reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.04 | Survey - Copies of Map and Survey - Certification.

Effective:
June 14, 2000
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 601 - 123rd General Assembly
The operator of each underground mine shall have a survey made whenever the workings of the mine have extended four hundred feet in any direction from the point shown on the map by the last survey of such mine, but not more often than once every six months, or whenever such mine is to be abandoned or shut down for a sufficient period of time to make it impossible to survey the working faces as prescribed by this section because of the caving of the roof. Such surveys shall be accurately plotted on the original map of the mine as prescribed in section 1563.03 of the Revised Code. A copy of such map with the latest survey plotted thereon shall be kept at such mine, available for the use of the chief of the division of mineral resources management, and the deputy mine inspectors, and available for inspection by the employees at all reasonable times, and a copy of the same shall be promptly forwarded to the chief, with the certificate of the engineer making same and of the superintendent or mine foreperson in charge of the mine at the time of the survey, acknowledged before a notary public or other officer empowered to administer oaths, in the following form:
"I, the undersigned, hereby certify that this map is correct and shows all the information required by section 1563.03 of the Revised Code and covers the period ending ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Engineer
Acknowledged before me a _________________________________
_________ this ____________ day of _______________________
___________________________
I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am mine foreperson at the mine represented by this map and to the best of my knowledge and belief the same correctly represents the excavations of the mine for the period ending___________________
Acknowledged before me a _________________________________
_________ this ____________ day of ____________________________
___________________________"
The operator of a mine shall file, at least annually, a map of the same with the chief, so certified.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.05 | Failure to Make and File Map or Addition.

Effective:
June 14, 2000
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 601 - 123rd General Assembly
Upon the refusal or neglect of the owner, lessee, or agent of the mine to make and file a map or any addition thereto, as required by sections 1563.03, 1563.04, and 1563.42 of the Revised Code, within sixty days after being directed to do so by the chief of the division of mineral resources management, the chief may cause such map or addition thereto to be made in duplicate at the expense of such owner, lessee, or agent, the cost of which shall be recoverable against such owner, lessee, or agent in the name of the chief in any court of competent jurisdiction in the county in which such mine is located, or in Franklin county.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.06 | Right of Entry.

Effective:
September 29, 2011
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 153 - 129th General Assembly
For the purpose of making the examinations provided for in this chapter and Chapters 1561., 1565., and 1567. and applicable provisions of Chapter 1509. of the Revised Code, the chief of the division of mineral resources management, and each deputy mine inspector, may enter any mine at a reasonable time, by day or by night, but in such manner as will not necessarily impede the working of the mine, and the owner, lessee, or agent thereof shall furnish the means necessary for such entry and examination.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.07 | Examination or Survey of Mine by Adjoining Landowner - Notice.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
Each person owning land adjoining a mine worked for the production of coal, and each person interested in such mine, who has reason to believe that the protection of his interests therein or in the coal on his adjoining land requires it, upon making affidavit to that effect before a judge of a county court or judge of a municipal court or other proper officer, may enter such mine and have an examination or survey of it made, after giving three days' notice, in writing, to the owner, lessee, or agent of such mine. Such examination shall be made at such time, and in such manner as will least interfere with the working of the mine.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.08 | Surveying Party - Fees.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
When the affidavit has been made, and notice given, as provided in section 1563.07 of the Revised Code, upon the application of the person giving notice, the person in charge of the mine shall transport, by the ordinary method for entrance and exit in use at such mine, a surveying party of not more than three persons, furnish them with a competent guide, and supply them with necessary and proper lamps. The person requesting the survey shall pay the person in charge of the mine fifty cents for such persons transported, and five dollars per day for the guide; but if the shaft, if such mine is a shaft mine, exceeds two hundred fifty feet in depth, he shall pay one dollar for each person so transported.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.09 | Examination or Survey - Liability for Damage.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
The person owning or operating a mine shall not hinder or obstruct an examination or survey under section 1563.07 of the Revised Code, if made at a reasonable time, in a reasonable manner, and as provided by law.
If the owner or lessee of a mine sustains damage for which compensation should be made because such examination or survey was made at an unreasonable time, or in an improper or unwarranted manner, the person making such examination or survey shall be liable therefor to such owner or lessee.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.10 | Refusal to Permit Survey - Judgment.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
If the owner, lessee, or agent of a mine refuses to comply with sections 1563.08 and 1563.09 of the Revised Code, the person who makes the application for the survey may recover judgment as upon default, in a court of competent jurisdiction, against the owner, lessee, or agent, in such sum as he declares under oath that he believes to be justly due him for coal belonging to him taken by the owner, lessee, or agent of the mine without his permission. The statute of limitations shall not run against such claim, but the demand, and refusal of permission to enter such mine, must be proven to the satisfaction of the court or jury.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.111 | Mining Near Oil or Gas Well.

Effective:
June 14, 2000
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 601 - 123rd General Assembly
No owner, lessee, or agent shall conduct mining operations within twenty-five feet of any known well, or locate a mine opening within three hundred feet of any well that produces oil or gas unless the owner, lessee, or agent obtains permission in writing from the chief of the division of mineral resources management.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.13 | Maintenance of Means of Egress From Mine.

Effective:
September 5, 2001
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 94 - 124th General Assembly
When a deputy mine inspector considers that the ways and means of egress in any underground mine from the interior working places to the surface are inadequate as a safe and ready means of escape in case of emergency, from danger of fire at any point, or any other cause that may result in the entombment of persons working in the mine, the deputy mine inspector shall give notice in writing to the owner, lessee, or agent of the mine of the particular in which the deputy mine inspector considers the conditions dangerous, recommending any changes that the conditions require, and forthwith shall mail a copy of the deputy mine inspector's recommendations to the chief of the division of mineral resources management. Upon receipt of the recommendations, the chief forthwith shall make a finding concerning them and mail a copy to the operator of the mine and to the deputy mine inspector. A copy of the finding of the chief shall be posted upon the bulletin board at the time.
The operator of the mine, or the authorized representative of the workers of the mine, within ten days may appeal to the reclamation commission for a review and redetermination of the finding of the chief in the matter in accordance with section 1513.13 of the Revised Code, notwithstanding division (A)(1) of that section, which provides for appeals within thirty days. A copy of the decision of the commission shall be mailed as required by this section for the mailing of the finding by the chief on the deputy mine inspector's report.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.14 | Two Openings Required - Exceptions.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
Except as provided in this section, the operator of an underground coal mine shall not employ, or permit any person to work therein, unless there are at least two openings to every seam worked in such mine, separated by natural strata of not less than one hundred feet in breadth at any point, by which distinct means of ingress and egress are always available to the persons therein employed. Such openings need not belong to the same mine so long as the persons employed therein have safe, ready, and available means of ingress and egress, by not less than two openings; provided that no air shaft with a ventilating furnace at the bottom shall be designated or used as a means of ingress or egress. This section does not apply to:
(A) Opening a new mine; however, not more than twenty miners may be allowed at any one time in any mine until a connection has been made between the two mine openings. Such connections shall be made as quickly as possible.
(B) A mine in which the second opening has become unavailable for any reason, so long as not more than twenty persons are employed therein at any one time and are engaged in the process of restoring the second opening or developing a new opening;
(C) A mine in which the second opening has become unavailable by reason of the final robbing of the pillars previous to abandonment, so long as not more than twenty persons are employed therein at one time, and the distance between the mine opening and the working face does not exceed five hundred feet.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.15 | Additional Opening for Protection Against Inundation.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
At any mine where there is a stream or body of water on the surface, or in the workings of the mine, at a higher level, which is likely to break through into such mine, and inundate either the traveling or escapement way of such mine, so as to prevent the egress of persons employed therein, the operator shall provide and maintain and additional opening by means of which such persons may escape without using the traveling or escapement way likely to be inundated.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.16 | Doors.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
In the development of mines, doors shall be eliminated wherever practicable. All main or principal air currents shall be controlled by double doors to form an air lock, said doors to be self-closing and to be a sufficient distance apart to accommodate any trip that may be handled through them, thus having one door closed at all times. At all points where double doors are impracticable and single doors are used, there must be an attendant in charge of said door unless a self-closing door approved by the deputy mine inspector is used. A hole for shelter shall be provided at each door to protect the attendant from danger from cars while performing his duties. Persons when regularly employed for this purpose shall remain at the doors at all times during working hours. The same attendant may attend two doors if his absence from the first door does not endanger the safety of the employees. At every door on any incline plane or road whereon haulage is done by equipment other than locomotives, an attendant shall always be on duty during working hours, and an extra door shall be provided for use in case of necessity. Except where double doors are used, a spare or standby door shall be installed adjacent to all regular doors on main haulage roads for emergency use. The responsibility for closing doors shall rest upon the person who opens them. This section does not apply to clay mines.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.17 | Break-Throughs and Brattices.

Effective:
June 14, 2000
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 601 - 123rd General Assembly
From a point where the seam is reached in the opening of an underground mine, to a point not exceeding a distance of four hundred feet therefrom, break-throughs shall be made between mine entries, where there are no rooms worked, not more than one hundred feet apart, provided such entries are not advanced beyond the point where the break-through will be made until the break-through is complete. Break-throughs between entries, except as provided in this section, shall be made not exceeding sixty feet apart. Where there is a solid block on one side of the room, break-throughs shall be made between such room and the adjacent room not to exceed sixty feet apart; where there is a breast or group of rooms, a break-through shall be made on one side or the other of each room, except the room adjoining the block not to exceed forty feet from the outside corner of the break-through to the nearest corner of the entrance to the room, and on the opposite side of the same room a break-through shall be made not to exceed eighty feet from the outside corner of the break-through to the nearest corner of the entrance to the room, and thereafter break-throughs shall be made not to exceed eighty feet apart on each side of the room. No working place, except those provided for within a distance of four hundred feet of the principal opening of a mine, shall be driven more than eighty feet in advance of a break-through or airway. The required air current shall be distributed to the working face of such entry or room. All break-throughs between entries, and when necessary between rooms, except the one nearest the working face, shall be closed and made airtight by brattice, trap doors, or other means, so that the current of air in circulation may sweep to the interior of the mine. Brattices between permanent inlet and outlet airways shall be constructed in a substantial manner of brick, masonry, concrete, or nonperishable material, provided that in hand-loading and nongaseous mines such brattices may be of wood. In mines generating firedamp, so as to be detected by a flame safety lamp, the air current shall be conducted by brattice, or other means, near enough to the working face to expel the firedamp, and prevent the accumulation of same. With the approval of the chief of the division of mineral resources management, a greater distance than specified in this section may be allowed between break-throughs. Any operator of a mine desiring to allow a greater distance between break-throughs than specified in this section shall file a written request to do so with the chief, together with a map of the mining and ventilating system for which approval and permission are asked, attached thereto, and the map shall become a part of the records in the office of the chief.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.18 | Separate Traveling Ways.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
The operator of a mine shall provide and maintain, in safe condition for the purpose provided, two separate and distinct traveling ways from the interior workings of the mine, each of which shall be available to at least one opening to the surface. One of such traveling ways may be designated by such operator as the principal traveling way. One of such traveling ways shall be designated as the escapement way, which shall be properly marked, clearly showing the direction to the outside. This section does not prohibit such operator from designating more than one principal traveling way or more than one escapement way, so long as this section is complied with. This section does not modify or change section 1563.17 of the Revised Code as to the making of break-throughs.
Except as provided in section 1563.14 of the Revised Code, at least two separate and distinct travelable passageways which are maintained to insure passage at all times of any person, including disabled persons, and which passageways are to be designated as escapeways. At least one escapeway ventilated with intake air shall be provided from each working section continuous to the surface escape drift openings or slope facilities to the surface. Such escapeways shall have man doors located throughout their length at distances not exceeding five hundred feet.
Except in situations where the height of the coal bed is less than five feet, escapeways shall be maintained at a height of at least five feet, excluding necessary roof support, and the travelway in each escapeway shall be maintained at a width of at least six feet. Where the height of the coal bed is less than five feet, the escapeway shall be maintained to the height of the coal bed, excluding any necessary roof support, and the travelway in such escapeways shall be maintained at a width of at least six feet.
Escapeways shall be maintained in a safe condition and the way of escape properly marked.
Updated maps of the escapeways shall be maintained on each working section.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.19 | Slopes and Mechanical Haulageways - Refuge Holes.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
The operator of a mine worked by shaft shall provide, and keep free from obstruction, a traveling way or passageway from one side of the shaft bottom to the other. Slopes and mechanical haulageways used as traveling ways by persons employed in a mine shall be made of a sufficient width to give not less than three feet of space between the rib and adjacent side of car or mechanical device to permit persons to pass moving cars with safety. If found impracticable to make such slopes or mechanical haulageways of sufficient width as provided, refuge holes, properly marked and whitewashed, not less than six feet in width and clearing the adjacent rail of the tract not less than four feet, and not more than sixty feet apart, shall be made on one side of the slope or mechanical haulageway. The refuge holes shall be kept free from obstruction, and the roof and sides made secure. The deputy mine inspector may prohibit persons from walking such slope when cars are being hoisted or lowered upon it.
During each shift a certified person shall inspect all belt lines to determine if there is a violation of a mandatory health or safety standard.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.20 | Track in Mines - Minimum Clearance.

Effective:
June 14, 2000
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 601 - 123rd General Assembly
For the protection of transportation workers, track shall be laid to provide a minimum clearance of fourteen inches on the side of the entry opposite the trolley or feed wire at all haulage turnouts and crossovers between butt entries, on gathering passageways, on room entries, and chutes between room entries, except that where brake handles are on the side of mine cars, the clearance shall be provided on the wire side of such entries as have the wire on the same side as the brake handles. The clearance specified in this section shall be measured horizontally between the topside of the widest mine car and the rib. This section does not apply to entries having been driven prior to September 2, 1941, or at any mine or section of a mine, where, in the opinion of the division of mineral resources management, the roof conditions are such as to require a width of entry not sufficient to provide the clearance set out in this section.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.21 | Location of Boilers.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
The permanent boilers used for generating steam, and the buildings containing the boilers, shall not be nearer than sixty feet to any mine opening, or to a building or inflammable structure connected with or surrounding such opening.
No owner, lessee, agent, or operator of a mine shall violate this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.23 | Bathing Facilities, Clothing Change Rooms, and Sanitary Toilet Facilities to Be Provided.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
Each operator of an underground coal mine shall provide bathing facilities, clothing change rooms, and sanitary toilet facilities in a location at each mine convenient for the use of all mine employees. All such bathing facilities, change rooms, and sanitary toilet facilities shall be constructed and equipped so as to comply with applicable building codes. If no building code is applicable, such facilities shall be constructed and equipped so as to meet the minimum construction requirements of the national building code, and the minimum plumbing requirements of the U.S.A. standard plumbing code, ASA A40.8-1955.
Bathing facilities, change rooms, and sanitary toilet facilities shall meet the following minimum requirements:
(A) Showers shall be provided with both hot and cold water.
(B) At least one shower head shall be provided where five or fewer miners use such showers.
(C) Where five or more miners use such showers, sufficient additional showers shall be furnished to provide approximately one shower head for each five miners.
(D) A suitable cleansing agent shall be provided for use at each shower.
(E) At least one sanitary flush toilet shall be provided where ten or fewer miners use such facilities.
(F) Where ten or more miners use such sanitary toilet facilities, sufficient toilets shall be furnished to provide approximately one sanitary flush toilet for each ten miners.
(G) Where thirty or more miners use sanitary toilet facilities, one urinal may be substituted for one sanitary flush toilet, however, where such substitutions are made they shall not reduce the number of toilets below a ratio of two toilets to one urinal.
(H) An adequate supply of toilet paper shall be provided with each toilet.
(I) Adequate handwashing facilities or hand lavatories shall be provided in or adjacent to each toilet facility.
(J) Individual clothes storage containers or lockers shall be provided for storage of miners' clothing and other incidental personal belongings during and between shifts.
(K) Change rooms shall be provided with ample space to permit the use of such facilities by all miners changing clothes prior to and after each shift.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.25 | Accumulation of Combustible Materials Prohibited.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
Coal dust, loose coal, and other combustible materials shall not be permitted to accumulate in any active workings. Where mining operations raise an excessive amount of dust into the air, water or water with a wetting agent added to it, or other effective methods, shall be used to allay such dust at its source.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.26 | Rock Dusting - Testing of Dust Samples.

Effective:
June 14, 2000
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 601 - 123rd General Assembly
All mines, except those mines or locations in a mine that are too wet or too high in incombustible content to propagate an explosion, shall be rock dusted. The rock dusting shall be done with such regularity and frequency that all surfaces required to be rock dusted shall be kept in such condition that the incombustible content of the adhering and lodging dust is not less than sixty-five per cent. When methane is present in any ventilating current, such incombustible content shall be not less than sixty-five per cent plus one and four-tenths per cent for each one tenth of one per cent of methane so present.
The rock dust to be used shall be pulverized limestone or any other material containing less than five per cent combustible material. All dust shall be so pulverized that it will all go through a sieve that has twenty openings to the linear inch and at least fifty per cent of such dust shall pass through a sieve with two hundred openings to the linear inch. The rock dust shall not contain more than four per cent free silicon and silicon dioxide.
The rock dust shall be distributed on top, bottom, and sides of all haulageways, traveling ways, developing entries, and rooms to within forty feet of face. Back entries shall be rock dusted for at least one thousand feet out by the junction with the first active entry.
In coal mines where rock dusting is required, the superintendent shall see that a representative sample of dust is gathered at each sampling point from the roof, sides, and floor of all entries by a competent person once each sixty days and tested to determine if any part of the mine requires redusting, and a record shall be kept in a book furnished by the division of mineral resources management for that purpose. Such books shall be kept in the mine office. Such record shall show the location at which samples have been taken and the results of the analyses or tests. The distance between sampling points on haulageways and traveling ways shall not exceed two thousand feet, but in developing entries and in entries producing coal from rooms or pillars and their parallel entries the distance between sampling points shall not exceed five hundred feet.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.27 | Examination of Working Place by Mine Foreman.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
The mine foreman shall examine or have examined the working place of each person working in the mine on each coal-producing shift that such person is working in such working place or more often when the circumstances so require. In case the mine foreman should delegate such duty of inspecting working places, when men are at the faces, the person to whom he delegates such authority shall be certified. As evidence of such examination, the mine foreman or the certified person delegated by him for such examination shall mark with chalk upon the face of the coal or upon some other conspicuous place, his initials and the time and date of the month upon which such examination is made. During such examination of the working places, the condition of the roof and timbering shall be observed, and when necessary, instructions shall be issued to the workmen therein as to the proper method of timbering for the security of the roof. He shall instruct pick miners and machine men regarding the width of the working places. The examination provided for in this section shall be made at least once each coal-producing shift by a certified man.
No person shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.28 | Examination of Working Place by Fire Boss.

Effective:
September 29, 2011
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 153 - 129th General Assembly
The worker performing the duties of fire boss shall, in an approved manner, use a flame safety lamp when making examinations under this chapter and Chapters 1561., 1565., and 1567. and applicable provisions of Chapter 1509. of the Revised Code. As evidence of such examinations the fire boss shall mark with chalk, upon the face of the coal or in some other conspicuous place, the fire boss's initials and the date of the month that the examination is made, and shall fully comply with all the law relating to gas and the fire boss's duties as to making such examinations. After making such an examination and report, prior to employees entering the mine for the oncoming shift, the fire boss who made the examination or another fire boss shall return to the working places with the employees at the starting time of the oncoming shift.
No person shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.29 | Examination of Working Place by Miner.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
Each miner shall examine his working place upon entering it, and shall not commence to mine or load until it is made safe. He shall be very careful to keep his working place in a safe condition.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.30 | Unsafe Working Place.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
When a working place becomes unsafe, the mine foreman shall order the persons working therein to cease mining or loading, and not remain in such working place, until it is safe, except as is necessary to make it safe.
No person shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.31 | Work to Cease When Working Place Found Dangerous.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
If a miner finds his place becoming dangerous, he shall at once cease work and notify the mine foreman, or other person acting for the mine foreman, of such danger and, upon leaving such place, he shall place some plain warning at the entrance thereto to warn others from entering into the danger. Such miner shall not return until ordered to do so by the mine foreman.
No person shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.32 | Fencing of Dangerous Places - Danger Signs.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
The mine foreman shall see that all dangerous places and old workings are properly fenced off, and proper dangersignal boards are hung on such fencing so that they may be plainly seen. He shall also travel all airways, and examine all the accessible openings to old workings as often as is necessary to insure their safety. All signs placed by the mine foreman under this section shall be marked "danger."
No person shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.33 | Roof Control System and Plan.

Effective:
June 14, 2000
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 601 - 123rd General Assembly
Each operator shall carry out on a continuing basis a program to improve the roof control system of each coal mine and the means and measures to accomplish such system. The roof and ribs of all active underground roadways, travelways, and working places shall be supported or otherwise controlled adequately to protect persons from falls of the roof or ribs. A roof control plan and revisions thereof suitable to the roof conditions and mining system of each coal mine and approved by the chief of the division of mineral resources management shall be adopted and set out in printed form on or before January 1, 1977. The plan shall show the type of support and spacing approved by the chief. Such plan shall be reviewed periodically, at least every six months by the chief, taking into consideration any falls of roof or ribs or inadequacy of support of roof or ribs. No person may proceed beyond the last permanent support unless adequate temporary support is provided or unless such temporary support is not required under the approved roof control plan and the absence of such support will not pose a hazard to the miners. A copy of the plan shall be furnished to the chief or the chief's authorized representative and shall be available to the miners and their representatives.
No person shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.34 | Operator Program for Improving Roof Control Systems.

Effective:
June 14, 2000
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 601 - 123rd General Assembly
Each operator shall adopt an adequate program for improving roof control systems. This program shall include a roof control plan, provision for the training of miners, a history of all unintentional roof falls, and systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of the roof control system in use. Each operator shall adopt a roof control plan suitable to the roof conditions and the mining system for all underground roadways, travelways including escapeways, and working places of each mine. Roof control plans shall be filed with the chief of the division of mineral resources management. The chief shall notify the operator in writing of the approval of a proposed roof control plan. If revisions are required for approval, the changes required shall be specified and the operator shall be afforded an opportunity to discuss the revisions with the chief.
A roof control plan shall include the following information:
(A) Name and address of the company;
(B) Name and address of the mine;
(C) Names and addresses of the responsible officials;
(D) Area of the mine covered by the roof control plan;
(E) A columnar section of the mine strata that shall:
(1) Show the name and thickness of the coalbed and any persistent partings;
(2) Identify by type and show the thickness of each stratum (rock layer) up to and including the main roof over and for ten feet under the coalbed;
(3) Show the maximum cover over the mining area covered included in the roof control plan.
(F) A description of the sequence of mining and installation of supports including temporary supports. The description shall include:
(1) Drawings on eight and one-half by eleven inch paper or on paper folded to this size, showing the location of all roof, face, and rib supports for each method of mining employed at the mines. The scale shall be specified and not less than five feet to the inch nor more than twenty feet to the inch. A legend explaining all the symbols used shall also be included on the drawings.
(2) A list of all roof support materials employed in the roof control system including, where applicable, the name of the manufacturer and its designation for the item. Prior approval shall be obtained before making any changes in the materials listed.
No person shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.36 | Excessive Widths of Rooms and Entries or Faulty Pillar Recovery Methods.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
The method of mining followed in any coal mine shall not expose the miner to unusual dangers from roof falls caused by excessive widths of rooms and entries or faulty pillar recovery methods.
(A) The method of mining shall provide widths of openings and pillar dimensions compatible with effective roof control. These widths and dimensions shall be incorporated into the roof control plan submitted for approval.
Where excessive widths result from poor mining practices, additional roof support shall be installed before any travel or other work is done in such area. If excessive widths of openings are a result of coal sloughing, additional support shall be installed and the mining system reevaluated to determine changes that are necessary to minimize such occurrences.
(B) In addition to the criteria set forth in division (E) of section 1563.35 of the Revised Code, the following shall apply to pillar recovery:
(1) The overall pillar recovery system shall be designed to minimize the possibility of outbursts or squeezes. The manner and sequence of recovery shall be included in the roof control plan submitted for approval.
(2) Where full pillar recovery is being done, extraction shall be such as to allow total caving of the main roof in the pillared area.
(3) During partial pillar recovery sufficient coal shall be left in place to support the main roof to the extent that the possibility of undue forces overriding the working places will be minimized.
(4) A combination of full and partial pillar recovery shall not be conducted on the same pillar line.
(5) If full extraction of pillars is being done and physical conditions such as standing water, adverse roof conditions, and falls of roof, or law requirements concerning oil and gas wells or surface subsidence dictate that some pillars of coal are to be left in place, a sufficient amount of coal shall be left to support the main roof so as to minimize the possibility of undue forces overriding the working places.
(6) Where full recovery of pillars is planned, the design of the pillars shall be compatible with the planned method of extraction.
(7) Pillaring methods shall eliminate pillar points and pillars that project inby the brakeline.
(8) When recovering adjacent pillars left and right from the same opening, mining shall be completed in one such pillar left and the openings posted off with at least two rows of breaker posts on not more than four foot centers before operations are started in the second pillar.
(C) Longwall mining shall be considered as modification of the open-end method of pillar extraction and the support system for the longwall shall be approved on an individual basis.
(D) No person shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.39 | Precautions When Working Place Approaches Completed or Abandoned Workings.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
When any working place approaches within fifty feet of accurately surveyed completed workings in the same mine, or within two hundred feet of any other abandoned workings, that cannot be inspected and which may contain dangerous accumulations of water or gas, boreholes shall be drilled at least twenty feet in advance of the face, and forty-five degree angle rib holes shall be drilled at least twenty feet deep and not more than eight feet apart in one or both ribs as may be necessary for adequate protection. Completed workings are accurately surveyed when a competent engineer or surveyor has certified as to the surveying and recording thereof.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.40 | Closing of Openings to Abandoned Mines - Closing Abandoned Vertical Shafts.

Effective:
June 14, 2000
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 601 - 123rd General Assembly
The operator shall effectively close or fence all openings to mines abandoned after June 3, 1941, so that persons or animals cannot inadvertently enter therein.
Abandoned vertical shafts and other abandoned openings leading to underground workings, which shafts and other openings are abandoned after August 26, 1949, shall be closed within ninety days after abandonment as follows:
(A) Vertical shafts shall be completely filled with earth or other noncombustible material, or the top of such shaft shall be covered with a substantial reinforced concrete slab, the design of which has been approved by the chief of the division of mineral resources management.
(B) Other openings not potentially usable in later mining operations shall be closed with earth or masonry in a way that may reasonably be expected to prevent unauthorized persons from entering the same.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.41 | Sealing Off Abandoned Workings.

Effective:
June 14, 2000
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 601 - 123rd General Assembly
The operator of a mine, before sealing off any abandoned workings, shall obtain the approval of the deputy mine inspector and the chief of the division of mineral resources management. The seals used in sealing off such workings, when approved by the chief, shall be constructed of not less than eighteen-inch concrete or masonry bulkheads effectively anchored to the ceiling, ribs, and floor, except where seals are used to seal abandoned individual panel or room entries, they shall be constructed of concrete or masonry bulkheads not less than six inches in thickness effectively anchored to the ceiling, ribs, and floor in a manner approved by the deputy mine inspector and the chief. All seals are to be bled or drained of gas in a manner approved by the deputy mine inspector and the chief.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.42 | Filing of Map of Abandoned Mine.

Effective:
August 1, 2003
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 95 - 125th General Assembly
The operator of a mine, before the pillars are drawn previous to the abandonment of any part of the mine, shall have a correct map of such part of the mine made, showing its area and workings to the day of the abandonment and the pillars drawn previous to abandonment, and file such map within ninety days after the abandonment of such mine, in the office of the county recorder of the county where such mine is located, and with the chief of the division of mineral resources management. Such map shall have attached the usual certificate of the mining engineer making it, and the mine foreperson in charge of the underground workings of the mine, and such operator shall pay to the recorder for filing such map, a base fee of five dollars for services and a housing trust fee of five dollars pursuant to section 317.36 of the Revised Code.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.43 | When Notice to Chief Required.

Effective:
June 14, 2000
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 601 - 123rd General Assembly
The operator of a mine shall give notice to the chief of the division of mineral resources management when:
(A) A change occurs in the name of a mine, in the name of the operator thereof, or in the officers of an incorporated company owning or operating such mine;
(B) Work is commenced opening a new shaft, slope, or mine;
(C) A mine is abandoned, or the working thereof is discontinued;
(D) The working of a mine is commenced, after an abandonment or discontinuance thereof for a period of more than three months;
(E) The pillars of a mine are about to be removed or robbed;
(F) A squeeze, crush, or fire occurs, or a dangerous body of gas is found, or any cause or change occurs that may seem to affect the safety of persons employed therein.
No operator of a mine shall refuse or neglect to comply with this section.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.45 | Abandoned Mines Recorded.

Effective:
October 29, 1995
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 162 - 121st General Assembly
The county recorder, when presented with a map of an abandoned mine by the owner, lessee, or agent thereof, as provided for in section 1563.42 of the Revised Code, shall properly label, file, and preserve such map as a part of the records of the land upon which said mine is located.
2023 Ohio Revised Code › Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources › Chapter 1563 | Mine Construction, Maintenance, Abandonment › Section 1563.46 | Injunction.

Effective:
June 14, 2000
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 601 - 123rd General Assembly
If the appliances of a mine for the safety of the persons working therein do not conform to this chapter and Chapters 1509., 1561., 1565., and 1567. of the Revised Code, or if the owner, lessee, or agent disregards the requirements of such chapters, on application by the chief of the division of mineral resources management, in the name of the state, any court of competent jurisdiction may enjoin or restrain the owner, lessee, or agent from operating such mine, until it conforms to such chapters. Such remedy shall be cumulative, and shall not affect any other proceedings authorized against the owner, lessee, or agent for the matter complained of in the action. The attorney general shall represent the chief in all actions under this section.