I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4695 
To direct the Secretary of Labor to prescribe additional coal mine safety 
standards, to require additional penalties for habitual violators, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 1, 2006 
Mr. RAHALL (for himself, Mr. MOLLOHAN, and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Labor to prescribe additional 
coal mine safety standards, to require additional pen-
alties for habitual violators, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Mine Safety 
and Health Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that the Mine Safety and 
Health Administration should strictly enforce mine health
and safety standards as required under the Federal Mine 
Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.). 
SEC. 3. ENHANCED UNDERGROUND COAL MINE SAFETY 
STANDARDS. 
(a) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 90 days after the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall revise the regu-
lations prescribed pursuant to section 101 of the Federal 
Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 811) to 
require that the operator of each coal mine expeditiously 
provide notification of any accident where rescue and re-
covery work is necessary. The Secretary shall take such 
steps as are necessary to ensure that a system is in place 
within the Mine Health and Safety Administration to im-
mediately receive such notification. 
(b) RAPID EMERGENCY RESPONSE.—Not later than 
90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Labor shall revise the regulations prescribed 
pursuant to section 115(e) of the Federal Mine Safety and 
Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 825(e)) regarding mine 
rescue teams. Such regulations— 
(1) shall address the efficacy and adequacy of— 
(A) training and qualifications for rescue 
team members;
(B) the equipment and technology used in 
mine rescue, including refuge chambers and 
other rescue alternatives; 
(C) the structure and organization of res-
cue teams, including the number of team mem-
bers and the procedural rules for the use of 
teams, including contractor teams; and 
(D) the guidelines addressing the potential 
liability of and insurance issues relating to res-
cue teams; and 
(2) shall require— 
(A) that the operator of each coal mine 
maintain mine rescue teams whose members— 
(i) are employed by such operator and 
who are familiar with the workings of such 
coal mine; and 
(ii) shall be available at such coal 
mine for rescue and recovery work to pro-
vide an immediate and rapid response to 
an emergency; and 
(B) that the operator of each coal mine 
have in place a plan for coordination and com-
munication between the operator and mine res-
cue teams and local emergency response per-
sonnel, and that such local personnel be eligible
to receive appropriate training in order to be fa-
miliar with mine rescue and recovery work. 
(c) EMERGENCY AIR AND COMMUNICATIONS EQUIP-
MENT.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the en-
actment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall prescribe 
regulations as authorized by section 315 of the Federal 
Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 825(e)). 
Such regulations shall require that each coal mine main-
tain at strategic locations within each mine, the following: 
(1) Emergency supplies of air and self-con-
tained breathing equipment for persons awaiting res-
cue due to an emergency within the mine. Such 
equipment shall be sufficient to maintain such per-
sons for a sustained period of time and shall be in 
addition to the self-rescue devices referred to in sec-
tion 317 of that Act (30 U.S.C. 877(n)). 
(2) Independent means of communication with 
the surface for persons awaiting rescue at such loca-
tions, including secondary telephone or equivalent 
two-way communications facilities to the surface. 
(d) EMERGENCY TRACKING AND COMMUNICATIONS 
EQUIPMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall 
prescribe regulations to require each operator of a coal 
mine to implement a communication and electronic track-
ing system to assist in rescue and recovery work of persons 
awaiting rescue due to an emergency within the coal mine. 
Such regulations shall require that each person who enters 
a coal mine to be equipped with— 
(1) a portable communications device calibrated 
to communicate with both the surface and to rescue 
personnel; and 
(2) an electronic tracking device permitting per-
sons on the surface and rescue personnel to deter-
mine the exact location of each such person within 
the mine. 
(e) PROHIBITED PRACTICES.—Not later than 90 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Labor shall revise the regulations prescribed pur-
suant to section 303(y) of the Federal Mine Safety and 
Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 863(y)) to require, in any 
coal mine, regardless of the date on which it was opened, 
that belt haulage entries not be used to ventilate active 
working places. 
SEC. 4. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR HABITUAL VIOLATORS. 
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall prescribe 
regulations— 
(1) to establish that no civil penalty less than 
$10,000 shall be assessed pursuant to section 110 of
the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 
(30 U.S.C. 820) for a violation which occurs of a 
mandatory health or safety standard where the oper-
ator displays negligence or reckless disregard of such 
standard; and 
(2) to provide for a civil penalty of up to 
$100,000 for an operator who fails to comply with 
section 3(a) of this Act. 
SEC. 5. TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFER AND APPLICATION. 
(a) OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TRANS-
FER.—The Secretary of Labor shall establish within the 
Mine Safety and Health Administration an Office of 
Science and Technology Transfer for the purposes of con-
ducting research and development to apply advancing 
sciences and technologies to underground coal mine and 
coal miner health and safety. Such Office shall consult 
with other Federal agencies, as appropriate and on a reg-
ular basis, in order to stay informed of the latest tech-
nologies that are available to ensure coal miner health and 
safety. 
(b) PERIODIC REVIEW AND APPLICATION.—The Sec-
retary of Labor shall, on a periodic basis, review the un-
derground coal mine health and safety standards for pos-
sible revision with regard to advancing sciences and tech-
nologies, and shall, on a periodic basis, revise such stand-
ards to require the implementation of such technologies. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec-
essary for the purposes of implementing this section. 
SEC. 6. MINER OMBUDSMAN. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be established 
within the Office of the Inspector General of the Depart-
ment of Labor the position of Miner Ombudsman. The 
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen-
ate, shall appoint an individual with expertise in mine 
safety and health to serve as the Miner Ombudsman. 
(b) DUTIES.—The Miner Ombudsman shall— 
(1) be responsible for ensuring the safety of 
mines through information collection and sharing; 
(2) establish a toll-free telephone number and 
appropriate Internet website to permit individual 
miners to confidentially report mine safety and 
health violations; 
(3) forward information collected concerning 
mine safety and health violations to the appropriate 
officials of the Mine Safety and Health Administra-
tion for investigation; and 
(4) carry out other activities to improve the 
safety of mines.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 
As used in this Act, the terms ‘‘coal mine’’ and ‘‘oper-
ator’’ have the meanings given such terms in section 3 
of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 
U.S.C. 802). 
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