28844 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 11, 2022 / Notices 

(a) Drinking water will be supplied 

via commercially purchased water in 

sealed containers. 

(b) At a minimum, the refuge chamber 

will be supplied with 2.25 quarts of 

water per day per person for 36 hours. 

The total amount of water provided will 

vary depending on the maximum 

capacity of the refuge chamber. In a 16- 

person refuge chamber, a minimum of 

52 liters of water will be provided. In 

the 40-person refuge chamber, a 

minimum of 128 liters of water will be 

provided. 

(c) The water will have a maximum 

shelf life of 3.5 years. The operator will 

replace the existing water supply with 

fresh water before the water’s expiration 

date. The condition and quantity of 

water will be confirmed by inspection 

on no less than a monthly basis. 

(d) Written instructions for 

conservation of water will be provided 

with the refuge chamber supplies. 

(e) All miners affected will receive 

training in the operation of the refuge 

chamber and will receive refresher 

training annually. 

(f) The refuge chamber will be 

inspected monthly and documented by 

the Mine Manager or the Manager’s 

designee. 

The petitioner asserts that the 

alternative method proposed will at all 

times guarantee no less than the same 

measure of protection afforded the 

miners under the mandatory standard. 

Song-ae Aromie Noe, 

Director, Office of Standards, Regulations, 

and Variances. 

[FR Doc. 2022–10117 Filed 5–10–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4520–43–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Mine Safety and Health Administration 

Petition for Modification of Application 

of Existing Mandatory Safety 

Standards 

AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health 

Administration, Labor. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice is a summary of 

a petition for modification submitted to 

the Mine Safety and Health 

Administration (MSHA) by the party 

listed below. 

DATES: All comments on the petition 

must be received by MSHA’s Office of 

Standards, Regulations, and Variances 

on or before June 10, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Docket No. MSHA–2022– 

0022 by any of the following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

for MSHA–2022–0022. 

2. Fax: 202–693–9441. 

3. Email: petitioncomments@dol.gov. 

4. Regular Mail or Hand Delivery: 

MSHA, Office of Standards, 

Regulations, and Variances, 201 12th 

Street South, Suite 4E401, Arlington, 

Virginia 22202–5452, 

Attention: S. Aromie Noe, Director, 

Office of Standards, Regulations, and 

Variances. Persons delivering 

documents are required to check in at 

the receptionist’s desk in Suite 4E401. 

Individuals may inspect copies of the 

petition and comments during normal 

business hours at the address listed 

above. Before visiting MSHA in person, 

call 202–693–9455 to make an 

appointment, in keeping with the 

Department of Labor’s COVID–19 

policy. Special health precautions may 

be required. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: S. 

Aromie Noe, Office of Standards, 

Regulations, and Variances at 202–693– 

9440 (voice), Petitionsformodification@

dol.gov (email), or 202–693–9441 (fax). 

[These are not toll-free numbers.] 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and 

Health Act of 1977 and Title 30 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 

44 govern the application, processing, 

and disposition of petitions for 

modification. 

I. Background 

Section 101(c) of the Federal Mine 

Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine 

Act) allows the mine operator or 

representative of miners to file a 

petition to modify the application of any 

mandatory safety standard to a coal or 

other mine if the Secretary of Labor 

determines that: 

1. An alternative method of achieving 

the result of such standard exists which 

will at all times guarantee no less than 

the same measure of protection afforded 

the miners of such mine by such 

standard; or 

2. The application of such standard to 

such mine will result in a diminution of 

safety to the miners in such mine. 

In addition, sections 44.10 and 44.11 

of 30 CFR establish the requirements for 

filing petitions for modification. 

II. Petition for Modification 

Docket Number: M–2022–007–C. 

Petitioner: Century Mining, LLC, 200 

Chapel Brook Drive, Bridgeport, West 

Virginia, 26330. 

Mine: Longview Mine, MSHA ID No. 

46–09447 located in Barbour County, 

West Virginia. 

Regulation Affected: 30 CFR 

75.802(c), Protection of high-voltage 

circuits extending underground. 

Modification Request: The petitioner 

requests a modification of 30 CFR 

75.802(c) to permit the use of visible 

disconnect switches in the resistancegrounded substation at the surface area 

of the underground mine, 

approximately 1,100 feet from a vertical 

bore hole. 

The petitioner states that: 

(a) The mine is currently under 

construction. 

(b) The mine will utilize the room and 

pillar and longwall mining methods to 

extract coal and will employ 

approximately 375 coal miners. 

The petitioner proposes the following 

alternative method: 

(a) Use the solid blade disconnect 

switches (hook switches) to disconnect 

the high voltage circuits entering the 

underground mine. The solid blade 

disconnect switches are located in the 

resistance-grounded substation on the 

surface area of the underground mine— 

approximately 1,100 feet from the 

surface bore hole. 

(b) Use a continuous, fully insulated, 

mine power feeder cable extending from 

the resistance grounded substation, 

down the bore hole, and into the 

underground mine workings. The mine 

power feeder cable is hung on insulated 

hangers and supported on extra high 

strength messenger cable on the surface 

between wooden power poles. The 

continuous nature of this cable 

eliminates additional connections at the 

surface bore hole where there will be 

increased risks of voltage tracking, 

connection failures, and exposure to 

lightning. 

(c) Leave the mine power feeder cable 

connected to lightning arrestors in the 

resistance-grounded substation, even 

when the visible disconnect switches 

(hook switches) in the station are open. 

(d) Install an underground switch 

house in the mine, within 50 feet of the 

underground bore hole where the mine 

power feeder enters the mine. The 

switch house provides the mine 

personnel a load break vacuum circuit 

breaker (VCB), visible disconnect, 

grounding switch, and lock out station 

in-mine. This arrangement eliminates 

the need for a miner to travel to the 

surface to remove power while doing inmine power work. 

(e) The switch house has a high 

voltage VCB with an integral visible 

disconnect and an output grounding 

switch. The visible disconnect is 

interlocked with the VCB to ensure the 

VCB removes the load before the visible 

disconnect is opened. A lockout means 

is provided at the switch house for the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 11, 2022 / Notices 28845 

outgoing high voltage circuit. To 

complete work on the inby power 

system, the switch house will be 

utilized to disconnect and ground the 

inby circuits. 

(f) The switch house has protective 

relaying for overcurrent, short circuit, 

and grounded phase protection. A high 

voltage ground monitor is provided in 

the switch house to monitor the inby 

high voltage circuit. A test circuit for 

secondary current injection is provided 

so mine personnel can complete 

required protective relay testing, 

helping to ensure proper operation of 

the inby high voltage circuits. 

(g) Within 60 days after the Proposed 

Decision and Order (PDO) becomes 

final, the petitioner will submit 

proposed revisions for its approved part 

48 training plan to the District Manager. 

The proposed revisions will include 

initial and refresher training regarding 

compliance with the terms and 

conditions of the PDO. 

The petitioner asserts that the 

alternative method proposed will at all 

times guarantee no less than the same 

measure of protection afforded the 

miners under the mandatory standard. 

Song-ae Aromie Noe, 

Director, Office of Standards, Regulations, 

and Variances. 

[FR Doc. 2022–10114 Filed 5–10–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4520–43–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Mine Safety and Health Administration 

[OMB Control No. 1219–0054] 

Proposed Extension of Information 

Collection; Fire Protection 

(Underground Coal Mines) 

AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health 

Administration, Labor. 

ACTION: Request for public comments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as 

part of its continuing effort to reduce 

paperwork and respondent burden, 

conducts a pre-clearance consultation 

program to provide the general public 

and Federal agencies with an 

opportunity to comment on proposed 

collections of information in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. This program helps to assure that 

requested data can be provided in the 

desired format, reporting burden (time 

and financial resources) is minimized, 

collection instruments are clearly 

understood, and the impact of collection 

requirements on respondents can be 

properly assessed. Currently, the Mine 

Safety and Health Administration 

(MSHA) is soliciting comments on the 

information collection for Fire 

Protection (Underground Coal Mines). 

DATES: All comments must be received 

on or before July 11, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Comments concerning the 

information collection requirements of 

this notice may be sent by any of the 

methods listed below. 

• Federal E-Rulemaking Portal: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments for docket number MSHA– 

2022–0024. 

• Mail/Hand Delivery: Mail or visit 

DOL–MSHA, Office of Standards, 

Regulations, and Variances, 201 12th 

Street South, Suite 4E401, Arlington, 

VA 22202–5452. Before visiting MSHA 

in person, call 202–693–9455 to make 

an appointment, in keeping with the 

Department of Labor’s COVID–19 

policy. Special health precautions may 

be required. 

• MSHA will post your comment as 

well as any attachments, except for 

information submitted and marked as 

confidential, in the docket at https://

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: S. 

Aromie Noe, Director, Office of 

Standards, Regulations, and Variances, 

MSHA, at 

MSHA.information.collections@dol.gov 

(email); 202–693–9440 (voice); or 202– 

693–9441 (facsimile). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Fire protection standards for 

underground coal mines are based on 

section 311(a) of the Federal Mine 

Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine 

Act). 

30 CFR 75.1100 requires that each 

coal mine be provided with suitable 

firefighting equipment adapted for the 

size and conditions of the mine, and 

that the Secretary of Labor shall 

establish minimum requirements of the 

type, quality, and quantity of such 

equipment. 

30 CFR 75.1100–3 requires that 

chemical fire extinguishers be examined 

every 6 months and that the date of the 

examination be recorded on a 

permanent tag attached to the 

extinguisher. 

30 CFR 75.1103–5(a)(2)(ii) requires 

that a map or schematic be updated 

within 24 hours of any change in the 

locations of automatic fire warning 

sensors and the intended air flow 

direction at these locations. This map or 

schematic would be kept at a manned 

surface location where personnel have 

an assigned post of duty. 

30 CFR 75.1103–8(a) requires that a 

qualified person examine the automatic 

fire sensor and warning device systems 

on a weekly basis and conduct a 

functional test of the complete system at 

least once every 7 days. 

Section 75.1103–8(b) requires that a 

record of the weekly automatic fire 

sensor functional tests be maintained by 

the mine operator and kept for a period 

of 1 year. 

30 CFR 75.1103–8(c) requires that 

sensors be calibrated in accordance with 

the manufacturer’s calibration 

instructions at intervals not to exceed 31 

days. Records of the sensor calibrations 

must be maintained by the operator and 

kept for a period of 1 year. 

30 CFR 75.1103–11 requires that each 

fire hydrant and hose be tested at least 

once a year and the records of those 

tests be maintained at an appropriate 

location. 

30 CFR 75.1501(a)(3) requires the 

operator to certify that each responsible 

person is trained and that the 

certification is maintained at the mine 

for at least 1 year. 

30 CFR 75.1502 requires each mine 

operator to adopt and follow a mine 

evacuation and firefighting program of 

instruction that addresses all mine 

emergencies created as a result of a fire, 

an explosion, or a gas or water 

inundation. In addition, this section 

requires mine operators to submit this 

program of instruction, and any 

revisions, to MSHA for its approval and 

to train miners regarding the use of the 

program of instruction, and any 

revisions to such program of instruction, 

after it is approved by MSHA. 

II. Desired Focus of Comments 

MSHA is soliciting comments 

concerning the proposed information 

collection related to Fire Protection 

(Underground Coal Mines). MSHA is 

particularly interested in comments 

that: 

• Evaluate whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information has practical utility; 

• Evaluate the accuracy of MSHA’s 

estimate of the burden of the collection 

of information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

• Suggest methods to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and 

• Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including through the 

use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 


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