[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 193 (Thursday, October 5, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52217-52219]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-24743]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Petitions for Modification
The following parties have filed petitions to modify the
application of mandatory safety standards under section 101(c) of the
Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.
1. Amax Coal Company
[Docket No. M-95-116-C]
Amax Coal Company, 9100 East Mineral Circle, Englewood, Colorado
80112 has filed a petition to modify the application of 30 CFR
75.364(b)(2) (weekly examination) to its Wabash Mine (I.D. No. 11-
00877) located in Wabash County, Illinois. Due to deteriorating roof
and rib conditions and accumulations of water in certain areas of the
return air course, the area cannot be traveled safely. The petitioner
proposes to establish evaluation points to monitor the affected area.
The evaluation points would be established at crosscut #76 at the 3
South/4 East connection to monitor the air entering the Old 3 South/4
East and 5 East from the 3 South/4 East connection point and the Main
South, and at crosscuts #186 and #196 in the Main south to monitor the
air exiting the area; to have a certified person test for methane and
the quantity of air at each station on a weekly basis and to record
their initials, date, time, and results of the examinations in a book
kept on the surface and made available for inspection by interested
persons. The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method
would provide at least the same measure of protection as would the
mandatory standard.
2. Snyder Coal Company
[Docket No. M-95-117-C]
Snyder Coal Company, R.D. #2, Box 93, Hegins, Pennsylvania 17938
has filed a petition to modify the application of 30 CFR 75.1200(d) &
(i) (mine map) to its N & L Slope (I.D. No. 36-02203) located in
Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. The petitioner proposes to use
cross-sections instead of contour lines through the intake slope, at
locations of rock tunnel connections between veins, and at 1,000-foot
intervals of advance from the intake slope and to limit the required
mapping of mine workings above and below to those present within 100
feet of the veins being mined except when veins are interconnected to
other veins beyond the 100-foot limit through rock tunnels. The
petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method would provide
at least the same measure of protection as would the mandatory
standard.
3. Consolidation Coal Company
[Docket No. M-95-118-C]
Consolidation Coal Company, Consol Plaza, 1800 Washington Road,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15241 has filed a petition to modify the
application of 30 CFR 75.804(a) (underground high- voltage cables) to
its Robinson Run No. 95 Mine (I.D. No. 46- 01318) located in Harrison
County, West Virginia. The petitioner proposes to use high-voltage
cables (4,160-volts) with an internal ground check conductor smaller
than No. 10 A.W.G as a part of its longwall mining system. The type of
cables would be CABLEC/BICC Anaconda brand, 5kV, 3/C, Type SHD+GC;
Amercable Tiger brand, 3/C, 5kV, Type SHD-CGC; Pirelli 5kV, 3/C, Type
SHD- CENTER-GC; or similar 5,000-volt cable with a center ground check
conductor, but otherwise manufactured to the ICEA Standard S-75- 381
for Type SHD, three-conductor cables. The petitioner states that the
cable construction would be symmetrical 3/C, 3/G, and 1/GC; that the
ground check conductor would be an insulated flexible center conductor
with a cross-sectional area not less than 1,800 circular mils; that all
personnel who perform maintenance on the longwall would receive
training in the installation and repair of the cable before the
alternative method is implemented; and that proposed revisions for its
approved 30 CFR Part 48 training plan would be submitted to the Coal
Mine Safety and Health District Manager within 60 days after a decision
has been made on this petition and that these revisions would specify
task training, including review of the above terms and conditions for
the miners affected. The petitioner asserts that the proposed
alternative method would provide at least the same measure of
protection as would the mandatory standard.
4. Doverspike Bros. Coal Company, Inc.
[Docket No. M-95-119-C]
Doverspike Bros. Coal Company, Inc., R.D. #4, Box 271,
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania 15767 has filed a petition to modify the
application of 30 CFR 75.380(d)(4) (escapeways; bituminous and lignite
mines) to its Dora No. 6 Mine (I.D. No. 36-06583) located in Jefferson
County, Pennsylvania. The petitioner proposes to maintain an alternate
escapeway that would have a travelway with a minimum width of four feet
and a total of 350 lineal feet instead of the required six-foot-wide
escapeway. The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method
would provide at least the same measure of protection as would the
mandatory standard.
5. Energy West Mining Company
[Docket No. M-95-120-C]
Energy West Mining Company, P.O. Box 310, Huntington, Utah 84528
has filed a petition to modify the application of 30 CFR 75.804(a)
(underground high-voltage cables) to its Trail Mountain Mine (I.D. No.
42-01211) located in Emery County, Utah. The petitioner requests a
modification to its previously granted petition, docket number M-94-
107-C, to use the Cablec Anaconda Brand 5KV 3/C type SHD+GC, Pirelli
5KV 3/C type SHD-Center-GC, or Tiger Brand 5KV type SHC-CGC on high-
voltage longwall equipment, to include its new Trail Mountain Mine. The
petitioner states that the Trail Mountain Mine is an extension of the
Cottonwood Mine (I.D. No. 42-01944) with similar mining conditions and
that mine personnel and mining equipment are systematically being
transferred to this new mine as mining reserves are depleted. The
petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method would provide
at least the same measure of protection as would the mandatory
standard.
6. Energy West Mining Company
[Docket No. M-95-121-C]
Energy West Mining Company, P.O. Box 310, Huntington, Utah 84528
has filed a petition to modify the application of 30 CFR 75.1100-2(a)
(quantity and location of firefighting equipment) to its Trail Mountain
Mine (I.D. No. 42-01211) located in Emery County, Utah. The petitioner
requests a modification to its previously granted petition, docket
number M-91-092-C, to use fire extinguishers instead of rock dust at
temporary electrical installations, to include its new Trail Mountain
Mine. The petitioner states that the Trail Mountain Mine is an
extension of the Cottonwood Mine (I.D. No. 42-01944) with similar
mining conditions and that mine personnel and mining equipment are
systematically being transferred to this new mine as mining reserves
are depleted. The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative
method would provide at
[[Page 52218]]
least the same measure of protection as would the mandatory standard.
7. H & S Coal Company
[Docket No. M-95-122-C]
H & S Coal Company, 534 Melrose Street, Marion Heights,
Pennsylvania 17832 has filed a petition to modify the application of 30
CFR 75.332(b)(1) and (b)(2) (working sections and working places) to
its No. 1 Slope (I.D. No. 36-08447) located in Northumberland County,
Pennsylvania. The petitioner proposes to use air passing through
inaccessible abandoned workings and additional areas by mixing with the
air in the intake haulage slope to ventilate the only active working
section, to ensure air quality by sampling intake air during preshift
and on-shift examinations, and to suspend mine production when air
quality fails to meet specified criteria. The petitioner asserts that
the proposed alternative method would provide at least the same measure
of protection as would the mandatory standard.
8. H & S Coal Company
[Docket No. M-95-123-C]
H & S Coal Company, 534 Melrose Street, Marion Heights,
Pennsylvania 17832 has filed a petition to modify the application of 30
CFR 75.335 (construction of seals) to its No. 1 Slope (I.D. No. 36-
08447) located in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. The petitioner
requests a modification of the standard to permit alternative methods
of construction using wooden materials of moderate size and weight due
to the difficulty in accessing previously driven headings and breasts
containing inaccessible abandoned workings; to accept a design criteria
in the 10 psi range; and to permit the water trap to be installed in
the gangway seal and sampling tube in the monkey seal for seals
installed in pairs. The petitioner asserts that the proposed
alternative method would provide at least the same measure of
protection as would the mandatory standard.
9. H & S Coal Company
[Docket No. M-95-124-C]
H & S Coal Company, 534 Melrose Street, Marion Heights,
Pennsylvania 17832 has filed a petition to modify the application of 30
CFR 75.340 (underground electrical installations) to its No. 1 Slope
(I.D. No. 36-08447) located in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. The
petitioner proposes to charge its batteries on the mine's locomotive
during idle periods when all miners have been removed from the mine and
to allow the intake air used to ventilate the charging stations,
located at the No. 1 chute of the active gangway level, to continue
through its normal route to the last open crosscut and into the monkey
airway (return). The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative
method would provide at least the same measure of protection as would
the mandatory standard.
10. H & S Coal Company
[Docket No. M-95-125-C]
H & S Coal Company, 534 Melrose Street, Marion Heights,
Pennsylvania 17832 has filed a petition to modify the application of 30
CFR 75.360 (preshift examination) to its No. 1 Slope (I.D. No. 36-
08447) located in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. The petitioner
proposes to visually examine each seal for physical damage from the
slope gunboat during the preshift examination after an air quantity
reading is taken in by the intake portal and to test for the quantity
and quality of air at the intake air split locations off the slope in
the gangway portion of the working section. The petitioner proposes to
physically examine the entire length of the slope once a month. The
petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method would provide
at least the same measure of protection as would the mandatory
standard.
11. H & S Coal Company
[Docket No. M-95-126-C]
H & S Coal Company, 534 Melrose Street, Marion Heights,
Pennsylvania 17832 has filed a petition to modify the application of 30
CFR 75.364(b) (1), (4) and (5) (weekly examination) to its No. 1 Slope
(I.D. No. 36-08447) located in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. Due
to hazardous conditions and roof falls, certain areas of the intake
haulage slope and primary escapeway cannot be traveled safely. The
petitioner proposes to examine these areas from the gunboat/slope car
with an alternative air quality evaluation at the section's intake
level, and to travel and throughly examine these areas for hazardous
conditions once a month. The petitioner asserts that the proposed
alternative method would provide at least the same measure of
protection as would the mandatory standard.
12. H & S Coal Company
[Docket No. M-95-127-C]
H & S Coal Company, 534 Melrose Street, Marion Heights,
Pennsylvania 17832 has filed a petition to modify the application of 30
CFR 75.1002-1 (location of other electric equipment; requirements for
permissibility) to its No. 1 Slope (I.D. No. 36-08447) located in
Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. The petitioner proposes to use
nonpermissible electric equipment within 150 feet of the pillar line
and to suspend equipment operation anytime the methane concentration at
the equipment reaches 0.5 percent, either during operation or during a
pre-shift examination. The petitioner asserts that the proposed
alternative method would provide at least the same measure of
protection as would the mandatory standard.
13. H & S Coal Company
[Docket No. M-95-128-C]
H & S Coal Company, 534 Melrose Street, Marion Heights,
Pennsylvania 17832 has filed a petition to modify the application of 30
CFR 75.1100-2 (quantity and location of firefighting equipment) to its
No. 1 Slope (I.D. No. 36-08447) located in Northumberland County,
Pennsylvania. The petitioner proposes to use only portable fire
extinguishers to replace existing requirements where rock dust, water
cars, and other water storage are not practical. The petitioner asserts
that the proposed alternative method would provide at least the same
measure of protection as would the mandatory standard.
14. H & S Coal Company
[Docket No. M-95-129-C]
H & S Coal Company, 534 Melrose Street, Marion Heights,
Pennsylvania 17832 has filed a petition to modify the application of 30
CFR 75.1200 (d) & (i) (mine map) to its No. 1 Slope (I.D. No. 36-08447)
located in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. The petitioner proposes
to use cross-sections instead of contour lines through the intake
slope, at locations of rock tunnel connections between veins, and at
1,000-foot intervals of advance from the intake slope and to limit the
required mapping of the mine workings above and below to those present
within 100 feet of the veins being mined except when veins are
interconnected to other veins beyond the 100-foot limit through rock
tunnels. The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method
would provide at least the same measure of protection as would the
mandatory standard.
15. H & S Coal Company
[Docket No. M-95-130-C]
H & S Coal Company, 534 Melrose Street, Marion Heights,
Pennsylvania 17832 has filed a petition to modify the
[[Page 52219]]
application of 30 CFR 75.1202-1(a) (temporary notations, revisions, and
supplements) to its No. 1 Slope (I.D. No. 36-08447) located in
Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. The petitioner proposes to revise
and supplement mine maps annually instead of every 6 months, as
required, and to update maps daily by hand notations. The petitioner
asserts that the proposed alternative method would provide at least the
same measure of protection as would the mandatory standard.
16. Performance Coal Company
[Docket No. M-95-131-C]
Performance Coal Company, P.O. Box 89, Naoma, West Virginia 25140
has filed a petition to modify the application of 30 CFR 75.1002
(location of trolley wires, trolley feeder wires, high-voltage cables
and transformers) to its Upper Big Branch South Mine (I.D. No. 46-
08436) located in Raleigh County, West Virginia. The petitioner
proposes to use high-voltage (4,160 volts) cables to power longwall
equipment. The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method
would provide at least the same measure of protection as would the
mandatory standard.
17. Martin County Coal Corporation
[Docket No. M-95-132-C and M-95-133-C]
Martin County Coal Corporation, P.O. Box 5002, Inez, Kentucky 41224
has filed a petition to modify the application of 30 CFR 75.1103-4(a)
(automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; installation;
minimum requirements) to its Pegasus Mine (I.D. No. 15-17330) and its
White Cabin Mine Number One (I.D. No. 15-17531), both located in Martin
County, Kentucky. The petitioner requests a modification of the
standard to allow that the mine not be required at all times to
specifically identify the belt flight from which a sensor indicates a
possible fire. The petitioner states that its present system consists
of a series of enhanced safety factors of rapid and effective
communications and rapid response in the event of an activation of an
automatic fire warning device and safe, direct, and effective means of
evacuation of underground mines. The petitioner asserts that the
proposed alternative method would provide at least the same measure of
protection as would the mandatory standard.
18. Pilgrim Mining Coal Company, Inc.
[Docket No. M-95-134-C through M-95-136-C]
Pilgrim Mining Coal Company, Inc., P.O. Box 2046, Inez, Kentucky
41224 has filed a petition to modify the application of 30 CFR 75.1103-
4(a) (automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; installation;
minimum requirements) to its Voyager Mine Number One (I.D. No. 15-
17585); its Voyager Mine Number Two (I.D. No. 15-17639); and its
Pilgrim Mine Number Three (I.D. No. 17359), all located in Martin
County, Kentucky. Petitioner requests a modification of the standard to
allow that the mine not be required at all times to specifically
identify the belt flight from which a sensor indicates a possible fire.
The petitioner states that its present system consists of a series of
enhanced safety factors of rapid and effective communications and rapid
response in the event of an activation of an automatic fire warning
device and safe, direct, and effective means of evacuation of
underground mines. The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative
method would provide at least the same measure of protection as would
the mandatory standard.
19. National King Coal, Inc.
[Docket No. M-95-137-C]
National King Coal, Inc., 4424 County Road 120, Hesperus, Colorado
81326 has filed a petition to modify the application of 30 CFR
75.380(d)(4)(ii) (escapeways; bituminous and lignite mines) to its King
Coal Mine (I.D. No. 05-00266) located in La Plata County, Colorado. The
petitioner proposes to have a secondary escapeway that passes through
an 80-inch diameter metal culvert for a distance of about 20 feet
running lengthwise and a row of supplemental roof support down the
center, limiting the width of the secondary escapeway to about 40
inches on each side of the roof supports instead of the required 48
inches; to post signs in the secondary escapeway area leading to the
metal culvert area that would read ``Caution--Close Clearance''; and to
provide training for all existing and future underground employees on
the existence of the narrow length of the escapeway, and the methods
and practices of carrying a stretcher through a 40-inch opening. The
petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method would provide
at least the same measure of protection as would the mandatory
standard.
Request for Comments
Persons interested in these petitions may furnish written comments.
These comments must be filed with the Office of Standards, Regulations
and Variances, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Room 627, 4015
Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22203. All comments must be
postmarked or received in that office on or before November 6, 1995.
Copies of these petitions are available for inspection at that address.
Dated: September 27, 1995.
Patricia W. Silvey,
Director, Office of Standards, Regulations and Variances.
[FR Doc. 95-24743 Filed 10-4-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-43-P