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Union Calendar No. 280 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2768 
[Report No. 110–457] 
To establish improved mandatory standards to protect miners during 
emergencies, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 19, 2007 
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself, Mr. RAHALL, Ms. WOOLSEY, 
Mr. MURTHA, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. CHANDLER, Mr. HARE, Mr. BISHOP 
of New York, Mr. MOLLOHAN, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. HOLT, Mr. SARBANES, 
and Mr. YARMUTH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and Labor 
NOVEMBER 15, 2007 
Additional sponsors: Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. SPACE, Ms. SUT-
TON, Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. 
DELAURO, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. ARCURI, Ms. CLARKE, 
and Mr. MATHESON 
NOVEMBER 15, 2007 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 19, 2007] 
A BILL 
To establish improved mandatory standards to protect miners 
during emergencies, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Supplemental Mine Improvement and New Emergency 
Response Act of 2007’’ or the ‘‘S–MINER Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Definitions; references. 
Sec. 4. Supplementing emergency response plans. 
Sec. 5. Supplementing enforcement authority. 
Sec. 6. Supplementing rescue, recovery, and incident investigation authority. 
Sec. 7. Respirable dust standards. 
Sec. 8. Other health requirements. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) while the MINER Act of 2006 (Public Law 
109–236) was an essential first step in addressing the 
many health and safety hazards that miners still face, 
supplemental action is necessary and feasible to better 
protect miners in coal and other mines; 
(2) essential standards to protect miner health 
established by the Federal Mine Safety and Health 
Act of 1977 are out of date after 40 years, posing a 
significant threat to miner health; and 
(3) the Secretary of Labor has failed in recent 
years to adequately fulfill the Secretary’s obligations 
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under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 
1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), additional Congres-
sional intervention is needed. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS; REFERENCES. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ refers to the Secretary 
of Labor; and 
(2) any other term used in this Act that is de-
fined in section 3 of the Federal Mine Safety and 
Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 802) shall have the 
meaning given the term in such section. 
(b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly pro-
vided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is ex-
pressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section 
or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be 
made to a section or other provision of the Federal Mine 
Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.). 
SEC. 4. SUPPLEMENTING EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS. 
(a) 
POST
ACCIDENT
COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 
316(b)(2)(F)(ii) (30 U.S.C. 876(b)(2)(F)(ii)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Not later than’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(II) Not later than’’; and 
(2) by inserting after the clause designation the 
following: 
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‘‘(I) Not later than 120 days after 
the enactment of the S–MINER Act, a 
plan shall, to be in approved status, 
provide for a post accident commu-
nication system between underground 
and surface personnel, and for an elec-
tronic tracking system permitting sur-
face personnel to determine the location 
of any persons trapped underground, 
that utilizes a system at least as effec-
tive as a ‘leaky feeder’ or wireless mesh 
type communication and tracking sys-
tem currently in use in the industry. 
These systems shall be enhanced phys-
ically, electronically, or redundantly, 
to improve their survivability in the 
event of a mine disaster. In addition, 
to be in approved status, an emergency 
response plan must be revised prompt-
ly to incorporate new technology which 
the National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health certifies can be 
added to the existing system to im-
prove its ability to facilitate post-acci-
dent communication with or tracking 
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of miners. No miner shall be dis-
ciplined based on information obtained 
from an electronic communications 
and tracking system.’’. 
(b) UNDERGROUND REFUGES.—Section 316(b)(2)(E) 
(30 U.S.C. 876(b)(2)(E)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(vi) Not later than June 15, 2008, the 
Secretary shall issue interim final regula-
tions, consistent with the design criteria 
recommended by National Institute for Oc-
cupational Safety and Health in its report 
pursuant to section 13(b)(1) of the MINER 
Act, and subject to the requirements of the 
next sentence, requiring each emergency re-
sponse plan to provide for the installation 
of portable rescue chambers meeting Na-
tional Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health design criteria, or refuge shelters 
carved out of the mine workings and sealed 
with bulkheads meeting National Institute 
for Occupational Safety and Health design 
criteria, 
or 
other 
refuge 
designs 
rec-
ommended by National Institute for Occu-
pational Safety and Health that provide 
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