I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6495 

To improve compliance with mine safety and health laws, empower miners 

to raise safety concerns, prevent future mine tragedies, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 3, 2010 

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself and Ms. WOOLSEY) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

Labor 

A BILL 

To improve compliance with mine safety and health laws, 

empower miners to raise safety concerns, prevent future 

mine tragedies, and for other purposes. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2010’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. References. 


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TITLE I—ADDITIONAL INSPECTION AND INVESTIGATION 

AUTHORITY 

Sec. 101. Independent accident investigations. 

Sec. 102. Subpoena authority and miner rights during inspections and investigations. 

Sec. 103. Designation of miner representative. 

Sec. 104. Additional amendments relating to inspections and investigations. 

TITLE II—ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY 

Sec. 201. Technical amendment. 

Sec. 202. A pattern of recurring noncompliance or accidents. 

Sec. 203. Injunctive authority. 

Sec. 204. Revocation of approval of plans. 

Sec. 205. Challenging a decision to approve, modify, or revoke a coal or other 

mine plan. 

Sec. 206. GAO Study on MSHA Mine Plan Approval. 

TITLE III—PENALTIES 

Sec. 301. Civil penalties. 

Sec. 302. Civil and criminal liability of officers, directors, and agents. 

Sec. 303. Criminal penalties. 

Sec. 304. Commission review of penalty assessments. 

Sec. 305. Delinquent payments and prejudgment interest. 

TITLE IV—WORKER RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS 

Sec. 401. Protection from retaliation. 

Sec. 402. Protection from loss of pay. 

Sec. 403. Underground coal miner employment standard for mines placed in 

pattern status. 

TITLE V—MODERNIZING HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARDS 

Sec. 501. Pre-shift review of mine conditions. 

Sec. 502. Rock dust standards. 

Sec. 503. Atmospheric monitoring systems. 

Sec. 504. Technology related to respirable dust. 

Sec. 505. Refresher training on miner rights and responsibilities. 

Sec. 506. Authority to mandate additional training. 

Sec. 507. Certification of personnel. 

TITLE VI—ADDITIONAL MINE SAFETY PROVISIONS 

Sec. 601. Definitions. 

Sec. 602. Assistance to States. 

Sec. 603. Black lung medical reports. 

Sec. 604. Rules of application to certain mines. 

1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 

2 Except in title VII and as otherwise expressly pro3 vided, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed 


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1 as an amendment to a section or other provision, the ref2 erence shall be considered to be made to a section or other 

3 provision of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 

4 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.). 

5 TITLE I—ADDITIONAL INSPEC6 TION AND INVESTIGATION 

7 AUTHORITY 

8 SEC. 101. INDEPENDENT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 103(b) (30 U.S.C. 

10 813(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘(b) For the purpose’’ and 

11 inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(b) ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For all accident investiga14 tions under this Act, the Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) determine why the accident occurred; 

16 ‘‘(B) determine whether there were viola17 tions of law, mandatory health and safety 

18 standards, or other requirements, and if there 

19 is evidence of conduct that may constitute a 

20 violation of Federal criminal law, the Secretary 

21 may refer such evidence to the Attorney Gen22 eral; and 

23 ‘‘(C) make recommendations to avoid any 

24 recurrence. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INDEPENDENT ACCIDENT INVESTIGA2 TIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There shall be, in ad4 dition to an accident investigation under para5 graph (1), an independent investigation by an 

6 independent investigation panel (referred to in 

7 this subsection as the ‘Panel’) appointed under 

8 subparagraph (B) for— 

9 ‘‘(i) any accident involving 3 or more 

10 deaths; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) any accident that is of such se12 verity or scale for potential or actual harm 

13 that, in the opinion of the Secretary of 

14 Health and Human Services, the accident 

15 merits an independent investigation. 

16 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—As soon as prac18 ticable after an accident described in sub19 paragraph (A), the Secretary of Health 

20 and Human Services shall appoint 5 mem21 bers for the Panel required under this 

22 paragraph from among individuals who 

23 have expertise in accident investigations, 

24 mine engineering, or mine safety and 


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1 health that is relevant to the particular in2 vestigation. 

3 ‘‘(ii) CHAIRPERSON.—The Panel shall 

4 include, and be chaired by, a representative 

5 from the Office of Mine Safety and Health 

6 Research, of the National Institute for Oc7 cupational Safety and Health (referred to 

8 in this subsection as NIOSH). 

9 ‘‘(iii) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

10 Panel members, and staff and consultants 

11 assisting the Panel with an investigation, 

12 shall be free from conflicts of interest with 

13 regard to the investigation, and be subject 

14 to the same standards of ethical conduct 

15 for persons employed by the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(iv) COMPOSITION.—The Secretary 

17 of Health and Human Services shall ap18 point as members of the Panel— 

19 ‘‘(I) 1 operator of a mine or indi20 vidual representing mine operators, 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(II) 1 representative of a labor 

23 organization that represents miners, 

24 and may not appoint more than 1 of either 

25 such individuals as members of the Panel. 


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1 ‘‘(v) STAFF AND EXPENSES.—The Di2 rector of NIOSH shall designate NIOSH 

3 staff to facilitate the work of the Panel. 

4 The Director may accept as staff personnel 

5 on detail from other Federal agencies or 

6 re-employ annuitants. The detail of per7 sonnel under this paragraph may be on a 

8 non-reimbursable basis, and such detail 

9 shall be without interruption or loss of civil 

10 service status or privilege. The Director of 

11 NIOSH shall have the authority to procure 

12 on behalf of the Panel such materials, sup13 plies or services, including technical ex14 perts, as requested in writing by a majority 

15 of the Panel. 

16 ‘‘(vi) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL.— 

17 All members of the Panel who are officers 

18 or employees of the United States shall 

19 serve without compensation in addition to 

20 that received for their services as officers 

21 or employees of the United States. Each 

22 Panel member who is not an officer or em23 ployee of the United States shall be com24 pensated at a rate equal to the daily equiv25 alent of the annual rate of basic pay preVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:30 Dec 04, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6495.IH H6495

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1 scribed for level IV of the Executive Sched2 ule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

3 States Code, for each day (including travel 

4 time) during which such member is en5 gaged in the performance of duties of the 

6 Panel. The members of the Panel shall be 

7 allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

8 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized 

9 for employees of agencies under subchapter 

10 1 of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 

11 Code, while away from their homes or reg12 ular places of business in the performance 

13 of services for the Panel. 

14 ‘‘(C) DUTIES.—The Panel shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) assess and identify any factors 

16 that caused the accident, including defi17 ciencies in safety management systems, 

18 regulations, enforcement, industry prac19 tices or guidelines, or organizational fail20 ures; 

21 ‘‘(ii) identify and evaluate any con22 tributing actions or inactions of— 

23 ‘‘(I) the operator; 


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1 ‘‘(II) any contractors or other 

2 persons engaged in mining-related 

3 functions at the site; 

4 ‘‘(III) any State agency with 

5 oversight responsibilities; 

6 ‘‘(IV) any agency or office within 

7 the Department of Labor; or 

8 ‘‘(V) any other person or entity 

9 (including equipment manufacturers); 

10 ‘‘(iii) review the determinations and 

11 recommendations by the Secretary under 

12 paragraph (1); 

13 ‘‘(iv) prepare a report that— 

14 ‘‘(I) includes the findings regard15 ing the causal factors described in 

16 clauses (i) and (ii); 

17 ‘‘(II) identifies any strengths and 

18 weaknesses in the Secretary’s inves19 tigation; and 

20 ‘‘(III) includes recommendations, 

21 including interim recommendations 

22 where appropriate, to industry, labor 

23 organizations, State and Federal 

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1 trative, or other changes, which in the 

2 judgment of the Panel, would prevent 

3 a recurrence at other mines; and 

4 ‘‘(v) publish such findings and rec5 ommendations (excluding any portions 

6 which the Attorney General requests that 

7 the Secretary withhold in relation to a 

8 criminal referral) and hold public meetings 

9 to inform the mining community and fami10 lies of affected miners of the Panel’s find11 ings and recommendations. 

12 ‘‘(D) HEARINGS; APPLICABILITY OF CER13 TAIN FEDERAL LAW.—The Panel shall have the 

14 authority to conduct public hearings or meet15 ings, but shall not be subject to the Federal Ad16 visory Committee Act. All public hearings of the 

17 Panel shall be subject to the requirements 

18 under section 552b of title 5, United States 

19 Code. 

20 ‘‘(E) MEMORANDUM OF UNDER21 STANDING.—Not later than 90 days after the 

22 date of enactment of the Robert C. Byrd Miner 

23 Safety and Health Act of 2010, the Secretary 

24 of Labor and the Secretary of Health and 


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1 Human Services shall conclude and publically 

2 issue a memorandum of understanding that— 

3 ‘‘(i) outlines administrative arrange4 ments which will facilitate a coordination 

5 of efforts between the Secretary of Labor 

6 and the Panel, ensures that the Secretary’s 

7 investigation under paragraph (1) is not 

8 delayed or otherwise compromised by the 

9 activities of the Panel, and establishes a 

10 process to resolve any conflicts between 

11 such investigations; 

12 ‘‘(ii) ensures that Panel members or 

13 staff will be able to participate in inves14 tigation activities (such as mine inspections 

15 and interviews) related to the Secretary of 

16 Labor’s investigation and will have full ac17 cess to documents that are assembled or 

18 produced in such investigation, and en19 sures that the Secretary of Labor will 

20 make all of the authority available to such 

21 Secretary under this section, including sub22 poena authority, to obtain information and 

23 witnesses which may be requested by such 

24 Panel; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) establishes such other arrange2 ments as are necessary to implement this 

3 paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(F) PROCEDURES.—Not later than 90 

5 days after the date of enactment of the Robert 

6 C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2010, 

7 the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

8 shall establish procedures to ensure the consist9 ency and effectiveness of Panel investigations. 

10 In establishing such procedures, such Secretary 

11 shall consult with independent safety investiga12 tion agencies, sectors of the mining industry, 

13 representatives of miners, families of miners in14 volved in fatal accidents, State mine safety 

15 agencies, and mine rescue organizations. Such 

16 procedures shall include— 

17 ‘‘(i) authority for the Panel to use evi18 dence, samples, interviews, data, analyses, 

19 findings, or other information gathered by 

20 the Secretary of Labor, as the Panel deter21 mines valid; 

22 ‘‘(ii) provisions to ensure confiden23 tiality if requested by any witness, to the 

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1 flicts of interest in witness representation; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(iii) provisions for preservation of 

4 public access to the Panel’s records 

5 through the Secretary of Health and 

6 Human Services. 

7 ‘‘(G) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA8 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

9 to carry out this subsection such sums as may 

10 be necessary. 

11 ‘‘(3) POWERS AND PROCESSES.—For the pur12 pose’’. 

13 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 511(a) 

14 (30 U.S.C. 958(a)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘501,’’ 

15 the following: ‘‘the status of implementation of rec16 ommendations from each independent investigation panel 

17 under section 103(b) received in the preceding 5 years’’. 

18 SEC. 102. SUBPOENA AUTHORITY AND MINER RIGHTS DUR19 ING INSPECTIONS AND INVESTIGATIONS. 

20 Section 103(b) (as amended by section 101) (30 

21 U.S.C. 813(b)) is further amended by adding at the end 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL POWERS.—For purposes of 

24 making inspections and investigations, the Secretary 

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1 poenas for the attendance and testimony of wit2 nesses and the production of information, including 

3 all relevant data, papers, books, documents, and 

4 items of physical evidence, and administer oaths. 

5 Witnesses summoned shall be paid the same fees 

6 that are paid witnesses in the courts of the United 

7 States. In carrying out inspections and investiga8 tions under this subsection, authorized representa9 tives of the Secretary and attorneys representing the 

10 Secretary are authorized to question any individual 

11 privately. Under this section, any individual who is 

12 willing to speak with or provide a statement to such 

13 authorized representatives or attorneys representing 

14 the Secretary may do so without the presence, in15 volvement, or knowledge of the operator or the oper16 ator’s agents or attorneys. The Secretary shall keep 

17 the identity of an individual providing such a state18 ment confidential to the extent permitted by law. 

19 Nothing in this paragraph prevents any individual 

20 from being represented by that individual’s personal 

21 attorney.’’. 

22 SEC. 103. DESIGNATION OF MINER REPRESENTATIVE. 

23 Section 103(f) (30 U.S.C. 813(f)) is amended by in24 serting before the last sentence the following: ‘‘If any 

25 miner is entrapped or otherwise prevented as the result 


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1 of an accident in such mine from designating such a rep2 resentative directly, such miner’s closest relative may act 

3 on behalf of such miner in designating such a representa4 tive. If any miner is not currently working in such mine 

5 as the result of an accident in such mine, but would be 

6 currently working in such mine but for such accident, such 

7 miner may designate such a representative. A representa8 tive of miners shall have the right to participate in any 

9 accident investigation the Secretary initiates pursuant to 

10 subsection (b), including the right to participate in inves11 tigative interviews and to review all relevant papers, books, 

12 documents and records produced in connection with the 

13 accident investigation, unless the Secretary in consultation 

14 with the Attorney General excludes such representatives 

15 from the investigation on the grounds that inclusion would 

16 interfere with or adversely impact a criminal investigation 

17 that is pending or under consideration.’’. 

18 SEC. 104. ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS RELATING TO IN19 SPECTIONS AND INVESTIGATIONS. 

20 (a) HOURS OF INSPECTIONS.—Section 103(a) (30 

21 U.S.C. 813(a)) is amended by inserting after the third 

22 sentence the following: ‘‘Such inspections shall be con23 ducted during the various shifts and days of the week dur24 ing which miners are normally present in the mine to enVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:30 Dec 04, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6495.IH H6495

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1 sure that the protections of this Act are afforded to all 

2 miners working all shifts.’’. 

3 (b) REVIEW OF MINE PATTERN STATUS.—Section 

4 103(a) is further amended by inserting before the last sen5 tence the following: ‘‘The Secretary shall, upon request by 

6 an operator, review with the appropriate mine officials the 

7 Secretary’s most recent evaluation for pattern status (as 

8 provided in section 104(e)) for that mine during the 

9 course of a mine’s regular quarterly inspection of an un10 derground mine or a biannual inspection of a surface 

11 mine, or, at the discretion of the Secretary, during the 

12 pre-inspection conference.’’. 

13 (c) INJURY AND ILLNESS REPORTING.—Section 

14 103(d) (30 U.S.C. 813(d)) is amended by striking the last 

15 sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘The records to be 

16 kept and made available by the operator of the mine shall 

17 include man-hours worked and occupational injuries and 

18 illnesses with respect to the miners in their employ or 

19 under their direction or authority, and shall be maintained 

20 separately for each mine and be reported at a frequency 

21 determined by the Secretary, but at least annually. Inde22 pendent contractors (within the meaning of section 3(d)) 

23 shall be responsible for reporting accidents, occupational 

24 injuries and illnesses, and man-hours worked for each 

25 mine with respect to the miners in their employ or under 


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1 their direction or authority, and shall be reported at a fre2 quency determined by the Secretary, but at least annually. 

3 Reports or records of operators and contractors required 

4 and submitted to the Secretary under this subsection shall 

5 be signed and certified as accurate and complete by a 

6 knowledgeable and responsible person possessing a certifi7 cation, registration, qualification, or other approval, as 

8 provided for under section 118. Knowingly falsifying such 

9 records or reports shall be grounds for revoking such cer10 tification, registration, qualification, or other approval 

11 under the standards established under subsection (b)(1) 

12 of such section.’’. 

13 (d) ORDERS FOLLOWING AN ACCIDENT.—Section 

14 103(k) (30 U.S.C. 813(k)) is amended by striking ‘‘, when 

15 present,’’. 

16 (e) CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN THE REPRESENTA17 TION OF MINERS.—Section 103(a) (30 U.S.C. 813(a)) is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘During in19 spections and investigations under this section, and during 

20 any litigation under this Act, no attorney shall represent 

21 or purport to represent both the operator of a coal or other 

22 mine and any other individual, unless such individual has 

23 knowingly and voluntarily waived all actual and reasonably 

24 foreseeable conflicts of interest resulting from such rep25 resentation. The Secretary is authorized to take such acVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:30 Dec 04, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6495.IH H6495

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1 tions as the Secretary considers appropriate to ascertain 

2 whether such individual has knowingly and voluntarily 

3 waived all such conflicts of interest. If the Secretary finds 

4 that such an individual cannot be represented adequately 

5 by such an attorney due to such conflicts of interest, the 

6 Secretary may petition the appropriate United States Dis7 trict Court which shall have jurisdiction to disqualify such 

8 attorney as counsel to such individual in the matter. The 

9 Secretary may make such a motion as part of an ongoing 

10 related civil action or as a miscellaneous action.’’. 

11 TITLE II—ENHANCED 

12 ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY 

13 SEC. 201. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT. 

14 Section 104(d)(1) (30 U.S.C. 814(d)(1)) is amend15 ed— 

16 (1) in the first sentence— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘any mandatory health or 

18 safety standard’’ and inserting ‘‘any provision 

19 of this Act, including any mandatory health or 

20 safety standard or regulation promulgated 

21 under this Act’’; and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘such mandatory health or 

23 safety standards’’ and inserting ‘‘such provi24 sions, regulations, or mandatory health or safe25 ty standards’’; and 


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1 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘any 

2 mandatory health or safety standard’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘any provision of this Act, including any mandatory 

4 health or safety standard or regulation promulgated 

5 under this Act,’’. 

6 SEC. 202. A PATTERN OF RECURRING NONCOMPLIANCE OR 

7 ACCIDENTS. 

8 Section 104(e) (30 U.S.C. 814(e)) is amended to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘(e) PATTERN OF RECURRING NONCOMPLIANCE OR

11 ACCIDENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) PATTERN STATUS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

14 subsection, a coal or other mine shall be placed 

15 in pattern status if such mine has, as deter16 mined based on the regulations promulgated 

17 under paragraph (8)— 

18 ‘‘(i) a pattern of— 

19 ‘‘(I) citations for significant and 

20 substantial violations; 

21 ‘‘(II) citations and withdrawal or22 ders issued for unwarrantable failure 

23 to comply with mandatory health and 

24 safety standards under section 104(d); 


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1 ‘‘(III) citations for flagrant viola2 tions within the meaning of section 

3 110(b); 

4 ‘‘(IV) withdrawal orders issued 

5 under any other section of this Act 

6 (other than orders issued under sub7 sections (j) or (k) of section 103); and 

8 ‘‘(V) accidents and injuries; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) a pattern consisting of any com10 bination of citations, orders, accidents, or 

11 injuries described in subclauses (I) through 

12 (V). 

13 ‘‘(B) MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES.—Not14 withstanding subparagraph (A), if the Sec15 retary, after conducting an assessment of a coal 

16 or other mine that otherwise qualifies for pat17 tern status, certifies that there are mitigating 

18 circumstances wherein the operator has already 

19 implemented remedial measures that have re20 duced risks to the health and safety of miners 

21 to the point that such risks are no longer ele22 vated and has taken sufficient measures to en23 sure such elevated risk will not recur, the Sec24 retary may deem such mine to not be in pattern 

25 status under this subsection. The Secretary 


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1 shall issue any such certification of such miti2 gating circumstances that would preclude the 

3 placement of a mine in pattern status as a writ4 ten finding, which shall, not later than 10 days 

5 after the certification is made, be— 

6 ‘‘(i) made available on the public Web 

7 site of the Mine Safety and Health Admin8 istration; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) transmitted to the Committee on 

10 Education and Labor of the House of Rep11 resentatives and the Committee on Health, 

12 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

13 Senate. 

14 ‘‘(C) FREQUENCY.—Not less frequently 

15 than every 6 months, the Secretary shall iden16 tify any mines which meet the criteria set forth 

17 in paragraph (8). 

18 ‘‘(2) ACTIONS FOLLOWING PLACEMENT OF

19 MINE IN PATTERN STATUS.—For any coal or other 

20 mine that is in pattern status, the Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) notify the operator of such mine that 

22 the mine is being placed in pattern status; 

23 ‘‘(B) issue an order requiring such oper24 ator to cause all persons to be withdrawn from 

25 such mine, except those persons referred to in 


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1 subsection (c) or authorized by an order of the 

2 Secretary issued under this subsection; 

3 ‘‘(C) issue a remediation order described in 

4 paragraph (3) to such operator within 3 days; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(D) require that the number of regular 

7 inspections of such mine required under section 

8 103 be increased to 8 per year while the mine 

9 is in pattern status. 

10 Notice advising operators that they face potential 

11 placement in pattern status shall not be a require12 ment for issuing a withdrawal order to operators 

13 under this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(3) REMEDIATION ORDER.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A remediation order 

16 issued to an operator under paragraph (2)(C) 

17 may require the operator to carry out one or 

18 more of the following requirements, pursuant to 

19 a timetable for commencing and completing 

20 such actions or as a condition of miners reen21 tering the mine: 

22 ‘‘(i) Provide specified training, includ23 ing training not otherwise required under 

24 this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Institute and implement an effec2 tive health and safety management pro3 gram approved by the Secretary, includ4 ing— 

5 ‘‘(I) the employment of safety 

6 professionals, certified persons, and 

7 adequate numbers of personnel for the 

8 mine, as may be required by the Sec9 retary; 

10 ‘‘(II) specific inspection, record11 keeping, reporting and other require12 ments for the mine as the Secretary 

13 may establish; and 

14 ‘‘(III) other requirements to en15 sure compliance and to protect the 

16 health and safety of miners or prevent 

17 accidents or injuries as the Secretary 

18 may determine are necessary. 

19 ‘‘(iii) Facilitate any effort by the Sec20 retary to communicate directly with miners 

21 employed at the mine outside the presence 

22 of the mine operators or its agents, for the 

23 purpose of obtaining information about 

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1 tices, or advising miners of their rights 

2 under this Act. 

3 ‘‘(B) MODIFICATION OF AND FAILURE TO

4 COMPLY WITH REMEDIATION ORDER.—The Sec5 retary may modify the remediation order, as 

6 necessary, to protect the health and safety of 

7 miners. If the mine operator fails to fully com8 ply with the remediation order during the time 

9 a mine is in pattern status, the Secretary shall 

10 reinstate the withdrawal order under paragraph 

11 (2)(B). 

12 ‘‘(C) EXTENSION OF DEADLINES.—An ex13 tension of a deadline under the remediation 

14 order may be granted on a temporary basis and 

15 only upon a showing that the operator took all 

16 feasible measures to comply with the order and 

17 only to the extent that the operator’s failure to 

18 comply is beyond the control of the operator. 

19 ‘‘(4) CONDITIONS FOR LIFTING A WITHDRAWAL

20 ORDER.—A withdrawal order issued under para21 graph (2)(B) shall not be lifted until the Secretary 

22 verifies that— 

23 ‘‘(A) any and all violations or other condi24 tions in the mine identified in the remediation 

25 order have been or are being fully abated or 


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1 corrected as outlined in the remediation order; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) the operator has completed any other 

4 actions under the remediation order that are re5 quired for reopening the mine. 

6 ‘‘(5) PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS.—The 

8 Secretary shall evaluate the performance of 

9 each mine in pattern status every 90 days dur10 ing which the mine is producing and determine 

11 if, for such 90-day period— 

12 ‘‘(i) the rate of citations at such mine 

13 for significant and substantial violations— 

14 ‘‘(I) is in the top performing 

15 35th percentile of such rates, respec16 tively, for all mines of similar size and 

17 type; or 

18 ‘‘(II) has been reduced by 70 

19 percent from the date on which such 

20 mine was placed in pattern status, 

21 provided that the rate of such viola22 tions is not greater than the mean for 

23 all mines of similar size and type; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the accident and injury rates at 

25 such mine are in the top performing 35th 


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1 percentile of such rates, respectively, for all 

2 mines of similar size and type; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) no citations or withdrawal or4 ders for a violation under section 104(d), 

5 no withdrawal orders for imminent danger 

6 under section 107 (issued in connection 

7 with a citation), and no flagrant violations 

8 within the meaning of section 110(b), were 

9 issued for such mine. 

10 ‘‘(B) REISSUANCE OF WITHDRAWAL OR11 DERS.—If an operator being evaluated fails to 

12 achieve the performance benchmarks described 

13 in subparagraph (A), the Secretary may reissue 

14 a withdrawal order under paragraph (2)(B) to 

15 remedy any recurring conditions that led to pat16 tern status under this subsection, and may 

17 modify the remediation order, as necessary, to 

18 protect the health and safety of miners. 

19 ‘‘(6) TERMINATION OF PATTERN STATUS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS.—The 

21 Secretary shall remove a coal or other mine 

22 from pattern status if, for a 1-year period dur23 ing which the mine is producing— 

24 ‘‘(i) the rate of citations at such mine 

25 for significant and substantial violations— 


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1 ‘‘(I) is in the top performing 

2 25th percentile of such rates, respec3 tively, for all mines of similar size and 

4 type; or 

5 ‘‘(II) has been reduced by 80 

6 percent from the date on which such 

7 mine was placed in pattern status, 

8 provided that the rate of such viola9 tions is not greater than the mean for 

10 all mines of similar size and type; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the accident and injury rates at 

12 such mine are in the top performing 25th 

13 percentile of such rates, respectively, for all 

14 mines of similar size and type; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) no citations or withdrawal or16 ders for violations under section 104(d), no 

17 withdrawal orders for imminent danger 

18 under section 107 (issued in connection 

19 with a citation), and no flagrant violations 

20 within the meaning of section 110(b), were 

21 issued for such mine. 

22 ‘‘(B) CONTINUATION OF PATTERN STA23 TUS.—Should the mine operator fail to meet 

24 the performance benchmarks described in sub25 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall extend the 


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1 mine’s placement in pattern status until such 

2 benchmarks are achieved. 

3 ‘‘(C) CONSTRUCTION.—A withdrawal order 

4 issued as the result of a condition that was en5 tirely beyond the operator’s ability to prevent or 

6 control shall not preclude the operator from 

7 being removed from pattern status, provided 

8 the operator did not cause or allow miners to 

9 be exposed to the condition in violation of any 

10 provision of this Act or a mandatory health or 

11 safety standard or regulation promulgated 

12 under this Act. 

13 ‘‘(7) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—If any order under 

14 this subsection is contested, the review of such order 

15 shall be conducted on an expedited basis, in accord16 ance with section 105(d). 

17 ‘‘(8) REGULATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 

19 days after the date of enactment of the Robert 

20 C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010, 

21 the Secretary shall issue interim final regula22 tions that shall define— 

23 ‘‘(i) the threshold benchmarks to trig24 ger pattern status under paragraph (1) 


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1 and cause a withdrawal order to be issued 

2 or reissued; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the performance benchmarks de4 scribed in paragraphs (5)(A) and (6)(A). 

5 ‘‘(B) THRESHOLD BENCHMARKS.—In es6 tablishing threshold benchmarks to trigger pat7 tern status for mines with significantly poor 

8 compliance that contributes to unsafe or 

9 unhealthy conditions, the Secretary— 

10 ‘‘(i) shall— 

11 ‘‘(I) consider rates of citations 

12 and orders described in paragraph 

13 (1)(A) and rates of reportable acci14 dents and injuries within the pre15 ceding 180-day period; and 

16 ‘‘(II) assign appropriate weight 

17 to various types of citations, orders, 

18 accidents, injuries, or other factors; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(ii) may include— 

21 ‘‘(I) factors such as mine type, 

22 production levels, number of miners, 

23 hours worked by miners, number of 

24 mechanized mining units (or similar 

25 production characteristics), and the 


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1 presence of a representative of miners 

2 at the mine for purposes of collective 

3 bargaining; 

4 ‘‘(II) the mine’s history of cita5 tions, violations, orders, and other en6 forcement actions, or rates of report7 able accidents and injuries, over any 

8 period determined relevant by the Sec9 retary; and 

10 ‘‘(III) other factors the Secretary 

11 may determine appropriate to protect 

12 the safety and health of miners. 

13 ‘‘(C) FINAL REGULATION.—Not later than 

14 2 years after the date of enactment of the Rob15 ert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act of 

16 2010, the Secretary shall promulgate a final 

17 regulation implementing this paragraph. 

18 ‘‘(9) PUBLIC DATABASE AND INFORMATION.— 

19 The Secretary shall establish and maintain a pub20 lically available electronic database containing the 

21 data used to determine pattern status for all coal or 

22 other mines which shall be updated as frequently as 

23 practicable. Such database shall be searchable and 

24 have the capacity to provide comparative data about 

25 the health and safety at mines of similar sizes and 


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1 types. The Secretary shall also make publicly avail2 able— 

3 ‘‘(A) a list of all mines the Secretary 

4 places in pattern status, updated within 7 days 

5 of placing an additional mine in pattern status; 

6 ‘‘(B) the metrics, including percentile in7 formation, used for the purposes of the per8 formance benchmarks and threshold bench9 marks described in paragraphs (5), (6), and 

10 (8); and 

11 ‘‘(C) guidance for the use of such metrics 

12 and benchmarks to assist operators in deter13 mining the performance their mines under cri14 teria established by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(10) OPERATOR FEES FOR ADDITIONAL IN16 SPECTIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION.—Be18 ginning 120 days after the date of enactment of 

19 the Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health 

20 Act of 2010, the Secretary shall assess and col21 lect fees, in accordance with this paragraph, 

22 from each coal or other mine in pattern status 

23 for the costs of additional inspections under 

24 this subsection. The Secretary shall issue, by 

25 rule, a schedule of fees to be assessed against 


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1 coal or other mines of varying types and sizes, 

2 and shall collect and assess amounts under this 

3 paragraph based on the schedule. 

4 ‘‘(B) USE.—Amounts collected as provided 

5 in subparagraph (A) shall only be available to 

6 the Secretary for making expenditures to carry 

7 out the additional inspections required under 

8 paragraph (2)(D). 

9 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA10 TIONS.—In addition to any other amounts au11 thorized to be appropriated under this Act, 

12 there is authorized to be appropriated to the 

13 Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health 

14 for each fiscal year in which fees are collected 

15 under subparagraph (A) an amount equal to 

16 the total amount of fees collected under such 

17 subparagraph during that fiscal year. Such 

18 amounts are authorized to remain available 

19 until expended. If on the first day of a fiscal 

20 year a regular appropriation to the Commission 

21 has not been enacted, the Commission shall 

22 continue to collect fees (as offsetting collec23 tions) under this subsection at the rate in effect 

24 during the preceding fiscal year, until 5 days 


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1 after the date such regular appropriation is en2 acted. 

3 ‘‘(D) COLLECTION AND CREDITING OF

4 FEES.—Fees authorized and collected under 

5 this paragraph shall be deposited and credited 

6 as offsetting collections to the account providing 

7 appropriations to the Mine Safety and Health 

8 Administration and shall not be collected for 

9 any fiscal year except to the extent and in the 

10 amount provided in advance in appropriation 

11 Acts.’’. 

12 SEC. 203. INJUNCTIVE AUTHORITY. 

13 Section 108(a)(2) (30 U.S.C. 818(a)(2)) is amended 

14 by striking ‘‘a pattern of violation of’’ and all that follows 

15 and inserting ‘‘a course of conduct that in the judgment 

16 of the Secretary constitutes a continuing hazard to the 

17 health or safety of miners, including violations of this Act 

18 or of mandatory health and safety standards or regula19 tions under this Act.’’. 

20 SEC. 204. REVOCATION OF APPROVAL OF PLANS. 

21 Section 105 (30 U.S.C. 815) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub23 section (e); and 

24 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(d) REVOCATION OF APPROVAL OF PLANS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) REVOCATION.—If the Secretary finds that 

3 any program or plan of an operator, or part thereof, 

4 that was approved by the Secretary under this Act 

5 is based on inaccurate information or that cir6 cumstances that existed when such plan was ap7 proved have materially changed and that continued 

8 operation of such mine under such plan constitutes 

9 a hazard to the safety or health of miners, the Sec10 retary shall revoke the approval of such program or 

11 plan. 

12 ‘‘(2) WITHDRAWAL ORDERS.—Upon revocation 

13 of the approval of a program or plan under sub14 section (a), the Secretary may immediately issue an 

15 order requiring the operator to cause all persons, ex16 cept those persons referred to in section 104(c), to 

17 be withdrawn from such mine or an area of such 

18 mine, and to be prohibited from entering such mine 

19 or such area, until the operator has submitted and 

20 the Secretary has approved a new plan.’’. 

21 SEC. 205. CHALLENGING A DECISION TO APPROVE, MOD22 IFY, OR REVOKE A COAL OR OTHER MINE 

23 PLAN. 

24 Section 105(e) (as redesignated by section 204(1)) 

25 (30 U.S.C. 815(e)) is amended by adding at the end the 


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1 following: ‘‘In any proceeding in which a party challenges 

2 the Secretary’s decision whether to approve, modify, or re3 voke a coal or other mine plan under this Act, the Com4 mission shall affirm the Secretary’s decision unless the 

5 challenging party establishes that such decision was arbi6 trary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not 

7 in accordance with law.’’. 

8 SEC. 206. GAO STUDY ON MSHA MINE PLAN APPROVAL. 

9 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall provide a report 

11 to Congress on the timeliness of the Mine Safety and 

12 Health Administration’s approval of underground coal 

13 mines’ required plans and plan amendments, including— 

14 (1) factors that contribute to any delays in the 

15 approval of these plans; and 

16 (2) as appropriate, recommendations for im17 proving timeliness of plan review and for achieving 

18 prompt decisions. 

19 TITLE III—PENALTIES 

20 SEC. 301. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

21 (a) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 110(a)(1) 

22 (30 U.S.C. 820(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘including 

23 any regulation promulgated under this Act,’’ after ‘‘this 

24 Act,’’. 


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1 (b) INCREASED CIVIL PENALTIES DURING PATTERN

2 STATUS.—Section 110(b) (30 U.S.C. 820(b)) is amended 

3 by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 

5 an operator of a coal or other mine that is in pattern sta6 tus under section 104(e) and that fails to meet the per7 formance benchmarks set forth by the Secretary under 

8 section 104(e)(5)(A) during any performance review of the 

9 mine following the first performance review shall be as10 sessed an increased civil penalty for any violation of this 

11 Act, including any mandatory health or safety standard 

12 or regulation promulgated under this Act. Such increased 

13 penalty shall be twice the amount that would otherwise 

14 be assessed for the violation under this Act, including the 

15 regulations promulgated under this Act, subject to the 

16 maximum civil penalty established for the violation under 

17 this Act. This paragraph shall apply to violations at such 

18 mine that occur during the time period after the operator 

19 fails to meet the performance benchmarks in this para20 graph, and ending when the Secretary determines at a 

21 subsequent performance review that the mine meets the 

22 performance benchmarks under section 104(e)(5)(A).’’. 

23 (c) CIVIL PENALTY FOR RETALIATION.—Section 

24 110(a) (30 U.S.C. 820(a)) is further amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para2 graph (5); and 

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(4) If any person violates section 105(c), the Sec6 retary shall propose, and the Commission shall assess, a 

7 civil penalty of not less than $10,000 or more than 

8 $100,000 for the first occurrence of such violation, and 

9 not less than $20,000 or more than $200,000 for any sub10 sequent violation, during any 3-year period.’’. 

11 SEC. 302. CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY OF OFFICERS, DI12 RECTORS, AND AGENTS. 

13 Section 110(c) (30 U.S.C. 820(c)) is amended to read 

14 as follows: 

15 ‘‘(c) CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY OF OFFICERS, 

16 DIRECTORS, AND AGENTS.—Whenever an operator vio17 lates a provision of this Act, including any mandatory 

18 health or safety standard or regulation promulgated under 

19 this Act, or knowingly violates or fails or refuses to comply 

20 with any order issued under this Act or any order incor21 porated in a final decision issued under this Act, any di22 rector, officer, or agent of such operator who knowingly 

23 authorized, ordered, or carried out such violation, failure, 

24 or refusal, or any policy or practice that resulted in such 

25 violation, failure, or refusal, shall be subject to the same 


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1 civil penalties, fines, and imprisonment that may be im2 posed upon a person under this section.’’. 

3 SEC. 303. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 110(d) (30 U.S.C. 

5 820(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(d) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—(1) Whoever, being an 

7 operator, knowingly violates a mandatory health or safety 

8 standard, or knowingly violates or fails or refuses to com9 ply with any order issued under section 104 or section 

10 107, or any order incorporated in a final decision issued 

11 under this Act (except an order incorporated in a decision 

12 under subsection (a)(1) or section 105(c)), shall, upon 

13 conviction, be fined not more than $250,000, or impris14 oned for not more than 1 year, or both, except that if 

15 the operator commits the violation after having previously 

16 committed a violation under this paragraph, the operator 

17 shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $1,000,000, 

18 or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. 

19 ‘‘(2) Whoever, being an operator— 

20 ‘‘(A) knowingly tampers with or disables a re21 quired safety device (except with express authoriza22 tion from the Secretary); 

23 ‘‘(B) knowingly violates a mandatory health or 

24 safety standard; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) knowingly violates or fails or refuses to 

2 comply with an order issued under section 104 or 

3 107, or any order incorporated in a final decision 

4 issued under this Act (except an order incorporated 

5 in a decision under subsection (a)(1) or section 

6 105(c)), and thereby recklessly exposes a miner to 

7 significant risk of serious injury, serious illness, or 

8 death, shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than 

9 $1,000,000, or imprisoned for not more than 5 

10 years, or both, except that if the operator commits 

11 the violation after having previously committed a 

12 violation under this paragraph, the operator shall, 

13 upon conviction, be fined not more than $2,000,000, 

14 or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both. 

15 ‘‘(3) Whoever, with intent to retaliate or to impede 

16 or interfere with an investigation, interferes with the law17 ful employment or livelihood of a person, or threatens a 

18 person with such action, because such person (or a spouse, 

19 sibling, child, or parent of such person) provides informa20 tion to an authorized representative of the Secretary, a 

21 State or local mine safety or health officer or official, or 

22 other any other law enforcement officer in reasonable be23 lief that the information is true and related to an apparent 

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1 ens such person with such action to prevent such person 

2 (or a spouse, sibling, child, or parent of such person) from 

3 so providing such information, shall be fined under title 

4 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than 

5 5 years, or both.’’. 

6 (b) ADVANCE NOTICE OF INSPECTIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 110(e) (30 U.S.C. 

8 820(e)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(e) Whoever, with intent to give advance notice of 

10 an inspection conducted or to be conducted under this Act, 

11 and thereby to impede, interfere with, or frustrate such 

12 inspection, engages in, or directs another person to engage 

13 in, conduct that a reasonable person would expect to result 

14 in such advance notice, shall be fined under title 18, 

15 United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than 5 

16 years, or both.’’. 

17 (2) POSTING OF ADVANCE NOTICE PEN18 ALTIES.—Section 109 (30 U.S.C. 819) is amended 

19 by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(e) POSTING OF ADVANCE NOTICE PENALTIES.— 

21 Each operator of a coal or other mine shall post, on the 

22 bulletin board described in subsection (a) and in a con23 spicuous place near each staffed entrance onto the mine 

24 property, a notice stating, in a form and manner to be 

25 prescribed by the Secretary— 


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1 ‘‘(1) that giving, causing to give, or attempting 

2 to give or cause to give advance notice of any inspec3 tion to be conducted under this Act with the inten4 tion of impeding, interfering with, or adversely af5 fecting the results of such inspection is unlawful 

6 pursuant to section 110(e); and 

7 ‘‘(2) the maximum penalties for a violation 

8 under such subsection.’’. 

9 SEC. 304. COMMISSION REVIEW OF PENALTY ASSESS10 MENTS. 

11 Section 110(i) (30 U.S.C. 820(i)) is amended by 

12 striking ‘‘In assessing civil monetary penalties, the Com13 mission shall consider’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘In 

14 any review of a citation and proposed penalty assessment 

15 contested by an operator, the Commission shall assess not 

16 less than the penalty derived by using the same method17 ology (including any point system) prescribed in regula18 tions under this Act, so as to ensure consistency in oper19 ator penalty assessments, except that the Commission may 

20 assess a penalty for less than the amount that would result 

21 from the utilization of such methodology if the Commis22 sion finds that there are extraordinary circumstances. If 

23 there is no such methodology prescribed for a citation or 

24 there are such extraordinary circumstances, the Commis25 sion shall assess the penalty by considering’’. 


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1 SEC. 305. DELINQUENT PAYMENTS AND PREJUDGMENT IN2 TEREST. 

3 (a) PRE-FINAL ORDER INTEREST.—Section 110(j) 

4 (30 U.S.C. 820(j)) is amended by striking the second and 

5 third sentences and inserting the following: ‘‘Pre-final 

6 order interest on such penalties shall begin to accrue on 

7 the date the operator contests a citation issued under this 

8 Act, including any mandatory health or safety standard 

9 or regulation promulgated under this Act, and shall end 

10 upon the issuance of the final order. Such pre-final order 

11 interest shall be calculated at the current underpayment 

12 rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury pursu13 ant to section 6621 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

14 and shall be compounded daily. Post-final order interest 

15 shall begin to accrue 30 days after the date a final order 

16 of the Commission or the court is issued, and shall be 

17 charged at the rate of 8 percent per annum.’’. 

18 (b) ENSURING PAYMENT OF PENALTIES.— 

19 (1) AMENDMENTS.—Section 110 (30 U.S.C. 

20 820) is further amended— 

21 (A) by redesignating subsection (l) as sub22 section (m); and 

23 (B) by inserting after subsection (k) the 

24 following: 

25 ‘‘(l) ENSURING PAYMENT OF PENALTIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DELINQUENT PAYMENT LETTER.—If the 

2 operator of a coal or other mine fails to pay any civil 

3 penalty assessment that has become a final order of 

4 the Commission or a court within 45 days after such 

5 assessment became a final order, the Secretary shall 

6 send the operator a letter advising the operator of 

7 the consequences under this subsection of such fail8 ure to pay. The letter shall also advise the operator 

9 of the opportunity to enter into or modify a payment 

10 plan with the Secretary based upon a demonstrated 

11 inability to pay, the procedure for entering into such 

12 plan, and the consequences of not entering into or 

13 not complying with such plan. 

14 ‘‘(2) WITHDRAWAL ORDERS FOLLOWING FAIL15 URE TO PAY.—If an operator that receives a letter 

16 under paragraph (1) has not paid the assessment by 

17 the date that is 180 days after such assessment be18 came a final order and has not entered into a pay19 ment plan with the Secretary, the Secretary shall 

20 issue an order requiring such operator to cause all 

21 persons, except those referred to in section 104(c), 

22 to be withdrawn from, and to be prohibited from en23 tering, the mine that is covered by the final order 

24 described in paragraph (1), until the operator pays 

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1 ministrative costs) or enters into a payment plan 

2 with the Secretary. If such operator enters into a 

3 payment plan with the Secretary and at any time 

4 fails to comply with the terms specified in such pay5 ment plan, the Secretary shall issue an order requir6 ing such operator to cause all persons, except those 

7 referred to in section 104(c), to be withdrawn from 

8 the mine that is covered by such final order, and to 

9 be prohibited from entering such mine, until the op10 erator rectifies the noncompliance with the payment 

11 plan in the manner specified in such payment 

12 plan.’’. 

13 (2) APPLICABILITY AND EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

14 The amendments made by paragraph (1) shall apply 

15 to all unpaid civil penalty assessments under the 

16 Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 

17 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), except that, for any unpaid civil 

18 penalty assessment that became a final order of the 

19 Commission or a court before the date of enactment 

20 of this Act, the time periods under section 110(n) of 

21 the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (as 

22 amended) (30 U.S.C. 820(n)) shall be calculated as 

23 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act in24 stead of on the date of the final order. 


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1 TITLE IV—WORKER RIGHTS AND 

2 PROTECTIONS 

3 SEC. 401. PROTECTION FROM RETALIATION. 

4 Section 105(c) (30 U.S.C. 815(c)) is amended to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘(c) PROTECTION FROM RETALIATION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.— 

8 ‘‘(A) RETALIATION FOR COMPLAINT OR

9 TESTIMONY.—No person shall discharge or in 

10 any manner discriminate against or cause to be 

11 discharged or cause discrimination against or 

12 otherwise interfere with the exercise of the stat13 utory rights of any miner or other employee of 

14 an operator, representative of miners, or appli15 cant for employment, because— 

16 ‘‘(i) such miner or other employee, 

17 representative, or applicant for employ18 ment— 

19 ‘‘(I) has filed or made a com20 plaint, or is about to file or make a 

21 complaint, including a complaint noti22 fying the operator or the operator’s 

23 agent, or the representative of the 

24 miners at the coal or other mine of an 


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1 alleged danger or safety or health vio2 lation in a coal or other mine; 

3 ‘‘(II) instituted or caused to be 

4 instituted, or is about to institute or 

5 cause to be instituted, any proceeding 

6 under or related to this Act or has 

7 testified or is about to testify in any 

8 such proceeding or because of the ex9 ercise by such miner or other em10 ployee, representative, or applicant for 

11 employment on behalf of him or her12 self or others of any right afforded by 

13 this Act, or has reported any injury or 

14 illness to an operator or agent; 

15 ‘‘(III) has testified or is about to 

16 testify before Congress or any Federal 

17 or State proceeding related to safety 

18 or health in a coal or other mine; or 

19 ‘‘(IV) refused to violate any pro20 vision of this Act, including any man21 datory health and safety standard or 

22 regulation; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) such miner is the subject of med24 ical evaluations and potential transfer 


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1 under a standard published pursuant to 

2 section 101. 

3 ‘‘(B) RETALIATION FOR REFUSAL TO PER4 FORM DUTIES.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—No person shall 

6 discharge or in any manner discriminate 

7 against a miner or other employee of an 

8 operator for refusing to perform the min9 er’s or other employee’s duties if the miner 

10 or other employee has a good-faith and 

11 reasonable belief that performing such du12 ties would pose a safety or health hazard 

13 to the miner or other employee or to any 

14 other miner or employee. 

15 ‘‘(ii) STANDARD.—For purposes of 

16 clause (i), the circumstances causing the 

17 miner’s or other employee’s good-faith be18 lief that performing such duties would pose 

19 a safety or health hazard shall be of such 

20 a nature that a reasonable person, under 

21 the circumstances confronting the miner or 

22 other employee, would conclude that there 

23 is such a hazard. In order to qualify for 

24 protection under this paragraph, the miner 

25 or other employee, when practicable, shall 


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1 have communicated or attempted to com2 municate the safety or health concern to 

3 the operator and have not received from 

4 the operator a response reasonably cal5 culated to allay such concern. 

6 ‘‘(2) COMPLAINT.—Any miner or other em7 ployee or representative of miners or applicant for 

8 employment who believes that he or she has been 

9 discharged, disciplined, or otherwise discriminated 

10 against by any person in violation of paragraph (1) 

11 may file a complaint with the Secretary alleging 

12 such discrimination not later than 180 days after 

13 the later of— 

14 ‘‘(A) the last date on which an alleged vio15 lation of paragraph (1) occurs; or 

16 ‘‘(B) the date on which the miner or other 

17 employee or representative knows or should rea18 sonably have known that such alleged violation 

19 occurred. 

20 ‘‘(3) INVESTIGATION AND HEARING.— 

21 ‘‘(A) COMMENCEMENT OF INVESTIGATION

22 AND INITIAL DETERMINATION.—Upon receipt 

23 of such complaint, the Secretary shall forward 

24 a copy of the complaint to the respondent, and 

25 shall commence an investigation within 15 days 


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1 of the Secretary’s receipt of the complaint, and, 

2 as soon as practicable after commencing such 

3 investigation, make the determination required 

4 under subparagraph (B) regarding the rein5 statement of the miner or other employee. 

6 ‘‘(B) REINSTATEMENT.—If the Secretary 

7 finds that such complaint was not frivolously 

8 brought, the Commission, on an expedited basis 

9 upon application of the Secretary, shall order 

10 the immediate reinstatement of the miner or 

11 other employee until there has been a final 

12 Commission order disposing of the underlying 

13 complaint of the miner or other employee. If ei14 ther the Secretary or the miner or other em15 ployee pursues the underlying complaint, such 

16 reinstatement shall remain in effect until the 

17 Commission has disposed of such complaint on 

18 the merits, regardless of whether the Secretary 

19 pursues such complaint by filing a complaint 

20 under subparagraph (D) or the miner or other 

21 employee pursues such complaint by filing an 

22 action under paragraph (4). If neither the Sec23 retary nor the miner or other employee pursues 

24 the underlying complaint within the periods 

25 specified in paragraph (4), such reinstatement 


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1 shall remain in effect until such time as the 

2 Commission may, upon motion of the operator 

3 and after providing notice and an opportunity 

4 to be heard to the parties, vacate such com5 plaint for failure to prosecute. 

6 ‘‘(C) INVESTIGATION.—Such investigation 

7 shall include interviewing the complainant 

8 and— 

9 ‘‘(i) providing the respondent an op10 portunity to submit to the Secretary a 

11 written response to the complaint and to 

12 present statements from witnesses or pro13 vide evidence; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) providing the complainant an op15 portunity to receive any statements or evi16 dence provided to the Secretary and rebut 

17 any statements or evidence. 

18 ‘‘(D) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—If, 

19 upon such investigation, the Secretary deter20 mines that the provisions of this subsection 

21 have been violated, the Secretary shall imme22 diately file a complaint with the Commission, 

23 with service upon the alleged violator and the 

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1 ference and propose an order granting appro2 priate relief. 

3 ‘‘(E) ACTION OF THE COMMISSION.—The 

4 Commission shall afford an opportunity for a 

5 hearing on the record (in accordance with sec6 tion 554 of title 5, United States Code, but 

7 without regard to subsection (a)(3) of such sec8 tion) and thereafter shall issue an order, based 

9 upon findings of fact, affirming, modifying, or 

10 vacating the Secretary’s proposed order, or di11 recting other appropriate relief. Such order 

12 shall become final 30 days after its issuance. 

13 The complaining miner or other employee, rep14 resentative, or applicant for employment may 

15 present additional evidence on his or her own 

16 behalf during any hearing held pursuant to this 

17 paragraph. 

18 ‘‘(F) RELIEF.—The Commission shall have 

19 authority in such proceedings to require a per20 son committing a violation of this subsection to 

21 take such affirmative action to abate the viola22 tion and prescribe a remedy as the Commission 

23 considers appropriate, including— 

24 ‘‘(i) the rehiring or reinstatement of 

25 the miner or other employee with back pay 


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1 and interest and without loss of position or 

2 seniority, and restoration of the terms, 

3 rights, conditions, and privileges associated 

4 with the complainant’s employment; 

5 ‘‘(ii) any other compensatory and con6 sequential damages sufficient to make the 

7 complainant whole, and exemplary dam8 ages where appropriate; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) expungement of all warnings, 

10 reprimands, or derogatory references that 

11 have been placed in paper or electronic 

12 records or databases of any type relating 

13 to the actions by the complainant that 

14 gave rise to the unfavorable personnel ac15 tion, and, at the complainant’s direction, 

16 transmission of a copy of the decision on 

17 the complaint to any person whom the 

18 complainant reasonably believes may have 

19 received such unfavorable information. 

20 ‘‘(4) NOTICE TO AND ACTION OF COMPLAIN21 ANT.— 

22 ‘‘(A) NOTICE TO COMPLAINANT.—Not 

23 later than 90 days of the receipt of a complaint 

24 filed under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall 

25 notify, in writing, the miner or other employee, 


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1 applicant for employment, or representative of 

2 miners of his determination whether a violation 

3 has occurred. 

4 ‘‘(B) ACTION OF COMPLAINANT.—If the 

5 Secretary, upon investigation, determines that 

6 the provisions of this subsection have not been 

7 violated, the complainant shall have the right, 

8 within 30 days after receiving notice of the Sec9 retary’s determination, to file an action in his 

10 or her own behalf before the Commission, 

11 charging discrimination or interference in viola12 tion of paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(C) HEARING AND DECISION.—The Com14 mission shall afford an opportunity for a hear15 ing on the record (in accordance with section 

16 554 of title 5, United States Code, but without 

17 regard to subsection (a)(3) of such section), 

18 and thereafter shall issue an order, based upon 

19 findings of fact, dismissing or sustaining the 

20 complainant’s charges and, if the charges are 

21 sustained, granting such relief as it deems ap22 propriate as described in paragraph (3)(D). 

23 Such order shall become final 30 days after its 

24 issuance. 


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1 ‘‘(5) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In adjudicating a 

2 complaint pursuant to this subsection, the Commis3 sion may determine that a violation of paragraph (1) 

4 has occurred only if the complainant demonstrates 

5 that any conduct described in paragraph (1) with re6 spect to the complainant was a contributing factor 

7 in the adverse action alleged in the complaint. A de8 cision or order that is favorable to the complainant 

9 shall not be issued pursuant to this subsection if the 

10 respondent demonstrates by clear and convincing 

11 evidence that the respondent would have taken the 

12 same adverse action in the absence of such conduct. 

13 ‘‘(6) ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—Whenever an order is 

14 issued sustaining the complainant’s charges under 

15 this subsection, a sum equal to the aggregate 

16 amount of all costs and expenses, including attor17 ney’s fees, as determined by the Commission to have 

18 been reasonably incurred by the complainant for, or 

19 in connection with, the institution and prosecution of 

20 such proceedings shall be assessed against the per21 son committing such violation. The Commission 

22 shall determine whether such costs and expenses 

23 were reasonably incurred by the complainant without 

24 reference to whether the Secretary also participated 

25 in the proceeding. 


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1 ‘‘(7) EXPEDITED PROCEEDINGS; JUDICIAL RE2 VIEW.—Proceedings under this subsection shall be 

3 expedited by the Secretary and the Commission. Any 

4 order issued by the Commission under this sub5 section shall be subject to judicial review in accord6 ance with section 106. Violations by any person of 

7 paragraph (1) shall be subject to the provisions of 

8 sections 108 and 110(a)(4). 

9 ‘‘(8) PROCEDURAL RIGHTS.—The rights and 

10 remedies provided for in this subsection may not be 

11 waived by any agreement, policy, form, or condition 

12 of employment, including by any pre-dispute arbitra13 tion agreement or collective bargaining agreement. 

14 ‘‘(9) SAVINGS.—Nothing in this subsection shall 

15 be construed to diminish the rights, privileges, or 

16 remedies of any employee who exercises rights under 

17 any Federal or State law or common law, or under 

18 any collective bargaining agreement.’’. 

19 SEC. 402. PROTECTION FROM LOSS OF PAY. 

20 Section 111 (30 U.S.C. 821) is amended to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 111. ENTITLEMENT OF MINERS. 

23 ‘‘(a) PROTECTION FROM LOSS OF PAY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) WITHDRAWAL ORDERS.—If a coal or other 

25 mine or area of such mine is closed by an order 


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1 issued under section 103, 104, 107, 108, or 110, all 

2 miners working during the shift when such order 

3 was issued who are idled by such order shall be enti4 tled, regardless of the result of any review of such 

5 order, to full compensation by the operator at their 

6 regular rates of pay for the period they are idled, 

7 but for not more than the balance of such shift. If 

8 such order is not terminated prior to the next work9 ing shift, all miners on that shift who are idled by 

10 such order shall be entitled to full compensation by 

11 the operator at their regular rates of pay for the pe12 riod they are idled, but for not more than four hours 

13 of such shift. If a coal or other mine or area of such 

14 mine is closed by an order issued under section 104, 

15 107 (in connection with a citation), 108, or 110, all 

16 miners who are idled by such order shall be entitled, 

17 regardless of the result of any review of such order, 

18 to full compensation by the operator at their regular 

19 rates of pay and in accordance with their regular 

20 schedules of pay for the entire period for which they 

21 are idled, not to exceed 60 days. 

22 ‘‘(2) CLOSURE IN ADVANCE OF ORDER.—If the 

23 Secretary finds that such mine or such area of a 

24 mine was closed by the operator in anticipation of 

25 the issuance of such an order, all miners who are 


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1 idled by such closure shall be entitled to full com2 pensation by the operator at their regular rates of 

3 pay and in accordance with their regular schedules 

4 of pay, from the time of such closure until such time 

5 as the Secretary authorizes reopening of such mine 

6 or such area of the mine, not to exceed 60 days, ex7 cept where an operator promptly withdraws miners 

8 upon discovery of a hazard, and notifies the Sec9 retary where required, and within the prescribed 

10 time period. 

11 ‘‘(3) REFUSAL TO COMPLY.—Whenever an op12 erator violates or fails or refuses to comply with any 

13 order issued under section 103, 104, 107, 108, or 

14 110, all miners employed at the affected mine who 

15 would have been withdrawn from, or prevented from 

16 entering, such mine or area thereof as a result of 

17 such order shall be entitled to full compensation by 

18 the operator at their regular rates of pay, in addi19 tion to pay received for work performed after such 

20 order was issued, for the period beginning when 

21 such order was issued and ending when such order 

22 is complied with, vacated, or terminated. 

23 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT.— 

24 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION ORDERS.—The Commission 

25 shall have authority to order compensation due 


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1 under this section upon the filing of a complaint by 

2 a miner or his representative and after opportunity 

3 for hearing on the record subject to section 554 of 

4 title 5, United States Code. Whenever the Commis5 sion issues an order sustaining the complaint under 

6 this subsection in whole or in part, the Commission 

7 shall award the complainant reasonable attorneys’ 

8 fees and costs. 

9 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO PAY COMPENSATION DUE.— 

10 Consistent with the authority of the Secretary to 

11 order miners withdrawn from a mine under this Act, 

12 the Secretary shall order a mine that has been sub13 ject to a withdrawal order under section 103, 104, 

14 107, 108, or 110, and has reopened, to be closed 

15 again if compensation in accordance with the provi16 sions of this section is not paid by the end of the 

17 next regularly scheduled payroll period following the 

18 lifting of a withdrawal order. 

19 ‘‘(c) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—If an order is issued 

20 which results in payments to miners under subsection (a), 

21 the operators shall have the right to an expedited review 

22 before the Commission using timelines and procedures es23 tablished pursuant to section 316(b)(2)(G)(ii).’’. 


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1 SEC. 403. UNDERGROUND COAL MINER EMPLOYMENT 

2 STANDARD FOR MINES PLACED IN PATTERN 

3 STATUS. 

4 The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 is 

5 further amended by adding at the end of title I the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 117. UNDERGROUND COAL MINER EMPLOYMENT 

8 STANDARD FOR MINES PLACED IN PATTERN 

9 STATUS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of ensuring min11 ers’ health and safety and miners’ right to raise concerns 

12 thereof, when an underground coal mine is placed in pat13 tern status pursuant to section 104(e), and for 3 years 

14 after such placement, the operator of such mine may not 

15 discharge or constructively discharge a miner who is paid 

16 on an hourly basis and employed at such underground coal 

17 mine without reasonable job-related grounds based on a 

18 failure to satisfactorily perform job duties, including com19 pliance with this Act and with mandatory health and safe20 ty standards or other regulations issued under this Act, 

21 or other legitimate business reason, where the miner has 

22 completed the employer’s probationary period, not to ex23 ceed 6 months. 

24 ‘‘(b) CAUSE OF ACTION.—A miner aggrieved by a 

25 violation of subsection (a) may file a complaint in Federal 


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1 district court in the district where the mine is located 

2 within 1 year of such violation. 

3 ‘‘(c) REMEDIES.—In an action under subsection (b), 

4 for any prevailing miner the court shall take affirmative 

5 action to further the purposes of the Act, which may in6 clude reinstatement with backpay and compensatory dam7 ages. Reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs shall be award8 ed to any prevailing miner under this section. 

9 ‘‘(d) PRE-DISPUTE WAIVER PROHIBITED.—A min10 er’s right to a cause of action under this section may not 

11 be waived with respect to disputes that have not arisen 

12 as of the time of the waiver. 

13 ‘‘(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 

14 be construed to limit the availability of rights and rem15 edies of miners under any other State or Federal law or 

16 a collective bargaining agreement.’’. 

17 TITLE V—MODERNIZING 

18 HEALTH AND SAFETY STAND19 ARDS 

20 SEC. 501. PRE-SHIFT REVIEW OF MINE CONDITIONS. 

21 Section 303(d) (30 U.S.C. 863(d)) is amended by 

22 adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(3)(A) Not later than 30 days after the issuance of 

24 the interim final rules promulgated under subparagraph 

25 (C), each operator of an underground coal mine shall imVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:30 Dec 04, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6495.IH H6495

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1 plement a communication program at the underground 

2 coal mine to ensure that each miner is orally briefed on 

3 and made aware of, prior to traveling to or arriving at 

4 the miner’s work area and commencing the miner’s as5 signed tasks— 

6 ‘‘(i) any conditions that are hazardous, or that 

7 violate a mandatory health or safety standard or a 

8 plan approved under this Act, where the miner is ex9 pected to work or travel; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the general conditions of that miner’s as11 signed working section or other area where the 

12 miner is expected to work or travel. 

13 ‘‘(B) Not later than 180 days after the date of enact14 ment of the Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act 

15 of 2010, the Secretary shall promulgate interim final rules 

16 implementing the requirements of subparagraph (A). The 

17 Secretary shall issue a final rule not later than 2 years 

18 after such date.’’. 

19 SEC. 502. ROCK DUST STANDARDS. 

20 (a) STANDARDS.—Section 304(d) (30 U.S.C. 864(d)) 

21 is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘Where rock’’ and inserting the 

23 following: ‘‘ROCK DUST.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Where rock’’; 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘65 per centum’’ and all that 

2 follows and inserting ‘‘80 percent. Where methane is 

3 present in any ventilating current, the percentage of 

4 incombustible content of such combined dusts shall 

5 be increased 0.4 percent for each 0.1 percent of 

6 methane.’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(2) METHODS OF MEASUREMENT.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each operator of an 

10 underground coal mine shall take accurate and 

11 representative samples which shall measure the 

12 total incombustible content of combined coal 

13 dust, rock dust, and other dust in such mine to 

14 ensure that the coal dust is kept below explosive 

15 levels through the appropriate application of 

16 rock dust. 

17 ‘‘(B) DIRECT READING MONITORS.—By 

18 the later of June 15, 2011, or the date that is 

19 30 days after the Secretary of Health and 

20 Human Services has certified in writing that di21 rect reading monitors are commercially avail22 able to measure total incombustible content in 

23 samples of combined coal dust, rock dust, and 

24 other dust and the Department of Labor has 

25 approved such monitors for use in underground 


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1 coal mines, the Secretary shall require opera2 tors to take such dust samples using direct 

3 reading monitors. 

4 ‘‘(C) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall, 

5 not later than 180 days after the date of enact6 ment of the Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and 

7 Health Act of 2010, promulgate an interim 

8 final rule that prescribes methods for operator 

9 sampling of total incombustible content in sam10 ples of combined coal dust, rock dust, and other 

11 dust using direct reading monitors and includes 

12 requirements for locations, methods, and inter13 vals for mandatory operator sampling. 

14 ‘‘(D) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 

15 1 year after the date of enactment of the Rob16 ert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act of 

17 2010, the Secretary of Health and Human 

18 Services shall, based upon the latest research, 

19 recommend to the Secretary of Labor any revi20 sions to the mandatory operator sampling loca21 tions, methods, and intervals included in the in22 terim final rule described in subparagraph (B) 

23 that may be warranted in light of such re24 search. 


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1 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Until a final rule is issued 

2 by the Secretary under section 502(b)(2) of the Rob3 ert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010, 

4 any measurement taken by a direct reading monitor 

5 described in paragraph (2) shall not be admissible to 

6 establish a violation in an enforcement action under 

7 this Act.’’. 

8 (b) REPORT AND RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.— 

9 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

11 Health and Human Services, in consultation with 

12 the Secretary of Labor, shall prepare and submit, to 

13 the Committee on Education and Labor of the 

14 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

15 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen16 ate, a report— 

17 (A) regarding whether any direct reading 

18 monitor described in section 304(d)(2)(B) of 

19 the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 

20 1977 (30 U.S.C. 864(d)(2)(B)) is sufficiently 

21 reliable and accurate for the enforcement of the 

22 mandatory health or safety standards by the 

23 Secretary of Labor under such Act, and wheth24 er additional improvement to such direct read25 ing monitor, or additional verification regarding 


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1 reliability and accuracy, would be needed for 

2 enforcement purposes; and 

3 (B) identifying any limitations or impedi4 ments for such use in underground coal mines. 

5 (2) AUTHORITY.—If the Secretary determines 

6 that such direct reading monitor is sufficiently reli7 able and accurate for the enforcement of mandatory 

8 health and safety standards under the Federal 

9 Mines Safety and Health Act of 1977 following such 

10 report or any update thereto, the Secretary shall 

11 promulgate a final rule authorizing the use of such 

12 direct reading monitor for purposes of compliance 

13 and enforcement, in addition to other methods for 

14 determining total incombustible content. Such rule 

15 shall specify mandatory operator sampling locations, 

16 methods, and intervals. 

17 SEC. 503. ATMOSPHERIC MONITORING SYSTEMS. 

18 Section 317 (30 U.S.C. 877) is amended by adding 

19 at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(u) ATMOSPHERIC MONITORING SYSTEMS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) NIOSH RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 

22 than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Rob23 ert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010, 

24 the Director of the National Institute for Occupa25 tional Safety and Health, acting through the Office 


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1 of Mine Safety and Health Research, in consulta2 tion, including through technical working groups, 

3 with operators, vendors, State mine safety agencies, 

4 the Secretary, and labor representatives of miners, 

5 shall issue recommendations to the Secretary regard6 ing— 

7 ‘‘(A) how to ensure that atmospheric moni8 toring systems are utilized in the underground 

9 coal mining industry to maximize the health 

10 and safety of underground coal miners; 

11 ‘‘(B) the implementation of redundant sys12 tems, such as the bundle tubing system, that 

13 can continuously monitor the mine atmosphere 

14 following incidents such as fires, explosions, en15 trapments, and inundations; and 

16 ‘‘(C) other technologies available to con17 duct continuous atmospheric monitoring. 

18 ‘‘(2) ATMOSPHERIC MONITORING SYSTEM REG19 ULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year following the re20 ceipt of the recommendations described in paragraph 

21 (1), the Secretary shall promulgate regulations re22 quiring that each operator of an underground coal 

23 mine install atmospheric monitoring systems, con24 sistent with such recommendations, that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) protect miners where the miners nor2 mally work and travel; 

3 ‘‘(B) provide real-time information regard4 ing methane and carbon monoxide levels, and 

5 airflow direction, as appropriate, with sensing, 

6 annunciating, and recording capabilities; and 

7 ‘‘(C) can, to the maximum extent prac8 ticable, withstand explosions and fires.’’. 

9 SEC. 504. TECHNOLOGY RELATED TO RESPIRABLE DUST. 

10 Section 202(d) (30 U.S.C. 842(d)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘of Health, Education, and Wel12 fare’’; and 

13 (2) by striking the second sentence and insert14 ing the following: ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the 

15 date of enactment of the Robert C. Byrd Miner 

16 Safety and Health Act of 2010, the Secretary shall 

17 promulgate final regulations that require operators, 

18 beginning on the date such regulations are issued, to 

19 provide coal miners with the maximum feasible pro20 tection from respirable dust, including coal and silica 

21 dust, that is achievable through environmental con22 trols, and that meet the applicable standards.’’. 


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1 SEC. 505. REFRESHER TRAINING ON MINER RIGHTS AND 

2 RESPONSIBILITIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 115(a)(3) (30 U.S.C. 

4 825(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(3) all miners shall receive not less than 9 

6 hours of refresher training not less frequently than 

7 once every 12 months, and such training shall in8 clude one hour of training on the statutory rights 

9 and responsibilities of miners and their representa10 tives under this Act and other applicable Federal 

11 and State law, pursuant to a program of instruction 

12 developed by the Secretary and delivered by an em13 ployee of the Administration or by a trainer ap14 proved by the Administration that is a party inde15 pendent from the operator;’’. 

16 (b) NATIONAL HAZARD REPORTING HOTLINE.—Sec17 tion 115 (30 U.S.C. 825) is further amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (e) 

19 as subsections (d) through (f), respectively; and 

20 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(c) Any health and safety training program of in23 struction provided under this section shall include dis24 tribution to miners of information regarding miners’ 

25 rights under the Act, as well as a toll-free hotline tele26 phone number, which the Secretary shall maintain to reVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:30 Dec 04, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6495.IH H6495

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1 ceive complaints from miners and the public regarding 

2 hazardous conditions, discrimination, safety or health vio3 lations, or other mine safety or health concerns. Informa4 tion regarding the hotline shall be provided in a portable, 

5 convenient format, such as a durable wallet card, to enable 

6 miners to keep the information on their person.’’. 

7 (c) TIMING OF INITIAL STATUTORY RIGHTS TRAIN8 ING.—Notwithstanding section 115 of the Federal Mine 

9 Safety and Health Act (as amended by subsection (a)) (30 

10 U.S.C. 825) or the health and safety training program ap11 proved under such section, an operator shall ensure that 

12 all miners already employed by the operator on the date 

13 of enactment of this Act shall receive the one hour of stat14 utory rights and responsibilities training described in sec15 tion 115(a)(3) of such Act not later than 180 days after 

16 such date. 

17 SEC. 506. AUTHORITY TO MANDATE ADDITIONAL TRAINING. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 115 (30 U.S.C. 825) is 

19 further amended by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) 

20 (as redesignated) as subsections (f) and (g) and inserting 

21 after subsection (d) (as redesignated) the following: 

22 ‘‘(e) AUTHORITY TO MANDATE ADDITIONAL TRAIN23 ING.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 

25 to issue an order requiring that an operator of a 


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1 coal or other mine provide additional training be2 yond what is otherwise required by law, and speci3 fying the time within which such training shall be 

4 provided, if the Secretary finds that— 

5 ‘‘(A)(i) a serious or fatal accident has oc6 curred at such mine; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) such mine has experienced accident 

8 and injury rates, citations for violations of this 

9 Act (including mandatory health or safety 

10 standards or regulations promulgated under 

11 this Act), citations for significant and substan12 tial violations, or withdrawal orders issued 

13 under this Act at a rate above the average for 

14 mines of similar size and type; and 

15 ‘‘(B) additional training would benefit the 

16 health and safety of miners at the mine. 

17 ‘‘(2) WITHDRAWAL ORDER.—If the operator 

18 fails to provide training ordered under paragraph 

19 (1) within the specified time, the Secretary shall 

20 issue an order requiring such operator to cause all 

21 affected persons, except those persons referred to in 

22 section 104(c), to be withdrawn, and to be prohib23 ited from entering such mine, until such operator 

24 has provided such training.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 104(g)(2) 

2 (30 U.S.C. 814(g)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘under 

3 paragraph (1)’’ both places it appears and inserting 

4 ‘‘under paragraph (1) or under section 115(e)’’. 

5 SEC. 507. CERTIFICATION OF PERSONNEL. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I is further amended by add7 ing at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 118. CERTIFICATION OF PERSONNEL. 

9 ‘‘(a) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Any person who is 

10 authorized or designated by the operator of a coal or other 

11 mine to perform any duties or provide any training that 

12 this Act, including a mandatory health or safety standard 

13 or regulation promulgated pursuant to this Act, requires 

14 to be performed or provided by a certified, registered, 

15 qualified, or otherwise approved person, shall be permitted 

16 to perform such duties or provide such training only if 

17 such person has a current certification, registration, quali18 fication, or approval to perform such duties or provide 

19 such training consistent with the requirements of this sec20 tion. 

21 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF CERTIFICATION REQUIRE22 MENTS AND PROCEDURES.— 

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

24 the date of enactment of the Robert C. Byrd Miner 


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1 Safety and Health Act of 2010, the Secretary shall 

2 issue mandatory standards to establish— 

3 ‘‘(A) requirements for such certification, 

4 registration, qualification, or other approval, in5 cluding the experience, examinations, and ref6 erences that may be required as appropriate; 

7 ‘‘(B) time limits for such certifications and 

8 procedures for obtaining and renewing such cer9 tification, registration, qualification, or other 

10 approval; and 

11 ‘‘(C) procedures and criteria for revoking 

12 such certification, registration, qualification, or 

13 other approval, including procedures that en14 sure that the Secretary (or a State agency, as 

15 applicable) responds to requests for revocation 

16 and that the names of individuals whose certifi17 cation or other approval has been revoked are 

18 provided to and maintained by the Secretary, 

19 and are made available to appropriate State 

20 agencies through an electronic database. 

21 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH STATES.—In devel22 oping such standards, the Secretary shall consult 

23 with States that have miner certification programs 

24 to ensure effective coordination with existing State 

25 standards and requirements for certification. The 


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1 standards required under paragraph (1) shall pro2 vide that the certification, registration, qualification, 

3 or other approval of the State in which the coal or 

4 other mine is located satisfies the requirement of 

5 subsection (a) if the State’s program of certification, 

6 registration, qualification, or other approval is no 

7 less stringent than the standards established by the 

8 Secretary under paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(c) OPERATOR FEES FOR CERTIFICATION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION.—Begin11 ning 180 days after the date of enactment of the 

12 Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act of 

13 2010, the Secretary shall assess and collect fees, in 

14 accordance with this subsection, from each operator 

15 for each person certified under this section. Fees 

16 shall be assessed and collected in amounts deter17 mined by the Secretary as necessary to fund the cer18 tification programs established under this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) USE.—Amounts collected as provided in 

20 paragraph (1) shall only be available to the Sec21 retary, as provided in paragraph (3), for making ex22 penditures to carry out the certification programs 

23 established under this subsection. 

24 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In 

25 addition to funds authorized to be appropriated 


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1 under section 114, there is authorized to be appro2 priated to the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety 

3 and Health for each fiscal year in which fees are col4 lected under paragraph (1) an amount equal to the 

5 total amount of fees collected under paragraph (1) 

6 during that fiscal year. Such amounts are authorized 

7 to remain available until expended. If on the first 

8 day of a fiscal year a regular appropriation to the 

9 Commission has not been enacted, the Commission 

10 shall continue to collect fees (as offsetting collec11 tions) under this subsection at the rate in effect dur12 ing the preceding fiscal year, until 5 days after the 

13 date such regular appropriation is enacted. 

14 ‘‘(4) COLLECTING AND CREDITING OF FEES.— 

15 Fees authorized and collected under this subsection 

16 shall be deposited and credited as offsetting collec17 tions to the account providing appropriations to the 

18 Mine Safety and Health Administration and shall 

19 not be collected for any fiscal year except to the ex20 tent and in the amount provided in advance in ap21 propriation Acts. 

22 ‘‘(d) CITATION; WITHDRAWAL ORDER.—Any oper23 ator who permits a person to perform any of the health 

24 or safety related functions described in subsection (a) 

25 without a current certification which meets the requireVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:30 Dec 04, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6495.IH H6495

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1 ments of this section shall be considered to have com2 mitted an unwarrantable failure under section 104(d)(1), 

3 and the Secretary shall issue an order requiring that the 

4 miner be withdrawn or reassigned to duties that do not 

5 require such certification.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 318 (30 

7 U.S.C. 878) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b); 

9 (2) in subsection (c), by redesignating para10 graphs (1) through (3) as subparagraphs (A) 

11 through (C), respectively; 

12 (3) in subsection (g), by redesignating para13 graphs (1) through (4) as subparagraphs (A) 

14 through (D), respectively; and 

15 (4) by redesignating subsections (c) through (j) 

16 as paragraphs (1) through (8), respectively. 

17 TITLE VI—ADDITIONAL MINE 

18 SAFETY PROVISIONS 

19 SEC. 601. DEFINITIONS. 

20 (a) DEFINITION OF OPERATOR.—Section 3(d) is 

21 amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(d) ‘operator’ means— 

23 ‘‘(1) any owner, lessee, or other person 

24 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) operates or supervises a coal or 

2 other mine; or 

3 ‘‘(B) controls such mine by making or 

4 having the authority to make management 

5 or operational decisions that affect, directly 

6 or indirectly, the health or safety at such 

7 mine; or 

8 ‘‘(2) any independent contractor per9 forming services or construction at such mine;’’. 

10 (b) DEFINITION OF AGENT.—Section 3(e) (30 U.S.C. 

11 802(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘the miners’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘any miner’’. 

13 (c) DEFINITION OF MINER.—Section 3(g) (30 U.S.C. 

14 802(g)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘or other mine’’ the 

15 following: ‘‘, and includes any individual who is not cur16 rently working in a coal or other mine but would be cur17 rently working in such mine, but for an accident in such 

18 mine’’. 

19 (d) DEFINITION OF SIGNIFICANT AND SUBSTANTIAL

20 VIOLATIONS.—Section 3 (30 U.S.C. 802) is further 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (m), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

23 the semicolon; 

24 (2) in subsection (n), by striking the period at 

25 the end and inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (3) in subsection (o), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(p) ‘significant and substantial violation’ 

5 means a violation of this Act, including any manda6 tory health or safety standard or regulation promul7 gated under this Act, that is of such nature as could 

8 significantly and substantially contribute to the 

9 cause and effect of a coal or other mine safety or 

10 health hazard as described in section 104(d).’’. 

11 SEC. 602. ASSISTANCE TO STATES. 

12 Section 503 (30 U.S.C. 953(a)) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

15 by striking ‘‘, in coordination with the Sec16 retary of Health, Education, and Welfare and 

17 the Secretary of the Interior,’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

19 after the semicolon; 

20 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe21 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(4) to assist such State in developing and im24 plementing any certification program for coal or 


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1 other mines required for compliance with section 

2 118.’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘$3,000,000 

4 for fiscal year 1970, and $10,000,000 annually in 

5 each succeeding fiscal year’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘$20,000,000 for each fiscal year’’. 

7 SEC. 603. BLACK LUNG MEDICAL REPORTS. 

8 Title IV of the Black Lung Benefits Act (30 U.S.C. 

9 901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 435. MEDICAL REPORTS. 

12 ‘‘In any claim for benefits for a miner under this title, 

13 an operator that requires a miner to submit to a medical 

14 examination regarding the miner’s respiratory or pul15 monary condition shall, not later than 14 days after the 

16 miner has been examined, deliver to the claimant a com17 plete copy of the examining physician’s report. The exam18 ining physician’s report shall be in writing and shall set 

19 out in detail the examiner’s findings, including any diag20 noses and conclusions and the results of any diagnostic 

21 imaging techniques and tests that were performed on the 

22 miner.’’. 

23 SEC. 604. RULES OF APPLICATION TO CERTAIN MINES. 

24 (a) INAPPLICABILITY OF AMENDMENTS TO CERTAIN

25 MINES.— 


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1 (1) SPECIAL RULE.—The amendments made by 

2 this Act shall not apply to— 

3 (A) surface mines, except for surface facili4 ties or impoundments physically connected to— 

5 (i) underground coal or underground 

6 metal mines; or 

7 (ii) other underground mines which 

8 are gassy mines; or 

9 (B) underground mines which are not coal, 

10 metal, or gassy mines. 

11 (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, 

12 the term ‘‘gassy mine’’ means a mine, tunnel, or 

13 other underground workings in which a flammable 

14 mixture has been ignited, or has been found with a 

15 permissible flame safety lamp, or has been deter16 mined by air analysis to contain 0.25 percent or 

17 more (by volume) of methane in any open workings 

18 when tested at a point not less than 12 inches from 

19 the roof, face of rib. 

20 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION RELATING TO APPLICA21 BILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS TO SURFACE MINES.— 

22 Title I is further amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 119. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS TO 

2 CERTAIN MINES. 

3 ‘‘(a) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—With respect to the 

4 mines described in subsection (b), this Act as in effect on 

5 the date before the date of enactment of the Robert C. 

6 Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010, shall continue 

7 to apply to such mines as then in effect. 

8 ‘‘(b) APPLICABLE MINES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The mines referred to in 

10 subsection (a) are— 

11 ‘‘(A) surface mines, except for surface fa12 cilities or impoundments physically connected 

13 to— 

14 ‘‘(i) underground coal or underground 

15 metal mines; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) other underground mines which 

17 are gassy mines; and 

18 ‘‘(B) underground mines which are not 

19 coal, metal, or gassy mines. 

20 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—As used in paragraph (1), 

21 the term ‘gassy mine’ means a mine, tunnel, or 

22 other underground workings in which a flammable 

23 mixture has been ignited, or has been found with a 

24 permissible flame safety lamp, or has been deter25 mined by air analysis to contain 0.25 percent or 

26 more (by volume) of methane in any open workings 


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1 when tested at a point not less than 12 inches from 

2 the roof, face of rib. 

3 ‘‘(c) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section 

4 shall impact the authority of the Secretary to promulgate 

5 or modify regulations pursuant to the authority under any 

6 such provisions as in effect on the date before the date 

7 of enactment of the Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and 

8 Health Act of 2010, or shall be construed to alter or mod9 ify precedent with regards to the Commission or courts.’’. 

Æ 


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