[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4695 Introduced in House (IH)]







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 penalties for habitual 
                   violators, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 regulations 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 
recovery 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 immediately 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 rescue teams, 
                including the number of team members 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 rescue 
                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 provide 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 communication between 
                the operator and mine rescue teams and local emergency 
                response personnel, and that such local personnel be 
                eligible to receive appropriate training in order to be 
                familiar with mine rescue and recovery work.
    (c) Emergency Air and Communications Equipment.--Not later than 90 
days after the date of the enactment 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 maintain at strategic 
locations within each mine, the following:
            (1) Emergency supplies of air and self-contained breathing 
        equipment for persons awaiting rescue due to an emergency 
        within the mine. Such equipment shall be sufficient to maintain 
        such persons for a sustained period of time and shall be in 
        addition to the self-rescue devices referred to in section 317 
        of that Act (30 U.S.C. 877(n)).
            (2) Independent means of communication with the surface for 
        persons awaiting rescue at such locations, 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 tracking 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 persons on the 
        surface and rescue personnel to determine 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 Secretary of Labor shall revise the 
regulations prescribed pursuant 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 enactment 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 
        operator 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 Transfer.--The Secretary of 
Labor shall establish within the Mine Safety and Health Administration 
an Office of Science and Technology Transfer for the purposes of 
conducting 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 regular basis, in order to stay informed of the latest 
technologies that are available to ensure coal miner health and safety.
    (b) Periodic Review and Application.--The Secretary of Labor shall, 
on a periodic basis, review the underground coal mine health and safety 
standards for possible revision with regard to advancing sciences and 
technologies, and shall, on a periodic basis, revise such standards to 
require the implementation of such technologies.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary 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 Department of Labor the position of Miner 
Ombudsman. The President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, 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 Administration 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 ``operator'' 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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