II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1655 

To establish improved mandatory standards to protect miners during 

emergencies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 19, 2007 

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mrs. MURRAY, and Mr. BYRD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish improved mandatory standards to protect miners 

during emergencies, 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 ‘‘Miner Health and Safety Enhancement Act of 2007’’. 

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. Sense of congress. 

Sec. 3. Definitions; references. 

TITLE I—ACTIONS TO FURTHER PROTECT UNDERGROUND 

MINERS IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
2 

•S 1655 IS

Sec. 101. Enhanced standards to avoid accidents like those at the sago, 

aracoma alma, and darby mines in 2006. 

Sec. 102. Inspections and inspectors. 

Sec. 103. Enhancing operator and owner incentives to avoid serious risks to 

miners. 

Sec. 104. Facilitating the prompt initiation of rescue and mine recovery efforts. 

Sec. 105. Accident and incident investigations. 

Sec. 106. Approval and research priorities. 

TITLE II—ACTIONS REQUIRED TO FULFILL THE INTENT OF THE 

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT OF 1977 

Sec. 201. Revising health standards set pursuant to the 1977 Act. 

Sec. 202. Regulatory priorities and process. 

Sec. 203. Clarifications of intent in the 1977 Act. 

Sec. 204. Federal licensing. 

1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) while the Mine Improvement and New 

4 Emergency Response Act of 2006 (Public Law 109– 

5 236) was an essential first step in addressing the 

6 many health and safety hazards that miners still 

7 face, supplemental action is necessary and feasible to 

8 better protect miners in coal and other mines; and 

9 (2) whereas the Secretary of Labor has failed 

10 in recent years to adequately fulfill the Secretary’s 

11 obligations under the Federal Mine Safety and 

12 Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), addi13 tional Congressional intervention is needed. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS; REFERENCES. 

15 (a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act— 

16 (1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ refers to the Sec17 retary of Labor; and 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
3 

•S 1655 IS

1 (2) any other term used in this Act that is de2 fined in section 3 of the Federal Mine Safety and 

3 Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 802) shall have the 

4 meaning given the term in such section. 

5 (b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly 

6 provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal 

7 is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, 

8 a section or other provision, the reference shall be consid9 ered to be made to a section or other provision of the Fed10 eral Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 

11 et seq.). 

12 TITLE I—ACTIONS TO FURTHER 

13 PROTECT UNDERGROUND 

14 MINERS IN THE EVENT OF AN 

15 EMERGENCY 

16 SEC. 101. ENHANCED STANDARDS TO AVOID ACCIDENTS 

17 LIKE THOSE AT THE SAGO, ARACOMA ALMA, 

18 AND DARBY MINES IN 2006. 

19 (a) POST ACCIDENT COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 

20 316(b)(2)(F)(ii) (30 U.S.C. 876(b)(2)(F)(ii)) is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘Not later than’’ and inserting 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(II) ADDITIONAL REQUIRE25 MENTS.—Not later than’’; and 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
4 

•S 1655 IS

1 (2) by inserting after the clause designation 

2 and heading the following: 

3 ‘‘(I) INITIAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 Not later than 120 days after the en5 actment of the Miner Health and 

6 Safety Enhancement Act of 2007, a 

7 plan shall, to be in approved status, 

8 provide for a post accident commu9 nication system between underground 

10 and surface personnel, and for an 

11 electronic tracking system permitting 

12 surface personnel to determine the lo13 cation of any persons trapped under14 ground, that utilizes a system at least 

15 as effective as a ‘leaky feeder’ type 

16 communication and tracking system. 

17 These systems shall be ‘hardened’ to 

18 the extent possible to ensure, to the 

19 greatest extent possible, their surviv20 ability in the event of a mine disaster. 

21 In addition, to be in approved status, 

22 an emergency response plan must be 

23 revised promptly to incorporate new 

24 technology that the National Institute 

25 for Occupational Safety and Health 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
5 

•S 1655 IS

1 certifies can be added to the existing 

2 system to improve its ability to facili3 tate post-accident communication with 

4 or tracking of miners. No miner shall 

5 be disciplined based solely on informa6 tion obtained from an electronic com7 munications and tracking system.’’. 

8 (b) UNDERGROUND REFUGES.—Section 

9 316(b)(2)(E) (30 U.S.C. 876(b)(2)(E)) is amended by 

10 adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(vi) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later 

12 than June 15, 2008, the Secretary shall issue 

13 final regulations, consistent with the design cri14 teria recommended by the National Institute for 

15 Occupational Safety and Health under section 

16 12 of the MINER Act, requiring the installa17 tion of rescue chambers in the working areas of 

18 underground coal mines.’’. 

19 (c) IMPROVEMENTS TO SEALS, VENTILATION CON20 TROLS, AND ROCK DUSTING TO LIMIT THE DAMAGE

21 FROM EXPLOSIONS.— 

22 (1) REPEAL.—The Mine Improvement and New 

23 Emergency Response Act of 2006 (30 U.S.C. 801 

24 note) is amended by striking section 10 and redesigVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:46 Jun 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1655.IS S1655

hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
6 

•S 1655 IS

1 nating sections 11 through 14 as sections 10 

2 through 13, respectively. 

3 (2) SEALS.—Section 303(z) of the Mine Safety 

4 and Health Act (30 U.S.C. 863(z)) is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(4) Not later than December 15, 2007, the Sec7 retary shall issue final rules regarding approval, design, 

8 construction, inspection, maintenance, and monitoring of 

9 underground coal mine seals. The Secretary shall inspect 

10 all seals under construction after that date, during at least 

11 part of their construction, to ensure the mine operator is 

12 complying with the approved seal plan, and shall develop 

13 an inspection protocol for this purpose. Except as other14 wise provided by this paragraph, these regulations shall 

15 implement the recommendations of the National Institute 

16 for Occupational Safety and Health. The regulations shall 

17 require that all areas of the mine sealed after June 15, 

18 2007, shall be monitored. Monitoring of seals shall be done 

19 both by— 

20 ‘‘(A) sampling through at least 1 seal in each 

21 bank of seals; and 

22 ‘‘(B) sampling through a sufficient number of 

23 boreholes from the surface to the sealed areas un24 derground to effectively determine the gas con25 centrations within the area.’’. 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
7 

•S 1655 IS

1 (3) VENTILATION CONTROLS.—Section 303(c) 

2 (30 U.S.C. 863(c)) is amended by inserting at the 

3 end the following new paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(4) Not later than 1 year after the date of enact5 ment of the Miner Health and Safety Enhancement Act 

6 of 2007, the Secretary shall publish interim final regula7 tions to enhance the survivability of underground mine 

8 ventilation controls. The Secretary shall require that 

9 brattice walls, overcasts, undercasts, regulators, and all 

10 other ventilation structures be constructed using solid con11 crete blocks laid wet and sealed with an appropriate bond12 ing agent on at least the side subjected to the velocity of 

13 the intake air coursing through the entry.’’. 

14 (4) ROCK DUSTING.—Section 304(d) (30 

15 U.S.C. 864) is amended by adding at the end the 

16 following: ‘‘Not later than June 15, 2009, the Na17 tional Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

18 shall issue recommendations as to whether changes 

19 to these requirements are necessary to ensure an 

20 equivalent level of protection in light of any changes 

21 to the size and composition of coal dust since these 

22 requirements were established, and the Secretary of 

23 Labor shall take appropriate action, including the 

24 issuance of an emergency temporary standard if 

25 warranted, to respond to these recommendations.’’. 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
8 

•S 1655 IS

1 (d) LIMITING CONVEYOR BELT RISKS.— 

2 (1) FLAME RESISTANT CONVEYOR BELTS.— 

3 Section 311(h) is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: ‘‘Not later than December 31, 2007, the 

5 Secretary shall publish interim final regulations to 

6 ensure that all conveyor belts in use in underground 

7 coal mines are replaced, as soon as practicable, with 

8 belts that can meet the flame resistance require9 ments recommended by the National Institute for 

10 Occupational Safety and Health. Any conveyor belt 

11 installed in a coal mine after December 31, 2008, 

12 shall meet the flame resistance requirements rec13 ommended by the National Institute for Occupa14 tional Safety and Health. Such action by the Sec15 retary shall not diminish in any way the obligation 

16 of the Secretary to take appropriate additional ac17 tion under this Act following completion of the re18 ports by the Technical Study Panel, pursuant to sec19 tion 514.’’. 

20 (2) BELT AIR.—Section 303(y) (30 U.S.C. 

21 863(y)) is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(3) Not later than June 20, 2008, the Secretary 

24 shall revise the regulations prescribed pursuant to this sec25 tion to require, in any coal mine, regardless of the date 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
9 

•S 1655 IS

1 on which the coal mine was opened, that belt haulage en2 tries not be used to ventilate active working places. 

3 ‘‘(4) No proposed plan, or proposed modification, 

4 that utilizes belt haulage entries to ventilate active work5 ing places shall be approved after the date of enactment 

6 of the Miner Health and Safety Enhancement Act of 

7 2007. Plans that have been approved by the Secretary 

8 prior to the date of enactment of the Miner Health and 

9 Safety Enhancement Act of 2007 that permit the use of 

10 belt-air to ventilate active working places in a mine are 

11 permitted to remain in use to complete current mining up 

12 until the date of issuance of the regulation required pursu13 ant to subsection (3). 

14 ‘‘(5) Nothing in this subsection shall limit the obliga15 tion of the Secretary to take appropriate additional action 

16 under this Act following completion of the reports by the 

17 Technical Study Panel, pursuant to section 514.’’. 

18 (e) PRE-SHIFT REVIEW OF MINE CONDITIONS.— 

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

20 at the end the following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(3) Not later than 90 days after the date of enact22 ment of the Miner Health and Safety Enhancement Act 

23 of 2007, each mine operator shall be required to imple24 ment a communication program at each of the operator’s 

25 facilities to insure management and miners entering the 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
10 

•S 1655 IS

1 operation at the start of their shift are aware of the cur2 rent conditions of the mine in general and their specific 

3 workplace in particular. In an effort to facilitate these 

4 communications, all agents of the operator who are re5 sponsible for ensuring the safe and healthful working con6 ditions at the mine, including mine foremen, assistant 

7 mine foremen, and mine examiners, shall, upon exiting the 

8 mine or workplace, meet with their counterparts on the 

9 oncoming shift to verbally update their counterparts on 

10 the conditions such agents observed during their shift, in11 cluding any conditions that are abnormal or hazardous. 

12 Prior to entering the mine or other workplace, the oncom13 ing agent of the operator shall meet with all members of 

14 the crew that the agent is responsible for and inform the 

15 crew of the general conditions at the operation and in their 

16 specific work area. This process shall be completed prior 

17 to the start of each shift at the operation and recorded 

18 in a book designated for that purpose and available for 

19 inspection by all interested parties. In the event the oper20 ation is idle prior to the start of any shift, the agent of 

21 the operator shall meet with the individual or individuals 

22 who were responsible for examining the mine to obtain the 

23 necessary information.’’. 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
11 

•S 1655 IS

1 (f) ATMOSPHERIC MONITORING SYSTEMS.—Section 

2 317 (30 U.S.C. 877) is amended by adding at the end 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(u) Not later than May 1, 2008, an operator of an 

5 underground mine shall install atmospheric monitoring 

6 systems in all underground areas where miners normally 

7 work and travel that provide real-time information regard8 ing methane levels, carbon monoxide levels, oxygen levels, 

9 air flow, smoke, and temperature, and that can, to the 

10 maximum extent possible, withstand explosions and 

11 fires.’’. 

12 (g) METHANE MONITORS.—Section 303(h) (30 

13 U.S.C. 863(h)) is amended by redesignating paragraph 

14 (2) as paragraph (3), and inserting after paragraph (1) 

15 the following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(2) Each miner who may be working alone for part 

17 of a shift shall be equipped with a multi-gas detector that 

18 measures current levels of methane, oxygen, and carbon 

19 monoxide.’’. 

20 (h) LIGHTNING.— 

21 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—Section 307 (30 

22 U.S.C. 867) is amended by adding at the end the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(f) In the event lightning is present in or around 

25 a mining operation, mine operators who cannot fully proVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:46 Jun 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1655.IS S1655

hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
12 

•S 1655 IS

1 tect their miners from the effects of lightning through 

2 grounding and other engineering controls shall use appro3 priate administrative controls to do so, including with4 drawal of miners from all underground areas of the mine. 

5 Failure to take appropriate administration action shall be 

6 treated as a significant and substantial violation of the 

7 this Act. Miners withdrawn as a result of this action shall 

8 suffer no loss in pay or other compensation.’’. 

9 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 1 

10 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

11 Secretary shall contract with the National Academy 

12 of Science to provide, to the Secretary and to Con13 gress, recommendations on— 

14 (A) actions that need to be taken to 

15 strengthen existing requirements in law or reg16 ulations to ensure that miners are protected, to 

17 the fullest extent permitted, from potential 

18 damage that could be generated because of 

19 lightning strikes near a mine; 

20 (B) recommendations for adopting any ex21 isting technology to the mining environment; 

22 and 

23 (C) research needed for improved tech24 nology. 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
13 

•S 1655 IS

1 (i) SCSR INSPECTION PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

2 shall— 

3 (1) establish a program to randomly remove 

4 and have tested at least 5 percent of the field sam5 ples of each model of self-rescue device used in an 

6 underground coal mine no less frequently than every 

7 6 months, in order to ensure that the self-rescue de8 vices in coal mine inventories are working in accord9 ance with the approval criteria for such devices, and 

10 mine operators shall be responsible for the costs to 

11 replace required self-rescue devices taken from their 

12 operation by the Secretary for random testing; 

13 (2) require a manufacturer of a self-rescue de14 vice and the mine operator who owns a device to— 

15 (A) contact the Secretary immediately 

16 upon notification of any potential problem with 

17 any such device; and 

18 (B) provide a copy of such notice to the 

19 representative of miners at the affected oper20 ation; and 

21 (3) notify immediately all operators of under22 ground coal mines if the Secretary detects or is ad23 vised of any problems with the self-rescue devices. 

24 (j) APPLICATION TO UNDERGROUND METAL AND

25 NONMETAL MINES.—The Secretary shall promptly estabVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:46 Jun 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1655.IS S1655

hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
14 

•S 1655 IS

1 lish an advisory committee to provide recommendations as 

2 to the need to revise the regulations applicable to under3 ground metal and nonmetal mines to ensure that miners 

4 in such mines are as protected in emergency situations 

5 as will be underground coal miners following the full im6 plementation of the Mine Improvement and New Emer7 gency Response Act of 2006, the provisions of this Act, 

8 and related actions by the Secretary. The advisory com9 mittee shall be established pursuant to the Federal Advi10 sory Committee Act, and shall provide recommendations 

11 to the Secretary and to Congress not later than 21 months 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, including rec13 ommendations as to any action by Congress that could fa14 cilitate the goal of providing equivalent protections to min15 ers in underground metal and nonmetal mines. 

16 SEC. 102. INSPECTIONS AND INSPECTORS. 

17 (a) AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS.—Section 103 (30 

18 U.S.C. 813) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

20 following: ‘‘No person shall limit or otherwise pre21 vent the Secretary from entry on a coal or other 

22 mine, or interfere with the Secretary’s inspection ac23 tivities, investigative activities, or rescue or recovery 

24 activities.’’; and 

25 (2) in subsection (k)— 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
15 

•S 1655 IS

1 (A) by striking ‘‘, when present,’’; and 

2 (B) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In 

3 the event of any accident occurring in a coal or 

4 other mine, where rescue and recovery work is 

5 necessary, the Secretary or an authorized rep6 resentative of the Secretary shall take whatever 

7 action the Secretary determines appropriate to 

8 protect the life of any person, and may super9 vise and direct the rescue and recovery activi10 ties in such mine.’’. 

11 (b) TRANSITION TO A NEW GENERATION OF INSPEC12 TORS.—Section 505 (30 U.S.C. 954) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ the first place 

14 it appears and inserting ‘‘(a) The Secretary’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(b) Not later than 270 days after the date of enact17 ment of the Miner Health and Safety Enhancement Act 

18 of 2007, the Secretary shall establish a Master Inspector 

19 program to ensure that the most experienced and skilled 

20 employees in the United States have the incentive, in 

21 terms of responsibilities and pay, to serve as mine safety 

22 and health inspectors in the mines of the United States. 

23 ‘‘(c) In order to ensure that the Secretary has ade24 quate time to provide that a sufficient number of qualified 

25 and properly trained inspectors of the Mine Safety and 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
16 

•S 1655 IS

1 Health Administration are in place before any inspectors 

2 employed as of the date of enactment of the Miner Health 

3 and Safety Enhancement Act of 2007 retire, any ceilings 

4 on the number of personnel that may be employed by the 

5 Administration with respect to mine inspectors are abol6 ished for the 5-year period beginning on the date of enact7 ment of such Act. 

8 ‘‘(d) In the event that, notwithstanding the actions 

9 taken by the Secretary to hire and train qualified inspec10 tors, the Secretary is temporarily unable, at any time dur11 ing the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment 

12 of the Miner Health and Safety Enhancement Act of 

13 2007, to employ the number of inspectors required to staff 

14 all district offices devoted to coal mines at the offices’ 

15 highest historical levels without transferring personnel 

16 from supervisory or plan review activities or diminishing 

17 current inspection resources devoted to other types of 

18 mines, the Administration is authorized to hire retired in19 spectors on a contractual basis to conduct mine inspec20 tions, and the retirement benefits of such retired inspec21 tors shall not be reduced as a result of such temporary 

22 contractual employment. 

23 ‘‘(e) During the 5-year period beginning on the date 

24 of enactment of the Miner Health and Safety Enhance25 ment Act of 2007, the Secretary shall issue a special reVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:46 Jun 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1655.IS S1655

hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
17 

•S 1655 IS

1 port to the appropriate committees of Congress each year, 

2 or at such more frequent intervals as the Secretary or any 

3 such committee may consider appropriate, providing infor4 mation about the actions being taken under this section, 

5 the size and training of the inspector workforce at the Ad6 ministration, the level of enforcement activities, and the 

7 number of requests by individual operators of mines for 

8 compliance assistance.’’. 

9 SEC. 103. ENHANCING OPERATOR AND OWNER INCENTIVES 

10 TO AVOID SERIOUS RISKS TO MINERS. 

11 (a) PATTERN OF VIOLATIONS.— 

12 (1) PROMPT IDENTIFICATION OF PATTERN.— 

13 Not later than 3 months after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act, the Secretary shall revise the regulations 

15 issued by the Secretary under section 104(e) of the 

16 Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 

17 U.S.C. 814(e)) as in effect on the day before such 

18 date of enactment, so that the regulations provide 

19 that— 

20 (A) when a potential pattern of violations 

21 is identified by any inspector or district man22 ager of the Administration, the operator of the 

23 coal or other mine and the authorized rep24 resentative of miners for the mine shall be notiVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:46 Jun 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1655.IS S1655

hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
18 

•S 1655 IS

1 fied by the inspector or district manager not 

2 later than 10 days after such identification; and 

3 (B) after receiving the notification de4 scribed in subparagraph (A), the appropriate 

5 official of the Mine Safety and Health Adminis6 tration shall promptly review any such potential 

7 pattern of violations and, not later than 45 

8 days after receiving such notification, make a 

9 final decision as to whether a citation for a vio10 lation of section 104(e) of such Act should be 

11 issued in light of the gravity of the violations 

12 and the operator’s conduct in connection there13 with. 

14 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF PATTERN.—Section 

15 104(e)(1) (30 U.S.C. 814(e)(1)) is amended by in16 serting after the first sentence the following: ‘‘In de17 termining whether a pattern of violations exists, the 

18 Secretary shall give due consideration to all relevant 

19 information, such as the gravity of the violations, 

20 operator negligence, history of violations, the num21 ber of inspection shifts the Secretary or the agents 

22 of the Secretary have spent at the operation, and the 

23 frequency of violations per number of inspection 

24 days spent at the operation.’’. 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
19 

•S 1655 IS

1 (3) TERMINATION OF PATTERN.—Section 

2 104(e)(3) (30 U.S.C. 814(e)(3)) is amended by add3 ing at the end the following: ‘‘In addition, if an op4 erator subject to paragraphs (1) and (2) dem5 onstrates objective evidence that the operator is cor6 recting the problems that gave rise to the pattern of 

7 violations, and the violation frequency rate for such 

8 operator declines significantly for a period of 180 

9 days, the withdrawal order provisions of paragraphs 

10 (1) and (2) shall no longer apply.’’. 

11 (4) FINE FOR A PATTERN OF VIOLATIONS.— 

12 Section 110 (30 U.S.C. 820) is amended— 

13 (A) by redesignating subsections (i) 

14 through (l) as subsections (j) through (m), re15 spectively; and 

16 (B) by inserting after subsection (h) the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(i)(1) If the Secretary determines that a pattern of 

19 violations under section 104(e) exists, the Secretary shall 

20 assess a penalty, in addition to any other penalty author21 ized in this Act for a violation of such section, of not less 

22 than $50,000 nor more than $250,000. All operators of 

23 the mine, including any corporate owners, shall be jointly 

24 and severally liable for such penalty. The amount of the 

25 assessment under this paragraph shall be designed to enVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:46 Jun 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1655.IS S1655

hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
20 

•S 1655 IS

1 sure a change in the future conduct of the operators and 

2 corporate owners of such mine with respect to mine safety 

3 and health, given the overall resources of such operators. 

4 Notwithstanding subsection (k) or section 113, a penalty 

5 assessed by the Secretary under this paragraph may not 

6 be reduced by the Commission. 

7 ‘‘(2) In addition to the authority to withdraw miners 

8 from an area of a coal or other mine pursuant to section 

9 104(e), the Secretary shall withdraw all miners from the 

10 entire mine when any pattern of violations has been deter11 mined to exist under such section, until such time as the 

12 Secretary certifies that all identified violations have been 

13 corrected and the operator has agreed to abide by a writ14 ten plan approved by the Administration to ensure that 

15 such a pattern of conduct will not recur.’’. 

16 (b) NOTIFICATION OF ABATEMENT.—Section 104(b) 

17 (30 U.S.C. 814(b)) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

19 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘If,’’ and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(2) If,’’; 

22 (3) by inserting after the subsection designation 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) An operator issued a citation pursuant to sub25 section (a) shall notify the Secretary that the operator has 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
21 

•S 1655 IS

1 abated the violation involved. If such operator fails to pro2 vide such a notice to the Secretary within the abatement 

3 time as provided for in the citation, the Secretary shall 

4 issue an order that requires the operator (or the agent 

5 of the operator) to immediately cause all persons, except 

6 those persons referred to in subsection (c), to be with7 drawn from, and to be prohibited from entering, such area 

8 as the Secretary determines until an authorized represent9 ative of the Secretary determines that such violation has 

10 been abated.’’. 

11 (c) FAILURE TO TIMELY PAY PENALTY ASSESS12 MENTS.—Section 105(a) (30 U.S.C. 815(a)) is amended 

13 by striking the third sentence and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘The operator shall, not later than 30 days from the re15 ceipt of the notification of a citation issued by the Sec16 retary, notify the Secretary that the operator intends to 

17 contest the citation or proposed assessment of a penalty 

18 and to place in escrow the amount of the proposed assess19 ment. If notification and proof of escrow is not provided 

20 to the Secretary, the citation and the proposed assessment 

21 of penalty shall be deemed a final order of the Commission 

22 and not subject to review by any court or agency. In the 

23 event that a mine operator refuses to comply with a final 

24 order of the Commission to pay civil monetary penalties 

25 and statutory interest, the Secretary shall have the auVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:46 Jun 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1655.IS S1655

hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
22 

•S 1655 IS

1 thority to issue an order requiring the mine operator to 

2 cease production under such final orders of the Commis3 sion have been paid in full.’’ 

4 (d) MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM PENALTIES.—Section 

5 110(a)(1) (30 U.S.C. 820(a)(1)) is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘more than $50,000 for each such violation.’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘less than $500 or more than $100,000 for each such 

8 violation, except that, in the case of a violation of a man9 datory health or safety standard that could significantly 

10 and substantially contribute to the cause and effect of a 

11 coal or other mine health or safety hazard, the penalty 

12 shall not be less than $1,000 or more than $150,000, for 

13 each such violation.’’. 

14 (e) FACTORS IN ASSESSING PENALTIES.—The Fed15 eral Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 is amended— 

16 (1) in section 105(b)(1)(B)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘the size of the business of 

18 the operator charged’’ and inserting ‘‘the com19 bined size of the business of the operator and 

20 any controlling entity’’; 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘the effect on the opera22 tor’s ability to continue in business,’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In 

24 settling cases, the Secretary shall utilize the 

25 same point system as that utilized to propose 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
23 

•S 1655 IS

1 penalties, so as to ensure consistency in oper2 ator penalty assessments.’’; and 

3 (2) in section 110(j) (as redesignated by sub4 section (a)(4)(A))— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘the size of the business of 

6 the operator charged’’ and inserting ‘‘the com7 bined size of the business of the operator and 

8 any controlling entity’’; 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘the effect on the opera10 tor’s ability to continue in business,’’; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In 

12 any review requested by a mine operator, or in 

13 settling cases, the Commission shall utilize the 

14 same point system as that developed by the 

15 Secretary for proposed assessments so as to en16 sure consistency in operator penalty assess17 ments.’’. 

18 (f) CIVIL PENALTY FOR INTERFERENCE OR DIS19 CRIMINATION.—Section 110 (30 U.S.C. 820) is further 

20 amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(m) CIVIL PENALTY FOR INTERFERENCE OR DIS22 CRIMINATION.—Any operator who is found to be in viola23 tion of section 105(c), or in violation of section 103(a) 

24 shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
24 

•S 1655 IS

1 nor more than $100,000 for each occurrence of such viola2 tion.’’. 

3 (g) IMMINENT DANGER.—Section 107(a) (30 U.S.C. 

4 817(a)) is amended by inserting after the first sentence 

5 the following: ‘‘For purposes of the preceding sentence, 

6 any violation of section 315 or section 316, or regulations 

7 issued pursuant to such sections, shall be considered an 

8 imminent danger.’’. 

9 SEC. 104. FACILITATING THE PROMPT INITIATION OF RES10 CUE AND MINE RECOVERY EFFORTS. 

11 (a) EMERGENCY CALL CENTER.—Not later than 30 

12 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

13 shall establish, within the Mine Safety and Health Admin14 istration, a central communications emergency call center 

15 for all coal or other mine operations that shall be staffed 

16 and operated 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, by 1 

17 or more employees of the Mine Safety and Health Admin18 istration. All calls placed to the emergency call center shall 

19 be answered by an individual with adequate experience 

20 and training to handle emergency mine situations. A sin21 gle national phone number shall be provided for this pur22 pose and the Secretary shall ensure that all miners and 

23 mine operators are issued laminated cards with emergency 

24 call center information. 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
25 

•S 1655 IS

1 (b) CONTACT INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall 

2 provide the emergency call center with a contact list, up3 dated not less often than quarterly, that contains— 

4 (1) the contact phone numbers, including the 

5 home phone numbers, for the members of each mine 

6 rescue team responsible for each coal or other mine; 

7 (2) the phone numbers for the local emergency 

8 and rescue services unit that is located nearest to 

9 each mine; 

10 (3) the contact phone numbers, including the 

11 home phone number, for the operator of each mine; 

12 (4) the contact phone numbers, including the 

13 home phone numbers, for the national and district 

14 officials of the Mine Safety and Health Administra15 tion; 

16 (5) the contact phone numbers, including the 

17 home phone numbers, for the State officials in each 

18 State who should be contacted in the event of a mine 

19 emergency in such State; and 

20 (6) the contact phone numbers, including the 

21 home phone number, for the authorized representa22 tive of the miners at each mine. 

23 Each mine operator shall ensure that the Secretary is pro24 vided with completely current information required to be 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
26 

•S 1655 IS

1 maintained by the Secretary pursuant to paragraphs (1), 

2 (3), and (6). 

3 (c) MINE LOCATION MAPS.—The Secretary shall es4 tablish, maintain, and keep current, on the Department 

5 of Labor’s website, a detailed map or set of maps showing 

6 the exact geographic location of each operating or aban7 doned mine in the United States. Such map or maps 

8 shall— 

9 (1) be presented, through links within the 

10 website, in such a way as to make the location of a 

11 mine instantly available to the emergency personnel 

12 responding to the mine; 

13 (2) be available to members of the public; 

14 (3) allow a user to find the geographic location 

15 of a particular mine, or the geographic locations of 

16 all mines of a particular type in a county, congres17 sional district, State, or other commonly used geo18 graphic region; and 

19 (4) provide the geographic location of any min20 ing waste impoundments, with links to associated 

21 emergency contact information and available emer22 gency response plans. 

23 (d) REQUIRED NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCIES AND

24 SERIOUS INCIDENTS.—Section 103(j) (30 U.S.C. 813(j)) 

25 is amended to read as follows: 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
27 

•S 1655 IS

1 ‘‘(j) In the event of any accident occurring in any 

2 coal or other mine, the operator shall notify the Secretary 

3 and shall take appropriate measures to prevent the de4 struction of any evidence which would assist in inves5 tigating the cause or causes of the accident. For purposes 

6 of the preceding sentence, the notification required shall 

7 be provided by the operator within 15 minutes of the time 

8 at which the operator realizes that the death of an indi9 vidual at the mine, or an injury or entrapment of an indi10 vidual at the mine which has a reasonable potential to 

11 cause death, has occurred, or within 1 hour of the time 

12 at which the operator realizes that any of the following 

13 have occurred in the mine: 

14 ‘‘(1) A fire. 

15 ‘‘(2) A roof fall, unplanned inundation, collapse, 

16 or unplanned explosion. 

17 ‘‘(3) A sudden change in mine atmospheric con18 ditions in a sealed area. 

19 ‘‘(4) A rib fall that impairs ventilation or im20 pedes escape. 

21 ‘‘(5) A coal or rock outburst that causes the 

22 withdrawal of miners. 

23 ‘‘(6) The failure of an impoundment. 

24 ‘‘(7) Damage to hoisting equipment in a shaft 

25 or slope that endangers an individual. 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
28 

•S 1655 IS

1 ‘‘(8) Any incident that leads to the death, seri2 ous injury with a reasonable potential to cause 

3 death, or entrapment, of a miner. 

4 ‘‘(9) Any other emergency or incident, as deter5 mined in regulations promulgated by the Secretary, 

6 that needs to be examined in order to determine if 

7 the working conditions in the mine are safe.’’. 

8 (e) ENHANCING THE CAPABILITIES OF MINE RES9 CUE TEAMS.—Section 115(e)(2)(B) (30 U.S.C. 

10 825(e)(2)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(v) The provision of uniform credentials to 

13 mine rescue team members, support personnel, or 

14 vehicles for immediate access to any mine site. 

15 ‘‘(vi) The plans required at each mine to ensure 

16 coordination with local emergency response per17 sonnel and to ensure that such personnel receive 

18 adequate training to offer necessary assistance to 

19 mine rescue teams in the event such assistance is re20 quested. Such local emergency response personnel 

21 shall not perform the duties of any mine rescue 

22 team. 

23 ‘‘(vii) Requirements to ensure that operators 

24 are prepared to facilitate the work of mine rescue 

25 teams during an emergency by— 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
29 

•S 1655 IS

1 ‘‘(I) storing necessary equipment in loca2 tions readily accessible to mine rescue teams; 

3 ‘‘(II) providing mine rescue teams with a 

4 parking and staging area adequate for their 

5 needs; 

6 ‘‘(III) identifying a space appropriate for 

7 coordinating emergency communications with 

8 the mine rescue team; and 

9 ‘‘(IV) identifying and maintaining separate 

10 spaces for family members, community mem11 bers, and press to assemble during an emer12 gency so as to facilitate communications with 

13 these groups while ensuring the efforts of the 

14 mine rescue teams are not hindered.’’. 

15 (f) EMERGENCY MEDICAL RESPONSE.— 

16 (1) AMBULANCE.—Not later than 3 months 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec18 retary shall promulgate regulations to require mine 

19 operators to have, within 20 minutes from the site 

20 of every coal or other mine, an ambulance or other 

21 means of providing emergency medical response in 

22 the event of an accident. 

23 (2) MEDICAL EMERGENCY TECHNICIAN TRAIN24 ING.—The Secretary shall review the training and 

25 availability requirements for medical emergency 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
30 

•S 1655 IS

1 technicians in effect as of the date of enactment of 

2 this Act and shall promptly revise such requirements 

3 in any regulations necessary to improve such train4 ing and increase the availability of medical emer5 gency technicians. 

6 (g) OFFICE OF MINER OMBUDSMAN.—Title V is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 516. OFFICE OF MINER OMBUDSMAN. 

9 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MINER OMBUDSMAN.— 

10 There shall be established, within the Office of the Inspec11 tor General of the Department of Labor, the position of 

12 Miner Ombudsman. The President, by and with the advice 

13 and consent of the Senate, shall appoint an individual with 

14 expertise in mine safety and health to serve as the Miner 

15 Ombudsman. 

16 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Ombudsman shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) be primarily responsible for ensuring that 

18 the rights of miners are upheld to the full extent in19 tended in this Act, and the regulations issued under 

20 this Act; 

21 ‘‘(2) be responsible for establishing practices to 

22 ensure the confidentiality of the identity of miners, 

23 and the families or personal representatives of the 

24 miners, who contact mine operators, authorized rep25 resentatives of the miners, the Administration, the 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
31 

•S 1655 IS

1 Department of Labor, or others with information 

2 about mining conditions that may threaten, or have 

3 recently threatened, as of the time of the contact, 

4 miner safety or health, while ensuring that the Ad5 ministration has the information needed to promptly 

6 investigate such complaints; 

7 ‘‘(3) establish a toll-free telephone number and 

8 appropriate Internet website to permit individuals to 

9 confidentially report possible mine mandatory health 

10 or safety standard violations or concerns; 

11 ‘‘(4) collect and forward information concerning 

12 possible mandatory health or safety standard viola13 tions or concerns to the appropriate officials of the 

14 Administration for investigation; 

15 ‘‘(5) monitor the Secretary’s efforts to protect 

16 miners who report that their rights under section 

17 105(c) have been violated, and report to Congress 

18 any recommendations that would enhance such 

19 rights or protections; and 

20 ‘‘(6) carry out public outreach and other activi21 ties to facilitate the transmission, to the Secretary, 

22 of information that could help avoid mine accidents. 

23 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY.—The Ombudsman shall be for24 warded all complaints of operator violations of any section 

25 of this Act or regulations prescribed under this Act that 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
32 

•S 1655 IS

1 are reported to the Secretary. This shall include com2 plaints submitted in writing, via the code-a-phone, or oral3 ly, along with all relevant information available regarding 

4 the complainant. All such information shall be retained in 

5 a confidential manner pursuant to the Privacy Act of 

6 1974. The Ombudsman shall use such information to en7 sure that miners’ complaints are addressed in a timely 

8 manner and in compliance with the appropriate statutes 

9 and regulations. The Ombudsman shall have authority to 

10 ensure that all complaints were handled in such fashion, 

11 and to determine what remedy, if any, was prescribed, and 

12 all personnel of the Department shall cooperate with re13 quests by the Ombudsman for information in this regard. 

14 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Ombuds16 man such sums as may be required for the implementation 

17 of the duties under this section, out of the sums otherwise 

18 made available to the Administration for its activities. The 

19 Ombudsman shall have the authority to hire personnel and 

20 otherwise provide for the administration of the office of 

21 the Miner Ombudsman, in accordance with applicable 

22 law.’’. 

23 SEC. 105. ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS. 

24 Section 103(b) (30 U.S.C. 813(b) is amended— 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
33 

•S 1655 IS

1 (1) by striking ‘‘For the purpose’’ and inserting 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) For the purpose;’’; 

4 (2) by inserting after the subsection designation 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) Not later than 30 days after the date of enact7 ment of the Miner Health and Safety Enhancement Act 

8 of 2007, the Secretary shall initiate rulemaking activity 

9 to establish rules on the procedures that will be used to 

10 investigate mining accidents and incidents, and shall di11 rectly contact and solicit the participation of— 

12 ‘‘(A) individuals identified by the Secretary as 

13 family members of miners who perished in mining 

14 accidents of any type during the preceding 10-year 

15 period; 

16 ‘‘(B) organizations representing miners; 

17 ‘‘(C) mine rescue teams; 

18 ‘‘(D) Federal, State, and local investigation and 

19 prosecutorial authorities; and 

20 ‘‘(E) others whom the Secretary determines 

21 may have information relevant to this rulemaking. 

22 Such rules shall be issued not later than October 1, 2008, 

23 and shall include the investigation of any activities of Fed24 eral employees that may be relevant to such accidents or 

25 incidents, and may establish alternative procedures for 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
34 

•S 1655 IS

1 such investigations depending upon such factors as the 

2 Secretary determines are appropriate. Such rules shall in3 clude procedures to ensure that witnesses are not coerced, 

4 to avoid conflicts of interest in witness representation, and 

5 to ensure confidentiality if requested by any witness. Such 

6 rules shall also require that upon completion of an acci7 dent or incident investigation, the Secretary shall issue 

8 findings as to the actions or inactions which resulted in 

9 the accident or incident, and shall make recommendations 

10 as to policy, regulatory, enforcement or other changes, in11 cluding statutory changes, which in the judgment of the 

12 Secretary’s mine safety and health experts would best pre13 vent a recurrence of such actions or inactions at other 

14 mines, and shall promptly make all such findings and rec15 ommendations public (except findings and recommenda16 tions that must be temporarily withheld in connection with 

17 a criminal referral). Such rules shall further provide that 

18 the Secretary shall hold appropriate public hearings at the 

19 conclusion of the investigation of incidents to inform the 

20 mining community of the findings and recommendations, 

21 and shall also provide that the Secretary track the imple22 mentation of accident and incident investigation rec23 ommendations and provide such information annually to 

24 the Congress.’’; and 

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


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
35 

•S 1655 IS

1 ‘‘(3) After an accident or incident and upon the time2 ly request of the authorized representative of the miners 

3 or the families at a mine, the Secretary shall contract with 

4 the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board to 

5 conduct an independent investigation of the accident or 

6 incident and provide recommendations to the Secretary. 

7 Such investigation shall be in addition to any investigation 

8 conducted by the Secretary, and shall be conducted pursu9 ant to whatever procedures such authority determines are 

10 appropriate for the investigation. The Secretary shall pro11 vide such authority with all information and expertise re12 quested, and shall pay for such authority to conduct the 

13 authority’s investigation, including the costs of obtaining 

14 the services of independent experts required for any such 

15 investigation.’’. 

16 SEC. 106. APPROVAL AND RESEARCH PRIORITIES. 

17 (a) APPROVAL CENTER PRIORITIES.—The Secretary 

18 shall expedite the process for approving any— 

19 (1) self-rescue device that permits the replen20 ishment of oxygen without requiring the device user 

21 to remove the device; and 

22 (2) underground communication device that 

23 provides for communication between underground 

24 and surface personnel via a wireless two-way me25 dium. 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
36 

•S 1655 IS

1 (b) TECHNOLOGY AND MINE EMERGENCY HEALTH

2 AND SAFETY RESEARCH PRIORITIES.—In implementing 

3 its research activities in the 5-year period beginning on 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the National Institute 

5 for Occupational Safety and Health shall give due consid6 eration to new technologies, and existing technologies that 

7 could be adapted for use in underground coal or other 

8 mines, that could facilitate the survival of miners in a min9 ing emergency. Such technologies include— 

10 (1) self-contained self-rescue devices capable of 

11 delivering enhanced performance; 

12 (2) improved battery capacity and common con13 nection specifications to enable emergency commu14 nication devices for miners to be run from the same 

15 portable power source as a headlamp, continuous 

16 dust monitor, or other device carried by a miner; 

17 (3) improved technology for assisting mine res18 cue teams, including devices to enhance vision dur19 ing rescue or recovery operations; 

20 (4) improved technology, and improved proto21 cols for the use of existing technologies, to enable 

22 conditions underground to be assessed promptly and 

23 continuously in emergencies, so as to facilitate the 

24 determination by appropriate officials of the instruc25 tions to provide both to miners trapped underground 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
37 

•S 1655 IS

1 and to mine rescue teams and others engaged in res2 cue efforts; 

3 (5) improvements to underground mine ventila4 tion controls separating mine entries to be more re5 sistant to mine fires and explosions, particularly in 

6 those entries used for miners escapeways; 

7 (6) mine-wide monitoring systems and strate8 gies that can monitor mine gases, oxygen, air flows, 

9 and air quantities at strategic locations throughout 

10 the mine that would be functional during normal 

11 mining operations and following mine fires, explo12 sions, and roof falls, including systems utilizing 

13 monitoring sensors that transfer data to the mine 

14 surface and the installation of tubing to draw mine 

15 gas samples that are distributed throughout the 

16 mine and can quickly deliver samples to the mine 

17 surface; and 

18 (7) protective strategies for the placement of 

19 equipment, cables, and devices that are to be utilized 

20 during mine emergencies, such as communication 

21 systems, oxygen supplies, and mine atmosphere 

22 monitoring systems, to protect them from mine fires, 

23 roof falls, explosions, and other damage. 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
38 

•S 1655 IS

1 TITLE II—ACTIONS REQUIRED 

2 TO FULFILL THE INTENT OF 

3 THE FEDERAL MINE SAFETY 

4 AND HEALTH ACT OF 1977 

5 SEC. 201. REVISING HEALTH STANDARDS SET PURSUANT 

6 TO THE 1977 ACT. 

7 (a) RESPIRABLE DUST; RESPIRABLE SILICA

8 DUST.—Section 202 (30 U.S.C. 842) is amended to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘DUST STANDARD AND RESPIRATORY EQUIPMENT

11 ‘‘SEC. 202. (a)(1) Effective on the date of enactment 

12 of the Miner Health and Safety Enhancement Act of 

13 2007, each mine operator shall continuously maintain the 

14 concentration of respirable dust in the mine atmosphere 

15 during each shift to which each miner in the active work16 ings of such mine is exposed at or below a time-weighted 

17 average of 1.00 milligrams of respirable dust per cubic 

18 meter of air averaged over 10 hours or its dose-equivalent 

19 for a shorter or longer period of time. For purposes of 

20 this paragraph, a ‘‘dose-equivalent’’ means the amount of 

21 dust that a miner would inhale during the miner’s work 

22 shift as if the miner was working for ten hours, and the 

23 term ‘‘shift’’ means portal-to-portal for coal miners and 

24 ‘bank to bank’ for other miners. 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
39 

•S 1655 IS

1 ‘‘(2) At regular intervals to be prescribed by the Sec2 retary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

3 the Secretary will take accurate samples of the amount 

4 of respirable dust in the mine atmosphere to which each 

5 miner in the active workings of such mine is exposed in 

6 order to determine compliance with the requirements of 

7 paragraph (1). In addition, the Secretary shall cause to 

8 be made such frequent spot inspections as the Secretary 

9 determines appropriate of the active workings of coal 

10 mines for the purpose of obtaining compliance with the 

11 provisions of this title. All samples by the Secretary shall 

12 be taken by a personal dust monitor that measures, 

13 records, and displays the concentration of respirable dust 

14 to which the miner wearing the device is exposed, and shall 

15 include the sampling of areas, occupations, or persons. 

16 For the purposes of determining compliance with the expo17 sure limit for respirable dust, only a single sample shall 

18 be required to determine non-compliance, and there shall 

19 be no adjustment for measurement error in the measured 

20 level of respirable dust. 

21 ‘‘(3) Each operator of a coal mine shall take accurate 

22 samples of the amount of respirable dust in the mine at23 mosphere to which each miner in the active workings of 

24 such mine is exposed to identify sources of exposure so 

25 that the operator can take corrective action and assure 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
40 

•S 1655 IS

1 that the exposure of each mine is below the exposure limit. 

2 Under the provisions of this Act, all such samples shall 

3 be taken by a personal dust monitor that measures, 

4 records, and displays the concentration of respirable dust 

5 to which the miner wearing the device is exposed. The re6 sults of such sampling shall be transmitted to the Sec7 retary in a manner established by the Secretary, and re8 corded by the Secretary in a manner that will assure appli9 cation of the provisions of this section. 

10 ‘‘(4) Each miner shall be equipped with a personal 

11 dust monitor that measures, records, and displays the con12 centration of respirable dust to which the miner wearing 

13 the device is exposed. Each miner shall be permitted to 

14 adjust the miner’s work activities whenever necessary to 

15 keep the miner’s exposure to respirable coal dust, as meas16 ured, recorded, and displayed by such device, at all times 

17 at or below the permitted concentration. 

18 ‘‘(b) Effective on the date of enactment of the Miner 

19 Health and Safety Enhancement Act of 2007, each oper20 ator shall continuously maintain the concentration of res21 pirable silica dust in the mine atmosphere during each 

22 shift to which each miner in the active workings of such 

23 mine is exposed at or below a time-weighted average of 

24 0.05 milligrams of respirable silica dust per cubic meter 

25 of air averaged over ten hours or its dose-equivalent for 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
41 

•S 1655 IS

1 a shorter or longer period of time. For the purposes of 

2 this subsection, compliance shall be determined by the 

3 sampling of areas, occupations or persons, only a single 

4 sample shall be required to determine non-compliance, and 

5 there shall be no adjustment for measurement error in the 

6 measured level of respirable silica dust. For the purposes 

7 of this subsection, a ‘dose-equivalent’ means the amount 

8 of dust that a miner would inhale during the miner’s work 

9 shift as if the miner were working for ten hours, and the 

10 term ‘shift’ means portal-to-portal and includes all the 

11 time a miner is at work. 

12 ‘‘(c) Respiratory equipment approved by the Sec13 retary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

14 shall be made available to all persons whenever exposed 

15 to concentrations of respirable dust or silica in excess of 

16 the levels required to be maintained under this section. 

17 Use of respirators shall not be substituted for environ18 mental control measures in the active workings. Each op19 erator shall maintain a supply of respiratory equipment 

20 adequate to deal with occurrences of concentrations of res21 pirable dust and silica in the mine atmosphere in excess 

22 of the levels required to be maintained under this section. 

23 ‘‘(d) Each operator shall report and certify to the 

24 Secretary at such intervals as the Secretary may require 

25 as to the conditions in the active workings of the coal 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
42 

•S 1655 IS

1 mine, including, the average number of working hours 

2 worked during each shift, the quantity and velocity of air 

3 regularly reaching the working faces, the method of min4 ing, the amount and pressure of the water, if any, reach5 ing the working faces, and the number, location, and type 

6 of sprays, if any, used.’’. 

7 (b) AIR CONTAMINANTS.—Section 101 (30 U.S.C. 

8 811) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(f) Notwithstanding the other requirements of this 

10 section, not later than 30 days of the enactment of the 

11 Miner Health and Safety Enhancement Act of 2007, the 

12 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

13 shall forward to the Secretary its Recommended Exposure 

14 Limits (RELs) for chemical and other hazards to miners, 

15 along with the research data and other necessary informa16 tion. Not later than 30 days after the receipt of this infor17 mation, the Secretary shall require the Administration to 

18 adopt such recommended exposure limits as the Permis19 sible Exposure Limits (PELs) for application in the min20 ing industry. The National Institute for Occupational 

21 Safety and Health shall annually submit to the Secretary 

22 any additional or revised recommended exposure limits for 

23 all hazardous substances utilized in the mining industry, 

24 and the Secretary shall be obligated to adopt such expo25 sure limits as PELs for application in the mining industry 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
43 

•S 1655 IS

1 not later than 30 days after receipt of such information. 

2 Nothing in this subsection shall limit the ability of the 

3 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to 

4 make such recommendations more frequently than 1 time 

5 per year, nor limit the Administration from establishing 

6 requirements for chemical and other substances in the 

7 mining industry that are more comprehensive and protec8 tive than those established pursuant to this subsection and 

9 in accordance with the other requirements of this sec10 tion.’’. 

11 SEC. 202. REGULATORY PRIORITIES AND PROCESS. 

12 (a) ASBESTOS.—Section 101 (30 U.S.C. 811) is fur13 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(g) The health standard for asbestos established by 

15 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that 

16 is set forth in section 1910.1001 of title 29, Code of Fed17 eral Regulations, or any subsequent revision of that regu18 lation, shall be adopted by the Administration for applica19 tion in the mining industry not later than 30 days after 

20 the date of enactment of the Miner Health and Safety En21 hancement Act of 2007.’’. 

22 (b) HAZARD COMMUNICATION.—Section 101 (30 

23 U.S.C. 811) is further amended by adding at the end the 

24 following: 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
44 

•S 1655 IS

1 ‘‘(h) Unless and until there is additional rulemaking 

2 pursuant to the requirements of this section, the Secretary 

3 is directed to apply the provisions of the interim final rule 

4 of October 3, 2000, concerning hazard communication in 

5 lieu of the final rule of June 21, 2002, concerning hazard 

6 communication.’’. 

7 (c) ASSESSMENT ON PROGRAM OPERATIONS OF CU8 MULATIVE IMPACT OF EXTERNAL REQUIREMENTS ADDED

9 SINCE 1977.—The Secretary shall request the National 

10 Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of the impact on 

11 the mine safety and health responsibilities of the Depart12 ment of Labor of various statutes, executive orders, and 

13 memoranda applicable to the issuance of rulemaking and 

14 guidance and to enforcement. The study shall include an 

15 assessment of the Equal Access to Justice Act, the Regu16 latory Flexibility Act, the Small Business Regulatory En17 forcement Fairness Act of 1996, the Data Quality Act, 

18 the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1985, the Unfunded 

19 Mandates Reform Act of 1995, the Federal Advisory Com20 mittee Act, the Congressional Review Act, Executive 

21 Order 12866, Executive Order 13422, and memoranda 

22 from the Office of Management and Budget on guidance, 

23 risk assessment and cost analysis. The Secretary shall re24 quest that the National Academy of Sciences consult wide25 ly with experts in administrative law and other disciplines 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
45 

•S 1655 IS

1 knowledgeable about such requirements, and to quantify 

2 to the extent possible the costs to miners of the aforemen3 tioned requirements. The Secretary shall further request 

4 that recommendations be included in the report, and re5 quest that such report and recommendations be com6 pleted, and copies forwarded to the Congress, not later 

7 than 21 months after the effective date of this Act. 

8 SEC. 203. CLARIFICATIONS OF INTENT IN THE 1977 ACT. 

9 The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in section 3(d) (30 U.S.C. 802)— 

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘mineral’’ before ‘‘owner’’; 

13 (B) by inserting ‘‘mineral’’ before ‘‘lessee’’; 

14 (C) by striking ‘‘or any independent’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘and any independent’’; and 

16 (D) by inserting before the semicolon the 

17 following: ‘‘, and no operator may by contract 

18 or other agreement limit any liability under this 

19 Act through transfer of any responsibilities to 

20 another person’’; 

21 (2) in section 103 (30 U.S.C. 813)— 

22 (A) in subsection (b), as amended by sec23 tion 105 of this Act— 

24 (i) by striking the first sentence of 

25 paragraph (2) (as designated by section 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
46 

•S 1655 IS

1 105 of this Act) and inserting the fol2 lowing: ‘‘For the purpose of enabling the 

3 Secretary to perform the functions under 

4 this Act, the Secretary may— 

5 ‘‘(A) after notice, hold public hearings; and 

6 ‘‘(B) sign and issue subpoenas for the attendance and 

7 testimony of witnesses and the production of relevant 

8 data, papers, books, documents and items of physical evi9 dence, and administer oaths, whether or not in connection 

10 with a public hearing.’’; and 

11 (ii) in the last sentence of paragraph 

12 (2) (as designated by section 105 of this 

13 Act), by striking ‘‘documents’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘data, papers, books, documents, and 

15 items of physical evidence’’; and 

16 (B) in subsection (h), in the first sentence, 

17 by striking ‘‘information’’ and inserting ‘‘data, 

18 papers, books, documents, and items of physical 

19 evidence’’; 

20 (3) in section 104 (30 U.S.C. 814)— 

21 (A) in subsections (d)(1), (e)(1), (e)(2), 

22 (e)(3), and (e)(4), as amended by this Act, by 

23 inserting ‘‘or any provision of this Act’’ after 

24 ‘‘standard’’ or ‘‘standards’’ each time either 

25 such term appears; and 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
47 

•S 1655 IS

1 (B) in subsection (d)(1), as amended by 

2 this Act, by striking ‘‘, while the conditions cre3 ated by such violation do not cause imminent 

4 danger,’’; 

5 (4) in section 105 (30 U.S.C. 815)— 

6 (A) in subsection (a), in the first sentence, 

7 by striking ‘‘, within a reasonable time after the 

8 termination of such inspection or investiga9 tion,’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(e) Attorneys representing the Secretary are author12 ized to contact any miner or non-managerial employee of 

13 a mine operator for the purposes of carrying out the Sec14 retary’s functions under this Act and no attorney rep15 resenting the Secretary shall be disbarred or disciplined 

16 by any State bar or State court for making such contacts. 

17 No attorney representing a mine operator in a matter 

18 under this Act may concurrently represent individual min19 ers in the same matter.’’; and 

20 (5) in section 110 (30 U.S.C. 820)— 

21 (A) in subsection (b)(2), by striking 

22 ‘‘under’’ and inserting ‘‘of subsections (a) 

23 through (h) of’’; and 

24 (B) in subsection (c)— 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
48 

•S 1655 IS

1 (i) by striking ‘‘Whenever a corporate 

2 operator’’ and inserting ‘‘Whenever a mine 

3 operator’’; 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘safety standard’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘safety standard or requirement 

6 of this Act’’; 

7 (iii) by inserting ‘‘partner, owner,’’ 

8 after ‘‘director,’’; and 

9 (iv) by striking ‘‘such corporation’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘such mine operator’’. 

11 SEC. 204. FEDERAL LICENSING. 

12 The Secretary shall promptly establish an advisory 

13 committee to provide recommendations as to whether the 

14 Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 should pro15 vide for Federal licensing of mines, mine operators, mine 

16 controllers, or various mine personnel in order to ensure 

17 that those engaged in mining activities are not frequent 

18 violators of safety and health requirements. The advisory 

19 committee shall— 

20 (1) be established pursuant to the Federal Ad21 visory Committee Act; 

22 (2) conduct a review of existing State licensing 

23 requirements and assess their effectiveness; and 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
49 

•S 1655 IS

1 (3) provide its recommendations to Congress 

2 not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act. 

Æ 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS