HR 2768 RFS 
installation of portable rescue chambers 
meeting National Institute for Occupa-
tional Safety and Health design criteria; 
refuge shelters carved out of the mine 
workings and sealed with bulkheads meet-
ing National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health design criteria; or other 
refuge designs recommended by National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health that provide miners with equivalent 
or better protection, in the working areas 
of underground coal mines within 60 days 
following plan approval. The regulations 
shall further provide that in all cases a 
portable refuge chamber shall be installed 
and maintained within 500 feet of the 
nearest working face in each working sec-
tion of an underground coal mine.’’. 
(c) IMPROVEMENTS TO SEALS, VENTILATION CON-
TROLS, AND ROCK DUSTING
TO LIMIT
THE DAMAGE 
FROM EXPLOSIONS.— 
(1) REPEAL.—The MINER Act (30 U.S.C. 801 
note) is amended by striking section 10 (concerning 
sealing of abandoned areas). 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:52 Jan 23, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2768.RFS
H2768
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
HR 2768 RFS 
(2) SEALS.—Section 303(z) (30 U.S.C. 863(z)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary shall inspect all seals under 
construction after the date of enactment of the S–MINER 
Act, during at least part of their construction, to ensure 
the mine operator is complying with the approved seal 
plan, and shall develop an inspection protocol for this pur-
pose. 
‘‘(B) Not later than 3 months of the date of enact-
ment of the S–MINER Act, the Secretary shall issue final 
rules regarding approval, design, construction, inspection, 
maintenance and monitoring of underground coal mine 
seals which shall meet the requirements of this paragraph. 
Except as otherwise provided by this paragraph, these reg-
ulations shall implement the most recent recommendations 
of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and 
Health concerning seal design, construction, inspection, 
maintenance and monitoring. The regulations shall also 
provide that all seals in a mine shall be monitored if they 
are not designed or installed to withstand a constant total 
pressure of 240 pounds per square inch, using a static 
structural analysis. Monitoring of seals shall be done by 
continuous monitoring devices within one year of the date 
of enactment of this Act, and prior thereto by qualified 
personnel at such intervals as the Secretary determines 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:52 Jan 23, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2768.RFS
H2768
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
HR 2768 RFS 
are adequate to ensure safety. The Secretary shall require 
mine operators to utilize a tamper-resistant method to re-
tain records of all such monitoring and ensure they are 
available for examination and verification by the agency. 
Monitoring of seals shall be done both by— 
‘‘(i) sampling through at least 1 seal in each 
bank of seals; and 
‘‘(ii) for new seals, unless infeasible due to 
property rights, sampling through a sufficient num-
ber of boreholes from the surface to the sealed areas 
underground to effectively determine the gas con-
centrations within the area. 
‘‘(C) In addition, the regulations shall provide that— 
‘‘(i) seal sampling pipes shall be composed of 
materials that minimize the risk of transmitting any 
electrical charge, and no conductive materials may 
be used to line boreholes within three feet of the sur-
face; 
‘‘(ii) an action plan for sealing and repair be es-
tablished that will, among any other requirements, 
include specific actions the mine operator will take 
to protect miners during the critical time period im-
mediately after sealing or repair takes place, and 
which shall be reviewed by personnel from the Mine 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:52 Jan 23, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2768.RFS
H2768
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
HR 2768 RFS 
Safety and Health Administration who have the re-
quired expertise prior to approval; and 
‘‘(iii) methane pressures behind any seal re-
quired to be monitored shall be maintained in such 
a manner as ensure that normal pressure variations 
that can be reasonably anticipated in the area of the 
seal do not bring the methane-air mixture into an 
appropriate safety range surrounding the known ex-
plosive range of such mixtures.’’. 
(3) VENTILATION CONTROLS.—Section 303(c) 
(30 U.S.C. 863) is amended by inserting at the end 
the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) Not later than 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of the S–MINER Act, the Secretary shall publish 
interim final regulations to enhance the survivability of 
underground mine ventilation controls. The Secretary 
shall require that stoppings be constructed using solid con-
crete blocks laid wet and sealed with an appropriate bond-
ing agent on at least the side subjected to the velocity of 
the intake air coursing through the entry, except that in 
the case of stoppings constructed during barrier reduction 
and pillar removal operations, such stoppings may be con-
structed using hollow block and an appropriate bonding 
agent.’’. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:52 Jan 23, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2768.RFS
H2768
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
HR 2768 RFS 
(4) 
ROCK
DUSTING.—Section 
304(d) 
(30 
U.S.C. 864) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘Not later than June 15, 2009, the Na-
tional Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
shall issue recommendations as to whether changes 
to these requirements are necessary to ensure an 
equivalent level of protection in light of any changes 
to the size and composition of coal dust since these 
requirements were established, and the Secretary of 
Labor shall take appropriate action, including the 
issuance of an emergency temporary standard if 
warranted, to respond to these recommendations.’’. 
(d) LIMITING CONVEYOR BELT RISKS.— 
(1) FLAME
RESISTANT
CONVEYOR
BELTS.— 
Section 311(h) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of the S–MINER Act, the Secretary shall 
publish interim final rules to revise the requirements 
for flame resistant conveyor belts to ensure that they 
meet the most recent recommendations from the Na-
tional Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
and to ensure such belts are designed to limit smoke 
and toxic emissions. A conveyor belt need not meet 
the requirements of the preceding sentence if— 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
03:52 Jan 23, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2768.RFS
H2768
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS