[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2768 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2768

  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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish improved mandatory standards to protect miners during 
                  emergencies, 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; 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. Sense of Congress.
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. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) while the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response 
        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; and
            (2) whereas the Secretary of Labor has failed in recent 
        years to adequately fulfill the Secretary's obligations under 
        the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 
        et seq.), additional Congressional 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 defined 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 provided, whenever 
in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed 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 ``(II) Not 
        later than''; and
            (2) by inserting after the clause designation the following 
        ``(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 communication system between underground and 
        surface personnel, and for an electronic tracking system 
        permitting surface personnel to determine the location of any 
        persons trapped underground, that utilizes a system at least as 
        effective as a `leaky feeder' type communication and tracking 
        system currently in use in the industry. These systems shall be 
        `hardened' to the extent possible to ensure, to the greatest 
        extent possible, their survivability in the event of a mine 
        disaster. In addition, to be in approved status, an emergency 
        response a plan must be revised promptly to incorporate new 
        technology which the National Institute for Occupational Safety 
        and Health certifies can be added to the existing system to 
        improve its ability to facilitate post-accident communication 
        with or tracking of miners. No miner shall be disciplined based 
        solely 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 final regulations, consistent with the 
                design criteria recommended by NIOSH and section 13 of 
                the MINER Act, requiring the installation of rescue 
                chambers in the working areas of underground coal 
                mines. Not later than December 15, 2007, a plan shall, 
                to be considered approved, provide for the maintenance 
                of refuges within 1,000 feet of the nearest working 
                face in each working section of an underground coal 
                mine, meeting such criteria as the Secretary certifies 
                are as protective as the requirements in any State 
                which already requires refuges at such locations. No 
                mine located in a State which, as of the date of 
                enactment of the S-MINER Act, requires refuges at such 
                locations shall be required to take additional actions 
                under this clause.''.
    (c) Improvements to Seals, Ventilation Controls, and Rock Dusting 
To Limit the Damage From Explosions.--
            (1) Repeal.--The Mine Improvement and New Emergency 
        Response Act of 2006 (30 U.S.C. 801 note) is amended by 
        striking section 10 and redesignating sections 11 through 14 as 
        sections 10 through 13, respectively.
            (2) Seals.--Section 303(z) of the Mine Safety and Health 
        Act (30 U.S.C. 863(z)) is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(4) Not later than December 15, 2007, the Secretary shall issue 
final rules regarding approval, design, construction, inspection, 
maintenance and monitoring of underground coal mine seals. The 
Secretary shall inspect all seals under construction after that date, 
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 purpose. Except as otherwise provided by 
this paragraph, these regulations shall implement the recommendations 
of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. The 
regulations shall require that all areas of the mine sealed after June 
15, 2007 shall be monitored. Monitoring of seals shall be done both 
by--
            ``(A) sampling through at least 1 seal in each bank of 
        seals; and
            ``(B) sampling through a sufficient number of boreholes 
        from the surface to the sealed areas underground to effectively 
        determine the gas concentrations within the area.''.
            (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 enactment 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 brattice walls, overcasts, undercasts, 
regulators, and all other ventilation structures be constructed using 
solid concrete blocks laid wet and sealed with an appropriate bonding 
agent on at least the side subjected to the velocity of the intake air 
coursing through the entry.''.
            (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 National 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 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 
        December 31, 2007, the Secretary shall publish interim final 
        regulations to ensure that all conveyor belts in use in 
        underground coal mines are replaced, as soon as practicable, 
        with belts that can meet the flame resistance requirements 
        recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety 
        and Health. Any conveyor belt installed in a coal mine after 
        December 31, 2008 shall meet the flame resistance requirements 
        recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety 
        and Health. Such action by the Secretary shall not diminish in 
        any way the obligation of the Secretary to take appropriate 
        additional action under this Act following completion of the 
        reports by the Technical Study Panel pursuant to section 
        514.''.
            (2) Belt air.--Section 303(y) (30 U.S.C. 863) is amended by 
        adding at the end the following:
    ``(3) Not later than June 20, 2008, the Secretary shall revise the 
regulations prescribed pursuant to this section 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.
    ``(4) No proposed plan, or proposed modification, that utilizes 
belt haulage entries to ventilate active working places shall be 
approved after the date of enactment of the S-MINER Act. Plans that 
have been approved by the Secretary prior to the date of enactment of 
the S-MINER Act that permit the use of belt-air to ventilate active 
working places in a mine are permitted to remain in use to complete 
current mining up until the date of issuance of the regulation required 
pursuant to subsection (3).
    ``(5) Nothing in this subsection shall limit the obligation of the 
Secretary to take appropriate additional action under this Act 
following completion of the reports by the Technical Study Panel, 
pursuant to section 514.''.
    (e) Pre-Shift Review of Mine Conditions.--Section 303(d) (30 U.S.C. 
863(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of the S-
MINER Act, all mine operators shall be required to implement a 
communication program at each of its facilities to insure management 
and miners entering the operation at the start of their shift are aware 
of the current conditions of the mine in general and their specific 
workplace in particular. In an effort to facilitate these 
communications, all agents of the operator who are responsible for 
ensuring the safe and healthful working conditions at the mine, 
including mine foremen, assistant mine foremen, and mine examiners, 
shall, upon exiting the mine or workplace, meet with their counterparts 
on the oncoming shift to verbally update them on the conditions they 
observed during their shift, including any conditions that are abnormal 
or hazardous. Prior to entering the mine or other workplace the on-
coming agent of the operator shall meet with all members of the crew 
they are responsible for and inform them of the general conditions at 
the operation and in their specific work area. This process shall be 
completed prior to the start of each shift at the operation and 
recorded in a book designated for that purpose and available for 
inspection by all interested parties. In the event the operation is 
idle prior to the start of any shift the agent of the operator shall 
meet with the individual or individuals who were responsible for 
examining the mine to obtain the necessary information.''.
    (f) Atmospheric Monitoring Systems.--Section 317 (30 U.S.C. 877) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(u) Not later than May 1, 2008, an operator of an underground 
mine shall install atmospheric monitoring systems in all underground 
areas where miners normally work and travel that provide real-time 
information regarding methane levels, carbon monoxide levels, oxygen 
levels, air flow, smoke, and temperature, and that can, to the maximum 
extent possible, withstand explosions and fires.''.
    (g) Methane Monitors.--Section 303(h) (30 U.S.C. 863(h)) is amended 
by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3), and inserting after 
paragraph (1) the following new paragraph:
    ``(2) Each miner who may be working alone for part of a shift shall 
be equipped with a multi-gas detector that measures current levels of 
methane, oxygen, and carbon monoxide.''.
    (h) Lightning.--
            (1) Administrative action.--Section 307 (30 U.S.C. 867) is 
        amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) In the event lightning is present in or around a mining 
operation, mine operators who cannot fully protect their miners from 
the effects of lightning through grounding and other engineering 
controls shall use appropriate administrative controls to do so, 
including withdrawal of miners from all underground areas of the mine. 
Failure to take appropriate administration action shall be treated as a 
significant and substantial violation of the this Act. Miners withdrawn 
as a result of this action shall suffer no loss in pay or other 
compensation.''.
            (2) Study by national academy of sciences.--Not later than 
        1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the National 
        Academy of Sciences shall submit to the Secretary and to 
        Congress recommendations on--
                    (A) actions that need to be taken to strengthen 
                existing requirements in law or regulations to ensure 
                that miners are protected, to the fullest extent 
                permitted, from potential damage that could be 
                generated because of lightning strikes near a mine;
                    (B) recommendations for adopting any existing 
                technology to the mining environment; and
                    (C) research needed for improved technology.
    (i) SCSR Inspection Program.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) establish a program to randomly remove and have tested 
        at least 5 percent of the field samples of each model of self-
        rescue device used in an underground coal mine no less 
        frequently than every 6 months, in order to ensure that the 
        self-rescue devices in coal mine inventories are working in 
        accordance with the approval criteria for such devices, and 
        mine operators shall be responsible for the costs to replace 
        required self-rescue devices taken from their operation by the 
        Secretary for random testing;
            (2) require a manufacturer of a self-rescue device and the 
        mine operator who owns a device to contact the Secretary 
        immediately upon notification of any potential problem with any 
        such device, and provide a copy of such notice to the 
        representative of miners at the affected operation; and
            (3) notify immediately all operators of underground coal 
        mines if the Secretary detects or is advised of any problems 
        with the self-rescue devices.
    (j) Application to Underground Metal and Nonmetal Mines.--The 
Secretary shall promptly establish an advisory committee to provide 
recommendations as to the need to revise the regulations applicable to 
underground metal and nonmetal mines to ensure that miners in such 
mines are as protected in emergency situations as will be underground 
coal miners following the full implementation of the Mine Improvement 
and New Emergency Response Act of 2006, the provisions of this Act, and 
related actions by the Secretary. The advisory committee shall be 
established pursuant to the Advisory Committee Act, and shall provide 
recommendations to the Secretary and to Congress not later than 21 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, including 
recommendations as to any action by Congress that could facilitate the 
goal of providing equivalent protections to miners in underground metal 
and nonmetal mines.
    (k) Approval Center Priorities.--The Secretary shall expedite the 
process for approving any--
            (1) self-rescue device that permits the replenishment of 
        oxygen without requiring the device user to remove the device; 
        and
            (2) underground communication device that provides for 
        communication between underground and surface personnel via a 
        wireless two-way medium.
    (l) Technology and Mine Emergency Health and Safety Research 
Priorities.--In implementing its research activities in the 5-year 
period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health shall give due 
consideration to new technologies, and existing technologies that could 
be adapted for use in underground coal or other mines, that could 
facilitate the survival of miners in a mining emergency. Such 
technologies include--
            (1) self-contained self-rescue devices capable of 
        delivering enhanced performance;
            (2) improved battery capacity and common connection 
        specifications to enable emergency communication devices for 
        miners to be run from the same portable power source as a 
        headlamp, continuous dust monitor, or other device carried by a 
        miner;
            (3) improved technology for assisting mine rescue teams, 
        including devices to enhance vision during rescue or recovery 
        operations;
            (4) improved technology, and improved protocols for the use 
        of existing technologies, to enable conditions underground to 
        be assessed promptly and continuously in emergencies, so as to 
        facilitate the determination by appropriate officials of the 
        instructions to provide both to miners trapped underground and 
        to mine rescue teams and others engaged in rescue efforts;
            (5) improvements to underground mine ventilation controls 
        separating mine entries to be more resistant to mine fires and 
        explosions, particularly in those entries used for miners 
        escapeways;
            (6) mine-wide monitoring systems and strategies that can 
        monitor mine gases, oxygen, air flows, and air quantities at 
        strategic locations throughout the mine that would be 
        functional during normal mining operations and following mine 
        fires, explosions, and roof falls, including systems utilizing 
        monitoring sensors that transfer data to the mine surface and 
        the installation of tubing to draw mine gas samples that are 
        distributed throughout the mine and can quickly deliver samples 
        to the mine surface; and
            (7) protective strategies for the placement of equipment, 
        cables, and devices that are to be utilized during mine 
        emergencies such as communication systems, oxygen supplies, and 
        mine atmosphere monitoring systems, to protect them from mine 
        fires, roof falls, explosions, and other damage.

SEC. 5. SUPPLEMENTING ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.

    (a) Authority of Inspectors.--Section 103 (30 U.S.C. 813) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following: 
        ``No person shall limit or otherwise prevent the Secretary from 
        entry on a coal or other mine, or interfere with the 
        Secretary's inspection activities, investigative activities, or 
        rescue or recovery activities.''; and
            (2) in subsection (k)--
                    (A) by striking ``, when present,''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following: ``In the 
                event of any accident occurring in a coal or other 
                mine, where rescue and recovery work is necessary, the 
                Secretary or an authorized representative of the 
                Secretary shall take whatever action the Secretary 
                deems appropriate to protect the life of any person, 
                and may supervise and direct the rescue and recovery 
                activities in such mine.''.
    (b) Transition to a New Generation of Inspectors.--Section 505 (30 
U.S.C. 954) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Secretary'' the first place it 
        appears and inserting ``(a) The Secretary''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Within 270 days of the enactment of the S-MINER Act, the 
Secretary shall establish a Master Inspector program to ensure that the 
most experienced and skilled employees in the Nation have the 
incentive, in terms of responsibilities and pay, to serve as mine 
safety and health inspectors in this Nation's mines.
    ``(c) In order to ensure that the Secretary has adequate time to 
provide that a sufficient number of qualified and properly trained 
inspectors of the Mine Safety and Health Administration are in place 
before any inspectors employed as of the date of enactment of the S-
MINER Act retire, any ceilings on the number of personnel that may be 
employed by the Administration with respect to mine inspectors are 
abolished for the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment of 
such Act.
    ``(d) In the event that, notwithstanding the actions taken by the 
Secretary to hire and train qualified inspectors, the Secretary is 
temporarily unable, at any time during the 5-year period beginning on 
the date of enactment of the S-MINER Act, to employ the number of 
inspectors required to staff all district offices devoted to coal mines 
at the offices' highest historical levels without transferring 
personnel from supervisory or plan review activities or diminishing 
current inspection resources devoted to other types of mines, the 
Administration is authorized to hire retired inspectors on a 
contractual basis to conduct mine inspections, and the retirement 
benefits of such retired inspectors shall not be reduced as a result of 
such temporary contractual employment.
    ``(e) During the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment 
of the S-MINER Act, the Secretary shall issue a special report to the 
appropriate committees of Congress each year, or at such more frequent 
intervals as the Secretary or any such committee may consider 
appropriate, providing information about the actions being taken under 
this section, the size and training of the inspector workforce at the 
Mine Safety and Health Administration, the level of enforcement 
activities, and the number of requests by individual operators of mines 
for compliance assistance.''.
    (c) Office of Miner Ombudsman.--Title V is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``SEC. 516. OFFICE OF MINER OMBUDSMAN.

    ``(a) Establishment of Miner Ombudsman.--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 primarily responsible for ensuring that the rights 
        of miners are upheld to the full extent intended in the Federal 
        Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 and regulations issued under 
        such Act;
            ``(2) be responsible for establishing practices to ensure 
        the confidentiality of the identity of miners, and the families 
        or personal representatives of the miners, who contact mine 
        operators, authorized representatives of the miners, the Mine 
        Safety and Health Administration, the Department of Labor, or 
        others with information about mining conditions that may 
        threaten, or have recently threatened, as of the time of the 
        contact, miner safety or health, while ensuring that the Mine 
        Safety and Health Administration has the information needed to 
        promptly investigate such complaints;
            ``(3) establish a toll-free telephone number and 
        appropriate Internet website to permit individuals to 
        confidentially report possible mine mandatory health or safety 
        standard violations or concerns;
            ``(4) collect and forward information concerning possible 
        mine safety or health violations or concerns to the appropriate 
        officials of the Mine Safety and Health Administration for 
        investigation;
            ``(5) monitor the Secretary of Labor's efforts to protect 
        miners who report that their rights under section 105(c) have 
        been violated, and report to Congress any recommendations that 
        would enhance such rights or protections; and
            ``(6) carry out public outreach and other activities to 
        facilitate the transmission, to the Secretary of Labor, of 
        information that could help avoid mine accidents.
    ``(c) Authority.--The Ombudsman shall be forwarded all complaints 
of operator violations of any section of this Act or regulations 
prescribed under this Act that are reported to the Secretary. This 
shall include complaints submitted in writing, via the code-a-phone, or 
orally, along with all relevant information available regarding the 
complainant. All such information shall be retained in a confidential 
manner pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974. The Ombudsman shall use 
such information to ensure that miners' complaints are addressed in a 
timely manner and in compliance with the appropriate statutes and 
regulations. The Ombudsman shall have authority to ensure that all 
complaints were handled in such fashion, and to determine what remedy, 
if any, was prescribed, and all personnel of the Department shall 
cooperate with requests by the Ombudsman for information in this 
regard.
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are hereby authorized 
to be appropriated to the Ombudsman such sums as may be required for 
the implementation of his duties out of the sums otherwise made 
available to the Mine Safety and Health Administration for its 
activities. The Ombudsman shall have the authority to hire personnel 
and otherwise provide for the administration of his office in 
accordance with applicable law.''.
    (d) Pattern of Violations.--
            (1) Prompt identification of pattern.--Not later than 3 
        months after the date of enactment of the S-MINER Act, the 
        Secretary shall revise the regulations issued by the Secretary 
        under section 104(e) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 
        of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 814(e)) as in effect on the day before such 
        date of enactment, so that the regulations provide that--
                    (A) when a potential pattern of violations is 
                identified by any inspector or district manager of the 
                Mine Safety and Health Administration, the operator of 
                the coal or other mine and the authorized 
                representative of miners for the mine shall be notified 
                by the inspector or district manager not later than 10 
                days after such identification; and
                    (B) after receiving the notification described in 
                subparagraph (A), the appropriate official of the Mine 
                Safety and Health Administration shall promptly review 
                any such potential pattern of violations and, not later 
                than 45 days after receiving such notification, make a 
                final decision as to whether a citation for a violation 
                of section 104(e) of such Act should be issued in light 
                of the gravity of the violations and the operator's 
                conduct in connection therewith.
            (2) Identification of pattern.--Section 104(e)(1) (30 
        U.S.C. 814(e)(1)) is amended by inserting after the first 
        sentence the following: ``In determining whether a pattern of 
        violations exists, the Secretary shall give due consideration 
        to all relevant information, such as the gravity of the 
        violations, operator negligence, history of violations, the 
        number of inspection shifts the Secretary or her agents have 
        spent at the operation, and the frequency of violations per 
        number of inspection days spent at the operation.''.
            (3) Termination of pattern.--Section 104(e)(3) (30 U.S.C. 
        814(e)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``In 
        addition, if an operator subject to paragraphs (1) and (2) 
        demonstrates objective evidence that they are correcting the 
        problems that gave rise to the pattern of violations, and the 
        violation frequency rate for such operator declines 
        significantly for a period of 180 days, the withdrawal order 
        provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall no longer apply.''.
            (4) Fine for a pattern of violations.--Section 110 (30 
        U.S.C. 820) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsections (i) through (l) as 
                subsections (j) through (m), respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (h) the 
                following:
    ``(i)(1) If the Secretary determines that a pattern of violations 
under section 104(e) exists, the Secretary shall assess a penalty, in 
addition to any other penalty authorized in this Act for a violation of 
such section, of not less than $50,000 nor more than $250,000. All 
operators of the mine, including any corporate owners, shall be jointly 
and severally liable for such penalty. The amount of the assessment 
under this paragraph shall be designed to ensure a change in the future 
conduct of the operators and corporate owners of such mine with respect 
to mine safety and health, given the overall resources of such 
operators. Notwithstanding subsection (k) or section 113, a penalty 
assessed by the Secretary under this paragraph may not be reduced by 
the Commission.
    ``(2) In addition to the authority to withdraw miners from an area 
of a coal or other mine pursuant to section 104(e), the Secretary shall 
withdraw all miners from the entire mine when any pattern of violations 
has been determined to exist until such time as the Secretary certifies 
that all identified violations have been corrected and the operator has 
agreed to abide by a written plan approved by the Mine Safety and 
Health Administration to ensure that such a pattern of conduct will not 
recur.''.
    (e) Notification of Abatement.--Section 104(b) (30 U.S.C. 814(b)) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;
            (2) by striking ``If,'' and inserting ``(2) If,''; and
            (3) by inserting after the subsection designation the 
        following:
    ``(1) An operator issued a citation pursuant to subsection (a) 
shall notify the Secretary that the operator has abated the violation 
involved. If such operator fails to provide such a notice to the 
Secretary within the abatement time as provided for in the citation, 
the Secretary shall issue an order that requires the operator (or the 
agent of the operator) to immediately cause all persons, except those 
persons referred to in subsection (c), to be withdrawn from, and to be 
prohibited from entering, such area as the Secretary determines until 
an authorized representative of the Secretary determines that such 
violation has been abated.''.
    (f) Failure To Timely Pay Penalty Assessments.--Section 105(a) (30 
U.S.C. 815(a)) is amended by striking the third sentence and inserting 
the following: ``The operator shall, not later than 30 days from the 
receipt of the notification of a citation issued by the Secretary, 
notify the Secretary that the operator intends to contest the citation 
or proposed assessment of a penalty and to place in escrow the amount 
of the proposed assessment. If notification and proof of escrow is not 
provided to the Secretary, the citation and the proposed assessment of 
penalty shall be deemed a final order of the Commission and not subject 
to review by any court or agency. In the event that a mine operator 
refuses to comply with a final order of the Commission to pay civil 
monetary penalties and statutory interest, the Secretary shall have the 
authority to issue an order requiring the mine operator to cease 
production under such final orders of the Commission have been paid in 
full.''
    (g) Maximum and Minimum Penalties.--Section 110(a)(1) (30 U.S.C. 
820(a)(1)) is amended by striking ``more than $50,000 for each such 
violation.'' and inserting ``less than $500 or more than $100,000 for 
each such violation, except that, in the case of a violation of a 
mandatory health or safety standard that could significantly and 
substantially contribute to the cause and effect of a coal or other 
mine health or safety hazard, the penalty shall not be less than $1,000 
or more than $150,000, for each such violation.''.
    (h) Factors in Assessing Penalties.--The Federal Mine Safety and 
Health Act of 1977 is amended--
            (1) in section 105(b)(1)(b)--
                    (A) by striking: ``the size of the business of the 
                operator charged'' and inserting ``the combined size of 
                the business of the operator and any controlling 
                entity'';
                    (B) by striking ``the effect on the operator's 
                ability to continue in business,''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following: ``In 
                settling cases, the Secretary shall utilize the same 
                point system as that utilized to propose penalties, so 
                as to ensure consistency in operator penalty 
                assessments.''; and
            (2) in section 110(k) (as redesignated by subsection 
        (a)(4))--
                    (A) by striking: ``the size of the business of the 
                operator charged'' and inserting ``the combined size of 
                the business of the operator and any controlling 
                entity'';
                    (B) by striking ``the effect on the operator's 
                ability to continue in business,''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following: ``In any 
                review requested by a mine operator, or in settling 
                cases, the Commission shall utilize the same point 
                system as that developed by the Secretary for proposed 
                assessments so as to ensure consistency in operator 
                penalty assessments.''.
    (i) Civil Penalty for Interference or Discrimination.--Section 110 
of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 820) is 
further amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(n) Civil Penalty for Interference or Discrimination.--Any 
operator who is found to be in violation of section 105(c), or in 
violation of section 103(a) (as amended by this Act) shall be subject 
to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 nor more than $100,000 for 
each occurrence of such violation.''.
    (j) Imminent Danger.--Section 107(a) of the Federal Mine Safety and 
Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 817(a) is amended by inserting after the 
first sentence the following: ``For purposes of the preceding sentence, 
any violation of section 315 or section 316, or regulations issued 
pursuant to such sections, shall be considered an imminent danger.''.
    (k) Clarifications of Intent in the 1977 Act.--The Federal Mine 
Safety and Health Act of 1977 is amended--
            (1) in section 3(d) (30 U.S.C. 802)--
                    (A) by inserting ``mineral'' before ``owner'';
                    (B) by inserting ``mineral'' before ``lessee'';
                    (C) by striking ``or any independent'' and 
                inserting ``and any independent''; and
                    (D) by inserting before the semicolon the 
                following: ``, and no operator may by contract or other 
                agreement may limit any liability under this Act 
                through transfer of any responsibilities to another 
                person'';
            (2) in section 103 (30 U.S.C. 813)--
                    (A) in subsection (b), as amended by section 105 of 
                this Act--
                            (i) by striking the first sentence of 
                        paragraph (2) (as designated by section 105 of 
                        this Act) and inserting the following: ``For 
                        the purpose of enabling the Secretary to 
                        perform the functions under this Act, the 
                        Secretary may--
    ``(A) after notice, hold public hearings; and
    ``(B) sign and issue subpoenas for the attendance and testimony of 
witnesses and the production of relevant data, papers, books, documents 
and items of physical evidence, and administer oaths, whether or not in 
connection with a public hearing.''; and
                            (ii) in the last sentence of paragraph (2) 
                        (as designated by section 105 of this Act), by 
                        striking ``documents'' and inserting ``data, 
                        papers, books, documents, and items of physical 
                        evidence''; and
                    (B) in subsection (h), in the first sentence, by 
                striking ``information'' and inserting ``data, papers, 
                books, documents, and items of physical evidence'';
            (3) in section 104 (30 U.S.C. 814)--
                    (A) in subsections (d)(1), (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), 
                and (e)(4), as amended by this Act, by inserting ``or 
                any provision of this Act'' after ``standard'' or 
                ``standards'' each time either such term appears; and
                    (B) in subsection (d)(1), as amended by this Act, 
                by striking ``while the conditions created by such 
                violation do not cause imminent danger'';
            (4) in section 105 (30 U.S.C. 815)--
                    (A) in subsection (a), in the first sentence, by 
                striking ``, within a reasonable time after the 
                termination of such inspection or investigation,''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Attorneys representing the Secretary are authorized to 
contact any miner or non-managerial employee of a mine operator for the 
purposes of carrying out the Secretary's functions under this Act and 
no attorney representing the Secretary shall be disbarred or 
disciplined by any State bar or State court for making such contacts. 
No attorney representing a mine operator in a matter under this Act may 
concurrently represent individual miners in the same matter.''; and
            (5) in section 110 (30 U.S.C. 820)--
                    (A) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``under'' and 
                inserting ``of subsections (a) through (h) of''; and
                    (B) in subsection (c)--
                            (i) by striking ``Whenever a corporate 
                        operator'' and inserting ``Whenever a mine 
                        operator'';
                            (ii) by striking ``safety standard'' and 
                        inserting ``safety standard or requirement of 
                        this Act'';
                            (iii) by inserting ``partner, owner,'' 
                        after ``director,''; and
                            (iv) by striking ``such corporation'' and 
                        inserting ``such mine operator''.
    (l) Federal Licensing.--The Secretary shall promptly establish an 
advisory committee to provide recommendations as to whether the Federal 
Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 should provide for Federal licensing 
of mines, mine operators, mine controllers, or various mine personnel 
in order to ensure that those engaged in mining activities are not 
frequent violators of safety and health requirements. The advisory 
committee shall be established pursuant to the Advisory Committee Act, 
and shall conduct a review of existing State licensing requirements, 
assess their effectiveness, and shall provide its recommendations to 
Congress not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 6. SUPPLEMENTING RESCUE, RECOVERY, AND INCIDENT INVESTIGATION 
              AUTHORITY.

    (a) Emergency Call Center.--Not later than 30 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish, within the 
Mine Safety and Health Administration, a central communications 
emergency call center for all coal or other mine operations that shall 
be staffed and operated 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, by 1 or more 
employees of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. All calls 
placed to the emergency call center shall be answered by an individual 
with adequate experience and training to handle emergency mine 
situations. A single national phone number shall be provided for this 
purpose and the Secretary shall ensure that all miners and mine 
operators are issued laminated cards with emergency call center 
information.
    (b) Contact Information.--The Secretary shall provide the emergency 
call center with a contact list, updated not less often than quarterly, 
that contains--
            (1) the contact phone numbers, including the home phone 
        numbers, for the members of each mine rescue team responsible 
        for each coal or other mine;
            (2) the phone numbers for the local emergency and rescue 
        services unit that is located nearest to each mine;
            (3) the contact phone numbers, including the home phone 
        number, for the operator of each mine;
            (4) the contact phone numbers, including the home phone 
        numbers, for the national and district officials of the Mine 
        Safety and Health Administration;
            (5) the contact phone numbers, including the home phone 
        numbers, for the State officials in each State who should be 
        contacted in the event of a mine emergency in such State; and
            (6) the contact phone numbers, including the home phone 
        number, for the authorized representative of the miners at each 
        mine.
Each mine operator shall ensure that the Secretary is provided with 
completely current information required to be maintained by the 
Secretary pursuant to paragraphs (1), (3), and (6).
    (c) Mine Location Maps.--The Secretary shall establish, maintain, 
and keep current, on the Department of Labor's website, a detailed map 
or set of maps showing the exact geographic location of each operating 
or abandoned mine in the United States. Such map or maps shall--
            (1) be presented, through links within the website, in such 
        a way as to make the location of a mine instantly available to 
        the emergency personnel responding to the mine;
            (2) be available to members of the public;
            (3) allow a user to find the geographic location of a 
        particular mine, or the geographic locations of all mines of a 
        particular type in a county, congressional district, State, or 
        other commonly used geographic region; and
            (4) provide the geographic location of any mining waste 
        impoundments with links to associated emergency contact 
        information and available emergency response plans.
    (d) Required Notification of Emergencies and Serious Incidents.--
Section 103(j) (30 U.S.C. 813) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(j) In the event of any accident occurring in any coal or other 
mine, the operator shall notify the Secretary and shall take 
appropriate measures to prevent the destruction of any evidence which 
would assist in investigating the cause or causes of the accident. For 
purposes of the preceding sentence, the notification required shall be 
provided by the operator within 15 minutes of the time at which the 
operator realizes that the death of an individual at the mine, or an 
injury or entrapment of an individual at the mine which has a 
reasonable potential to cause death, has occurred, or within 1 hour of 
the time at which the operator realizes that any of the following have 
occurred in the mine:
            ``(1) a fire;
            ``(2) a roof fall, unplanned inundation, collapse, or 
        unplanned explosion;
            ``(3) a sudden change in mine atmospheric conditions in a 
        sealed area;
            ``(4) a rib fall that impairs ventilation or impedes 
        escape;
            ``(5) a coal or rock outburst that causes the withdrawal of 
        miners;
            ``(6) the failure of an impoundment;
            ``(7) damage to hoisting equipment in a shaft or slope that 
        endangers an individual;
            ``(8) any incident that leads to the death, serious injury 
        with a reasonable potential to cause death, or entrapment, of a 
        miner; and
            ``(9) any other emergency or incident, as determined in 
        regulations promulgated by the Secretary, that needs to be 
        examined in order to determine if the working conditions in the 
        mine are safe.''.
    (e) Enhancing the Capabilities of Mine Rescue Teams.--Section 
115(e)(2)(B) (30 U.S.C. 825(e)(2)(B)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
            ``(v) The provision of uniform credentials to mine rescue 
        team members, support personnel, or vehicles for immediate 
        access to any mine site;
            ``(vi) The plans required at each mine to ensure 
        coordination with local emergency response personnel and to 
        ensure that such personnel receive adequate training to offer 
        necessary assistance to mine rescue teams in the event such 
        assistance is requested. Such local emergency response 
        personnel shall not perform the duties of any mine rescue team; 
        and
            ``(vii) Requirements to ensure that operators are prepared 
        to facilitate the work of mine rescue teams during an emergency 
        by--
                    ``(I) storing necessary equipment in locations 
                readily accessible to mine rescue teams;
                    ``(II) providing mine rescue teams with a parking 
                and staging area adequate for their needs;
                    ``(III) identifying a space appropriate for 
                coordinating emergency communications with the mine 
                rescue team; and
                    ``(IV) identifying and maintaining separate spaces 
                for family members, community members, and press to 
                assemble during an emergency so as to facilitate 
                communications with these groups while ensuring the 
                efforts of the mine rescue teams are not hindered.''.
    (f) Emergency Medical Response.--
            (1) Ambulance.--Not later than 3 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate 
        regulations to require mine operators to have, within 20 
        minutes from the site of every coal or other mine, an ambulance 
        or other means of providing emergency medical response in the 
        event of an accident.
            (2) Medical emergency technician training.--The Secretary 
        shall review the training and availability requirements for 
        medical emergency technicians in effect as of the date of 
        enactment of this Act and shall promptly revise such 
        requirements in any regulations necessary to improve such 
        training and increase the availability of medical emergency 
        technicians.
    (g) Accident and Incident Investigations.--Section 103(b) (30 
U.S.C. 813(b) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``For the purpose'' and inserting ``(2) For 
        the purpose'';
            (2) by inserting after the subsection designation the 
        following:
    ``(1) Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of the S-
MINER act, the Secretary shall initiate rulemaking activity to 
establish rules on the procedures that will be used to investigate 
mining accidents and incidents, and shall directly contact and solicit 
the participation of--
            ``(A) individuals identified by the Secretary as family 
        members of miners who perished in mining accidents of any type 
        during the preceding 10-year period;
            ``(B) organizations representing miners;
            ``(C) mine rescue teams;
            ``(D) Federal, State, and local investigation and 
        prosecutorial authorities; and
            ``(E) others whom the Secretary determines may have 
        information relevant to this rulemaking.
Such rules shall be issued not later than October 1, 2008, and shall 
include the investigation of any activities of Federal employees that 
may be relevant to such accidents or incidents, and may establish 
alternative procedures for such investigations depending upon such 
factors as the Secretary determines are appropriate. Such rules shall 
include procedures to ensure that witnesses are not coerced, to avoid 
conflicts of interest in witness representation, and to ensure 
confidentiality if requested by any witness. Such rules shall also 
require upon completion of an accident or incident investigation, the 
Secretary shall issue findings as to the actions or inactions which 
resulted in the accident or incident, and shall make recommendations as 
to policy, regulatory, enforcement or other changes, including 
statutory changes, which in the judgment of the Secretary's mine safety 
and health experts would best prevent a recurrence of such actions or 
inactions at other mines, and shall promptly make all such findings and 
recommendations public (except findings and recommendations that must 
be temporarily withheld in connection with a criminal referral). Such 
rules shall further provide that the Secretary shall hold appropriate 
public hearings at the conclusion of the investigation of incidents to 
inform the mining community of the findings and recommendations, and 
shall also provide that the Secretary track the implementation of 
accident and incident investigation recommendations and provide such 
information annually to the Congress.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(3) After an accident or incident and upon the timely request of 
the authorized representative of the miners or the families at a mine, 
the Secretary shall contract with the Chemical Safety and Hazard 
Investigation Board to conduct an independent investigation of the 
accident or incident and provide recommendations to the Secretary. Such 
investigation shall be in addition to any investigation conducted by 
the Secretary, and shall be conducted pursuant to whatever procedures 
such authority determines are appropriate for the investigation. The 
Secretary shall provide such authority with all information and 
expertise requested, and shall pay for such authority to conduct the 
authority's investigation, including the costs of obtaining the 
services of independent experts required for any such investigation.''.

SEC. 7. RESPIRABLE DUST STANDARDS.

    (a) Respirable Dust; Respirable Silica Dust.--Section 202 (30 
U.S.C. 842) is amended to read as follows:

               ``dust standard and respiratory equipment

    ``Sec. 202.  (a)(1) Effective on the date of enactment of the S-
MINER Act, each mine operator shall continuously maintain the 
concentration of respirable dust in the mine atmosphere during each 
shift to which each miner in the active workings of such mine is 
exposed at or below a time-weighted average of 1.00 milligrams of 
respirable dust per cubic meter of air averaged over 10 hours or its 
dose-equivalent for shorter or longer period of time. For purposes of 
this paragraph, `a dose-equivalent' means the amount of dust that a 
miner would inhale during his work shift as if he were working for 10 
hours, and the term `shift' means portal-to-portal for coal mines and 
`bank to bank' for other mines.
    ``(2) At regular intervals to be prescribed by the Secretary and 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary will take 
accurate samples of the amount of respirable dust in the mine 
atmosphere to which each miner in the active workings of such mine is 
exposed in order to determine compliance with the requirements of 
paragraph (a)(1) of this section. In addition, the Secretary shall 
cause to be made such frequent spot inspections as he deems appropriate 
of the active workings of coal mines for the purpose of obtaining 
compliance with the provisions of this title. All samples by the 
Secretary shall be taken by a personal dust monitor that measures, 
records and displays the concentration of respirable dust to which the 
miner wearing the device is exposed, and shall include the sampling of 
areas, occupations or persons. For the purposes of determining 
compliance with the exposure limit for respirable dust, only a single 
sample shall be required to determine non-compliance, and there shall 
be no adjustment for measurement error in the measured level of 
respirable dust.
    ``(3) Each operator of a coal mine shall take accurate samples of 
the amount of respirable dust in the mine atmosphere to which each 
miner in the active workings of such mine is exposed to identify 
sources of exposure so that the operator can take corrective action and 
assure that the exposure of each mine is below the exposure limit. 
Under the provisions of this Act, all such samples shall be taken by a 
personal dust monitor that measures, records and displays the 
concentration of respirable dust to which the miner wearing the device 
is exposed. The results of such sampling shall be transmitted to the 
Secretary in a manner established by him, and recorded by him in a 
manner that will assure application of the provisions of this section 
of the Act.
    ``(4) Each miner shall be equipped with a personal dust monitor 
that measures, records and displays the concentration of respirable 
dust to which the miner wearing the device is exposed. Each miner shall 
be permitted to adjust his work activities whenever necessary to keep 
his exposure to respirable coal dust, as measured, recorded and 
displayed by such device, at all times at or below the permitted 
concentration.
    ``(b) Effective on the effective date of the S-MINER Act, each 
operator shall continuously maintain the concentration of respirable 
silica dust in the mine atmosphere during each shift to which each 
miner in the active workings of such mine is exposed at or below a 
time-weighted average of 0.05 milligrams of respirable silica dust per 
cubic meter of air averaged over ten hours or its dose-equivalent for 
shorter or longer period of time. For the purposes of this paragraph, 
compliance shall be determined by the sampling of areas, occupations or 
persons, only a single sample shall be required to determine non-
compliance, and there shall be no adjustment for measurement error in 
the measured level of respirable silica dust. For the purposes of this 
paragraph, a `dose-equivalent' means the amount of dust that a miner 
would inhale during his work shift as if he were working for 10 hours, 
and the term `shift' means portal-to-portal for coal mines and `bank to 
bank' for other mines.
    ``(c) Respiratory equipment approved by the Secretary and the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall be made available to all 
persons whenever exposed to concentrations of respirable dust or silica 
in excess of the levels required to be maintained under this section. 
Use of respirators shall not be substituted for environmental control 
measures in the active workings. Each operator shall maintain a supply 
of respiratory equipment adequate to deal with occurrences of 
concentrations of respirable dust and silica in the mine atmosphere in 
excess of the levels required to be maintained under this section.
    ``(d) Each operator shall report and certify to the Secretary at 
such intervals as the Secretary may require as to the conditions in the 
active workings of the coal mine, including, the average number of 
working hours worked during each shift, the quantity and velocity of 
air regularly reaching the working faces, the method of mining, the 
amount and pressure of the water, if any, reaching the working faces, 
and the number, location, and type of sprays, if any, used.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 205 (30 U.S.C. 845) is repealed.
    (c) Assessment on Program Operations of Cumulative Impact of 
External Requirements Added Since 1977.--The Secretary shall request 
the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of the impact on 
the mine safety and health responsibilities of the Department of Labor 
of various statutes, executive orders, and memoranda applicable to the 
issuance of rulemaking and guidance and to enforcement. The study shall 
include an assessment of the Equal Access to Justice Act, the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act, the Data Quality Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the 
Congressional Review Act, Executive Order 12866, Executive Order 13422, 
and memoranda from the Office of Management and Budget on guidance, 
risk assessment and cost analysis. The Secretary shall request that the 
National Academy of Sciences consult widely with experts in 
administrative law and other disciplines knowledgeable about such 
requirements, and to quantify to the extent possible the costs to 
miners of the aforementioned requirements. The Secretary shall further 
request that recommendations be included in the report, and request 
that such report and recommendations be completed, and copies forwarded 
to the Congress, no later than 21 months after the effective date of 
this Act.
                                 <all>