other worker safety and health 

25 laws. 


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1 ‘‘(D) PLAN REVIEW.—The accident re2 sponse plan under subparagraph (A) shall be 

3 reviewed periodically, but at least every 6 

4 months, by the Secretary. In such periodic re5 views, the Secretary shall consider intervening 

6 advancements in science and technology that 

7 could be implemented to enhance miners’ ability 

8 to evacuate or otherwise survive in an emer9 gency. 

10 ‘‘(E) PLAN CONTENT-GENERAL REQUIRE11 MENTS.—To be approved under subparagraph 

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

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(i) POST-ACCIDENT COMMUNICA15 TIONS.—The plan shall provide for a re16 dundant means of communication with the 

17 surface for persons underground, such as 

18 secondary telephone or equivalent two-way 

19 communication. 

20 ‘‘(ii) POST-ACCIDENT TRACKING.— 

21 Consistent with commercially available 

22 technology and with the physical con23 straints, if any, of the mine, the plan shall 

24 provide for above ground personnel to de25 termine the current, or immediately pre-acVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:55 Jun 06, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5481.IH H5481

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1 cident, location of all underground per2 sonnel. Any system so utilized shall be 

3 functional, reliable, and calculated to re4 main serviceable in a post-accident setting. 

5 ‘‘(iii) POST-ACCIDENT BREATHABLE

6 AIR.—The plan shall provide for— 

7 ‘‘(I) emergency supplies of 

8 breathable air for individuals trapped 

9 underground sufficient to maintain 

10 such individuals for a sustained period 

11 of time; 

12 ‘‘(II) in addition to the 2 hours 

13 of breathable air per miner required 

14 by law under the emergency tem15 porary standard as of the day before 

16 the date of enactment of the Modern17 izing and Improving the National 

18 Emergency Response System for Min19 ing Act, caches of self-rescuers pro20 viding in the aggregate not less than 

21 2 hours per miner to be kept in 

22 escapeways from the deepest work 

23 area to the surface at a distance of no 

24 further than an average miner could 

25 walk in 30 minutes; 


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1 ‘‘(III) a maintenance schedule for 

2 checking the reliability of self res3 cuers, retiring older self-rescuers first, 

4 and introducing new self-rescuer tech5 nology, such as units with inter6 changeable air or oxygen cylinders not 

7 requiring doffing to replenish airflow 

8 and units with supplies of greater 

9 than 60 minutes, as they are approved 

10 by the Administration and become 

11 available on the market; and 

12 ‘‘(IV) training for each miner in 

13 proper procedures for donning self14 rescuers, switching from one unit to 

15 another, and ensuring a proper fit. 

16 ‘‘(iv) POST-ACCIDENT LIFELINES.— 

17 The plan shall provide for the use of 

18 flame-resistant directional lifelines or 

19 equivalent systems in escapeways to enable 

20 evacuation. The flame-resistance require21 ment of this clause shall apply upon the re22 placement of existing lifelines, or, in the 

23 case of lifelines in working sections, upon 

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1 lines or 3 years after the date of enact2 ment of this Act. 

3 ‘‘(v) TRAINING.—The plan shall pro4 vide a training program for emergency pro5 cedures described in the plan which will 

6 not diminish the requirements for manda7 tory health and safety training currently 

8 required under section 115. 

9 ‘‘(vi) LOCAL COORDINATION.—The 

10 plan shall set out procedures for coordina11 tion and communication between the oper12 ator, mine rescue teams, and local emer13 gency response personnel and make provi14 sions for familiarizing local rescue per15 sonnel with surface functions that may be 

16 required in the course of mine rescue work. 

17 ‘‘(F) PLAN CONTENT-SPECIFIC REQUIRE18 MENTS.— 

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

20 content requirements contained in subpara21 graph (E), and subject to the consider22 ations contained in subparagraph (C), the 

23 Secretary may make additional plan re24 quirements with respect to any of the con25 tent matters. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) POST ACCIDENT COMMUNICA2 TIONS.—Not later than 3 years after the 

3 date of enactment of the Modernizing and 

4 Improving the National Emergency Re5 sponse System for Mining Act, a plan 

6 shall, to be approved, provide for post acci7 dent communication between underground 

8 and surface personnel via a wireless two9 way medium, and provide for an electronic 

10 tracking system permitting surface per11 sonnel to determine the location of any 

12 persons trapped underground or set forth 

13 within the plan the reasons such provisions 

14 can not be adopted. Where such plan sets 

15 forth the reasons such provisions can not 

16 be adopted, the plan shall also set forth 

17 the operator’s alternative means of compli18 ance. Such alternative shall approximate, 

19 as closely as possible, the degree of func20 tional utility and safety protection provided 

21 by the wireless two-way medium and track22 ing system referred to in this subpart. 

23 ‘‘(G) PLAN DISPUTE RESOLUTION.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any dispute be25 tween the Secretary and an operator with 


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1 respect to the content of the operator’s 

2 plan or any refusal by the Secretary to ap3 prove such a plan shall be resolved on an 

4 expedited basis. 

5 ‘‘(ii) DISPUTES.—In the event of a 

6 dispute or refusal described in clause (i), 

7 the Secretary shall issue a citation which 

8 shall be immediately referred to a Commis9 sion Administrative Law Judge. The Sec10 retary and the operator shall submit all 

11 relevant material regarding the dispute to 

12 the Administrative Law Judge within 15 

13 days of the date of the referral. The Ad14 ministrative Law Judge shall render his or 

15 her decision with respect to the plan con16 tent dispute within 15 days of the receipt 

17 of the submission. 

18 ‘‘(iii) FURTHER APPEALS.—A party 

19 adversely affected by a decision under 

20 clause (ii) may pursue all further available 

21 appeal rights with respect to the citation 

22 involved, except that inclusion of the dis23 puted provision in the plan will not be lim24 ited by such appeal unless such relief is reVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:55 Jun 06, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5481.IH H5481

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1 quested by the operator and permitted by 

2 the Administrative Law Judge. 

3 ‘‘(H) MAINTAINING PROTECTIONS FOR

4 MINERS.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

5 of this Act, nothing in this section, and no re6 sponse and preparedness plan developed under 

7 this section, shall be approved if it reduces the 

8 protection afforded miners by an existing man9 datory health or safety standard.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. INCIDENT COMMAND AND CONTROL. 

11 Title I of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 

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

13 at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 116. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN LIABILITY FOR RES15 CUE OPERATIONS. 

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

17 against any covered individual or his or her regular em18 ployer for property damage or an injury (or death) sus19 tained as a result of carrying out activities relating to 

20 mine accident rescue or recovery operations. This sub21 section shall not apply where the action that is alleged to 

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

23 the result of gross negligence, reckless conduct, or a willful 

24 violation of law or, where the regular employer (as such 

25 term is used in this Act) is the operator of the mine at 


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1 which the rescue activity takes place. Nothing in this sec2 tion shall be construed to preempt State workers’ com3 pensation laws. 

4 ‘‘(b) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of sub5 section (a), the term ‘covered individual’ means an indi6 vidual— 

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

8 or who is otherwise a volunteer with respect to a 

9 mine accident; and 

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

11 mine accident rescue or recovery operations. 

12 ‘‘(c) REGULAR EMPLOYER.—For purposes of sub13 section (a), the term ‘regular employer’ means the entity 

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

15 pursuant to applicable State law.’’. 

16 SEC. 4. MINE RESCUE TEAMS. 

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

18 Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 825(e)) is amended— 

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after the subsection des20 ignation; and 

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

22 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall issue regulations with re23 gard to mine rescue teams which shall be finalized and 

24 in effect not later than 18 months after the date of enact25 ment of this Act. 


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

2 ‘‘(i) That such regulations shall not be con3 strued to waive operator training requirements appli4 cable to existing mine rescue teams. 

5 ‘‘(ii) That the Mine Safety and Health Admin6 istration shall establish, and update every 5 years 

7 thereafter, criteria to certify the qualifications of 

8 mine rescue teams. 

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

10 coal mine with more than 36 employees— 

11 ‘‘(aa) have an employee knowledgeable in 

12 mine emergency response who is employed at 

13 the mine on each shift at each underground 

14 mine; and 

15 ‘‘(bb) make available two certified mine 

16 rescue teams whose members— 

17 ‘‘(AA) are familiar with the operations 

18 of such coal mine; 

19 ‘‘(BB) participate at least annually in 

20 mine rescue training at the underground 

21 coal mine covered by the mine rescue team; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(CC) are available at the mine within 

24 one hour ground travel time from the mine 

25 rescue station. 


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

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

3 that is either an individual mine site mine rescue 

4 team or a composite team as provided for in item 

5 (bb)(BB). 

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

7 operator to comply with the requirements of item 

8 (aa): 

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

10 team. 

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

12 that is made up of team members who are 

13 knowledgeable about the operations and ventila14 tion of the covered mines and who train on a 

15 semi-annual basis at the covered underground 

16 coal mine— 

17 ‘‘(aaa) which provides coverage for 

18 multiple operators that have team mem19 bers which include at least two active em20 ployees from each of the covered mines; 

21 ‘‘(bbb) which provides coverage for 

22 multiple mines owned by the same operator 

23 which members include at least two active 

24 employees from each mine; or 


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1 ‘‘(ccc) which is a State-sponsored 

2 mine rescue team comprised of at least two 

3 active employees from each of the covered 

4 mines. 

5 ‘‘(CC) A commercial mine rescue team pro6 vided by contract through a third-party vendor 

7 or mine rescue team provided by another coal 

8 company, if such team— 

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

10 covered underground coal mines; 

11 ‘‘(bbb) is knowledgeable about the op12 erations and ventilation of the covered 

13 mines; and 

14 ‘‘(ccc) is comprised of individuals with 

15 a minimum of 3 years underground coal 

16 mine experience that shall have occurred 

17 within the 10-year period preceding their 

18 employment on the contract mine rescue 

19 team. 

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

21 State employees. 

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

23 coal mine with 36 or less employees shall— 


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

2 knowledgeable in mine emergency responses; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(II) make available two certified mine res5 cue teams whose members— 

6 ‘‘(aa) are familiar with the operations 

7 of such coal mine; 

8 ‘‘(bb) participate at least semi-annu9 ally in mine rescue training at the under10 ground coal mine covered by the mine res11 cue team; 

12 ‘‘(cc) are available at the mine within 

13 one hour ground travel time from the mine 

14 rescue station; 

15 ‘‘(dd) are knowledgeable about the op16 erations and ventilation of the covered 

17 mines; and 

18 ‘‘(ee) are comprised of individuals 

19 with a minimum of 3 years underground 

20 coal mine experience that shall have oc21 curred within the 10-year period preceding 

22 their employment on the contract mine res23 cue team.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. PROMPT INCIDENT NOTIFICATION. 

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

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

4 is amended by inserting after the first sentence the fol5 lowing: ‘‘For purposes of the preceding sentence, the noti6 fication required shall be provided by the operator within 

7 15 minutes of the time at which the operator realizes that 

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

9 entrapment of an individual at the mine which has a rea10 sonable potential to cause death, has occurred.’’. 

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

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

13 amended— 

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

15 ‘‘(1) The operator’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(2) The operator of a coal or other mine who fails 

18 to provide timely notification to the Secretary as required 

19 under section 103(j) (relating to the 15 minute require20 ment) shall be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary 

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

22 SEC. 6. NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 

23 AND HEALTH. 

24 (a) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of improving 

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1 tute for Occupational Safety and Health is author2 ized to conduct research in and development of tech3 nology relating to— 

4 (A) the improvement of post-disaster mine 

5 operations, including an analysis of and rec6 ommendations for future practices relating to 

7 electrical devices and the hardening of mine 

8 monitoring and communications systems; 

9 (B) the improvement of mine rescue team 

10 operations, including communications among 

11 mine operators, miners, and mine rescue teams, 

12 and the use of robotic technology; 

13 (C) the development and installation of im14 proved emergency and routine miner tracking 

15 systems, including recommended standards for 

16 wireless communications in underground mines; 

17 (D) the development and improvement of 

18 self-contained self-rescuers, including docking 

19 and hybrid capabilities; 

20 (E) the development of performance stand21 ards, location strategies, and application guide22 lines for coal mine rescue chambers; and 

23 (F) the development and demonstration of 

24 a rapidly deployable seismic location system to 

25 assist in the location of trapped miners, and an 


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1 analysis of alternative tracking and location 

2 systems 

3 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated 

5 $14,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out this 

6 subsection. 

7 (b) OFFICE OF MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH.—Sec8 tion 22 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

9 (29 U.S.C. 671) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

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 

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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)(C) 

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 

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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 amend14 ed— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

17 designation and at the end of the subsection: 

18 ‘‘The Secretary may prescribe procedures for 

19 the issuance of a notice in lieu of a citation 

20 with respect to de minimis violations which have 

21 no direct or immediate relationship to safety or 

22 health.’’; and 

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

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

25 health or safety standard, or knowingly violates or fails 


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1 or refuses to comply with any order issued under section 

2 104 and section 107, or any order incorporated in a final 

3 decision issued under this title, except an order incor4 porated in a decision under paragraph (1) or section 

5 105(c), shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of 

6 not more than $250,000, or by imprisonment for not more 

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

8 is for a violation committed after the first conviction of 

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

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

11 not more than five years, or both. 

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

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

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

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

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

17 prevent an operator from obtaining a review, in accord18 ance with section 106, of an order imposing a penalty de19 scribed in this subsection. If a court, in making such re20 view, sustains the order, the court shall apply at least the 

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

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

23 following: ‘‘Violations under this section that are 

24 deemed to be flagrant may be assessed a civil pen25 alty of not more than $220,000. For purposes of the 


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1 preceding sentence, the term ‘flagrant’ with respect 

2 to a violation means a reckless or repeated failure to 

3 make reasonable efforts to eliminate a known viola4 tion of a mandatory health or safety standard that 

5 substantially and proximately caused, or reasonably 

6 could have been expected to cause, death or serious 

7 bodily injury.’’. 

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

9 2006, the Secretary of Labor shall promulgate final regu10 lations with respect to penalties. 

11 SEC. 9. FINE COLLECTIONS. 

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

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

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

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

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

17 Act’’. 

18 SEC. 10. ABANDONED MINE AREAS SEAL STUDY. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall pro20 vide for the conduct of research, including field tests, con21 cerning the sealing of abandoned mine areas, including the 

22 materials used in the construction of these seals, the prac23 ticality of inertization prior to sealing, and the use of pro24 fessional engineers in the design of the seals. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prepare 

3 and submit to the Committee on Education and the Work4 force of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 

5 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 

6 a report detailing the findings of the research under this 

7 section. Such report shall include a description of the ac8 tions, if any, that the Secretary intends to take based upon 

9 the report, including proposing regulatory changes, and 

10 the reasons for such actions. 

11 SEC. 11. SUBSTANCE ABUSE TESTING. 

12 Title II of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 

13 of 1977 is amended by adding at the end the following 

14 new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 207. SUBSTANCE ABUSE TESTING. 

16 ‘‘(a) Within 180 days following the enactment of this 

17 Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations pursuant 

18 to section 101(a) to require the operator of each mine to 

19 institute a program to conduct mandatory, random sub20 stance abuse testing of mine employees. Such regulations 

21 shall be no less restrictive than regulations issued by other 

22 Federal and States agencies which impose mandatory sub23 stance abuse testing and shall include provisions providing 

24 for— 


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1 ‘‘(1) mandatary substance abuse testing proce2 dures; 

3 ‘‘(2) a process for the random selection of those 

4 employees to be tested; 

5 ‘‘(3) the protection of individuals’ rights and 

6 privacy; 

7 ‘‘(4) the establishment of an Employee Assist8 ance Program; and 

9 ‘‘(5) for purposes of subsection (b), a process 

10 for mine operators to notify the Administration of 

11 the names of individuals who test positive for sub12 stance abuse. 

13 ‘‘(b) Within 180 days following the enactment of this 

14 Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations creating 

15 a registry of those found to have tested positive for sub16 stance abuse for the sole purpose of sharing, on a con17 fidential basis, with State authorities responsible for 

18 issuance of licenses, certification, permits, or other docu19 ments required to seek employment in the mining indus20 try.’’. 

21 SEC. 12. SUBPOENA AUTHORITY. 

22 Section 103(a) is amended— 

23 (1) by adding ‘‘, ENFORCEMENT OF SUB24 POENA’’ to the subsection heading; and 


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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ at the beginning of the 

2 subsection and inserting at the end: 

3 ‘‘(2) In making inspections and investigations 

4 under this chapter the Secretary may require the at5 tendance and testimony of witnesses and the produc6 tion of evidence under oath. Witnesses shall be paid 

7 the same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses 

8 in the courts of the United States. In case of a con9 tumacy, failure, or refusal of any person to obey 

10 such an order, any district court of the United 

11 States or the United States courts of any territory 

12 or possession, within the jurisdiction of which such 

13 person is found, or resides or transacts business, 

14 upon the application by the Secretary, shall have ju15 risdiction to issue to such person an order requiring 

16 such person to appear to produce evidence if, as, and 

17 when so ordered, and to give testimony relating to 

18 the matter under investigation or in question, and 

19 any failure to obey such order of the court may be 

20 punished by said court as a contempt thereof.’’. 

21 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF BELT AIR COURSE VENTILA22 TION. 

23 Section 303(y) is amended by striking all and replac24 ing with the following: ‘‘A mine operator may use air from 

25 a belt air course to ventilate a working section or an area 


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1 where mechanized mining equipment is being installed or 

2 removed, provided that such use is in compliance with the 

3 requirements of section 75.350 of title 30, Code of Federal 

4 Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of this 

5 Act.’’. 

6 SEC. 14. SCHOLARSHIPS. 

7 Title V of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 

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

9 11, is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 515. SCHOLARSHIPS. 

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

12 (referred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’), in consulta13 tion with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of 

14 Health and Human Services, shall establish a program to 

15 provide scholarships to eligible individuals to increase the 

16 skilled workforce for both private sector mine operators 

17 and mine safety inspectors and other regulatory personnel 

18 for the Mine Safety and Health Administration. 

19 ‘‘(b) FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS SCHOLARSHIPS.— 

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

21 subsection (a), the Secretary may award scholarship 

22 to fully or partially pay the tuition costs of eligible 

23 individuals enrolled in 2-year associate’s degree pro24 grams at community colleges or other colleges and 

25 universities that focus on providing the fundamental 


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1 skills and training that is of immediate use to a be2 ginning miner. 

3 ‘‘(2) SKILLS.—The skills described in para4 graph (1) shall include basic math, basic health and 

5 safety, business principles, management and super6 visory skills, skills related to electric circuitry, skills 

7 related to heavy equipment operations, and skills re8 lated to communications. 

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

10 scholarship under this subsection an individual 

11 shall— 

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

13 GED; 

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

15 full-time employment in mining or mining-re16 lated activities; 

17 ‘‘(C) submit to the Secretary an applica18 tion at such time, in such manner, and con19 taining such information; and 

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

21 the field of mining and performing an intern22 ship with the Mine Safety and Health Adminis23 tration or the National Institute for Occupa24 tional Safety and Health Office of Mine Safety. 

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


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

2 subsection (a), the Secretary may award scholarship 

3 to fully or partially pay the tuition costs of eligible 

4 individuals enrolled in undergraduate bachelor’s de5 gree programs at accredited colleges or universities 

6 that provide the skills needed to become mine safety 

7 inspectors. 

8 ‘‘(2) SKILLS.—The skills described in para9 graph (1) include skills developed through programs 

10 leading to a degree in mining engineering, civil engi11 neering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineer12 ing, industrial engineering, environmental engineer13 ing, industrial hygiene, occupational health and safe14 ty, geology, chemistry, or other fields of study re15 lated to mine safety and health work. 

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

17 scholarship under this subsection an individual 

18 shall— 

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

20 GED; 

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

22 full-time employment in mining or mining-re23 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) agree to be employed for a period of 

5 at least 5 years at the Mine Safety and Health 

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

7 basis, the funds received under this program, 

8 plus interest, at a rate established by the Sec9 retary upon the issuance of the scholarship. 

10 ‘‘(d) ADVANCED RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIPS.— 

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

12 subsection (a), the Secretary may award scholar13 ships to fully or partially pay the tuition costs of eli14 gible individuals enrolled in undergraduate bach15 elor’s degree, masters degree, and Ph.D. degree pro16 grams at accredited colleges or universities that pro17 vide the skills needed to augment and advance re18 search in mine safety and to broaden, improve, and 

19 expand the universe of candidates for mine safety in20 spector and other regulatory positions in the Mine 

21 Safety and Health Administration. 

22 ‘‘(2) SKILLS.—The skills described in para23 graph (1) include skills developed through programs 

24 leading to a degree in mining engineering, civil engi25 neering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineerVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:55 Jun 06, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5481.IH H5481

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1 ing, industrial engineering, environmental engineer2 ing, industrial hygiene, occupational health and safe3 ty, geology, chemistry, or other fields of study re4 lated to mine safety and health work. 

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

6 scholarship under this subsection an individual 

7 shall— 

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

9 from an accredited 4-year institution; 

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

11 full-time employment in underground mining or 

12 mining-related activities; and 

13 ‘‘(C) submit to the Secretary an applica14 tion at such time, in such manner, and con15 taining such information. 

16 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

18 necessary to carry out this section.’’. 

19 SEC. 15. RESEARCH CONCERNING REFUGE ALTERNATIVES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Institute of Occupa21 tional Safety and Health shall provide for the conduct of 

22 research, including field tests, concerning the utility, prac23 ticality, survivability, and cost of various refuge alter24 natives in an underground coal mine environment, includ25 ing commercially-available portable refuge chambers. 


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1 (b) REPORT.— 

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

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

4 Institute for Occupational Safety and Health shall 

5 prepare and submit to the Secretary of Labor, the 

6 Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Com7 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

8 of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and 

9 the Workforce of the House of Representatives a re10 port concerning the results of the research con11 ducted under subsection (a), including any field 

12 tests. 

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

14 180 days after the receipt of the report under para15 graph (1), the Secretary of Labor shall provide a re16 sponse to the Committee on Health, Education, 

17 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Com18 mittee on Education and the Workforce of the 

19 House of Representatives containing a description of 

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

21 take based upon the report, including proposing reg22 ulatory changes, and the reasons for such actions. 


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1 SEC. 16. RISK ANALYSIS AND INCIDENT PLANNING PILOT 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 No later than 18 months following the enactment of 

4 this Act the National Institute of Occupational Safety and 

5 Health (NIOSH) shall survey international mining prac6 tices with respect to incident planning generally, with a 

7 particular focus on the risk assessment-based approach 

8 undertaken in Australia, and shall compare the same with 

9 current regulatory practices within the United States. 

10 Upon completion of such study, NIOSH shall develop and 

11 publish in the Federal Register protocols for incident plan12 ning. These protocols shall address, but not be limited to, 

13 the elements that should be included in the incident plan, 

14 approaches to redesigning mine practices to prevent an in15 cident, and methods for mine operators should design a 

16 response to incidents, and shall be developed specifically 

17 for both metal/nonmetal and underground coal operations. 

18 Upon publication of these protocols NIOSH may encour19 age mine operators to undergo a risk assessment and re20 view using the outlined protocols through its ongoing part21 nerships. 

22 SEC. 17. BROOKWOOD-SAGO MINE SAFETY GRANTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall es24 tablish a program to award competitive grants for edu25 cation and training, to be known as Brookwood-Sago Mine 

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


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

2 provide for the funding of education and training pro3 grams to better identify, avoid, and prevent unsafe work4 ing conditions in and around mines. 

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

6 under this section, an entity shall— 

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

8 (2) submit to the Secretary of Labor an appli9 cation at such time, in such manner, and containing 

10 such information as the Secretary may require. 

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

12 grant under this section shall be used to establish and im13 plement education and training programs, or to develop 

14 training materials for employers and miners, concerning 

15 safety and health topics in mines, as determined appro16 priate by the Mine Safety and Health Administration. 

17 (e) AWARDING OF GRANTS.— 

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

19 shall be awarded on an annual basis. 

20 (2) SPECIAL EMPHASIS.—In awarding grants 

21 under this section, the Secretary of Labor shall give 

22 special emphasis to programs and materials that tar23 get workers in smaller mines, including training 

24 miners and employers about new Mine Safety and 


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1 Health Administration standards, high risk activi2 ties, or hazards identified by such Administration. 

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

4 section, the Secretary of Labor shall give priority to 

5 the funding of pilot and demonstration projects that 

6 the Secretary determines will provide opportunities 

7 for broad applicability for mine safety. 

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

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

10 carry out this section in a fiscal year to conduct evalua11 tions of the projects funded under grants under this sec12 tion. 

13 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year, 

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

16 SEC. 18. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NIOSH OVER17 HEAD BUDGETING. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that none of the funds 

19 authorized under this Act shall be used to fund overhead 

20 costs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and 

21 Health, and that such overhead costs should not exceed 

22 $10,000,000 annually in any event. 

Æ 


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