[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3947-3948]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-1637]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Mine Safety and Health Administration


Petitions for Modification

    The following parties have filed petitions to modify the 
application of existing safety standards under section 101(c) of the 
Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.

1. Knott County Mining Company

[Docket No. M-2003-096-C]

    Knott County Mining Company, PO Box 102, Kite, Kentucky 41828 has 
filed a petition to modify the application of 30 CFR 75.900 (Low and 
medium-voltage circuits serving three-phase alternating current 
equipment; circuits breakers) to its Mine 582 (MSHA I.D. No. 15-18522) 
located in Knott County, Kentucky. The petitioner proposes to use 
contactors for under-voltage protection in lieu of using the required 
circuit breakers. The petitioner states that an additional ground fault 
protection device will be provided for the affected circuits; the 
hazards caused by personnel rushing to the remote locations to reset 
breakers will be eliminated; and travelways will be safer and the 
miners will not have to take risks out of a sense of urgency to resume 
production. The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method 
would provide at least the same measure of protection as the existing 
standard.

[[Page 3948]]

2. Knott County Mining Company

[Docket No. M-2003-097-C]

    Knott County Mining Company, PO Box 102, Kite, Kentucky 41828 has 
filed a petition to modify the application of 30 CFR 75.900 (Low and 
medium-voltage circuits serving three-phase alternating current 
equipment; circuits breakers) to its Puncheon Branch Mine (MSHA I.D. 
No. 15-17110) located in Knott County, Kentucky. The petitioner 
proposes to use contactors for under-voltage protection in lieu of 
using the required circuit breakers. The petitioner states that an 
additional ground fault protection device will be provided for the 
affected circuits; the hazards caused by personnel rushing to the 
remote locations to reset breakers will be eliminated; and travelways 
will be safer and the miners will not have to take risks out of a sense 
of urgency to resume production. The petitioner asserts that the 
proposed alternative method would provide at least the same measure of 
protection as the existing standard.

3. Little Buck Coal Company

[Docket No. M-2003-098-C]

    Little Buck Coal Company, 57 Lincoln Road, Pine Grove, Pennsylvania 
17963 has filed a petition to modify the application of 30 CFR 49.2(b) 
to its 2 Slope (MSHA I.D. No. 36-08299) located in Schuylkill 
County, Pennsylvania. The petitioner requests a modification of the 
standard to permit the reduction of two mine rescue teams with five 
members and one alternate each, to two mine rescue teams of three 
members with one alternate for either team. The petitioner asserts that 
application of the existing standard would result in a diminution of 
safety to the miners and that the proposed alternative method would 
provide at least the same measure of protection as the existing 
standard.

4. River Hill Coal Company, Inc.

[Docket No. M-2003-099-C]

    River Hill Coal Company, Inc., PO Box 69, 1686 Tipple Road, 
Karthaus, Pennsylvania 16845 has filed a petition to modify the 
application of 30 CFR 77.700-1(c) (Approved methods of grounding) to 
its River Hill Coal Company Mine (MSHA I.D. No. 36-00884) located in 
Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. The petitioner requests a modification 
of the existing standard to permit an alternative method of compliance 
for providing a safer means of grounding three phase portable water 
pumps. The petitioner proposes to build and maintain a three phase 
generator truck and pump unit that will eliminate any potential between 
the metal frames of the unit and earth. The petitioner states that that 
generator would be resistance grounded through a direct neutral and the 
generator frames, and the truck frame and the pump frame would be 
connected to the resistance grounded neutral. The petitioner has listed 
specific procedures in this petition that would be followed when its 
proposed alternative method is implemented. The petitioner asserts that 
the proposed alternative method would provide at least the same measure 
of protection as the existing standard with no diminution of safety to 
the miners.

5. L-Coal Company

[Docket No. M-2003-100-C]

    L-Coal Company, RD 2, Box 630, Shamokin, Pennsylvania 
17872 has filed a petition to modify the application of 30 CFR 
75.332(b)(1) & (b)(2) (Working sections and working places) to its 
Lenig Tunnel Mine (MSHA I.D. No. 36-08288) located in Northumberland 
County, Pennsylvania. The petitioner proposes to use air passing 
through inaccessible abandoned workings and additional areas, which is 
not examined under other mandatory standards and is currently mixing 
with the air in the intake haulage slope, to ventilate the only active 
working sections; to ensure air quality by sampling intake air during 
pre-shift and on-shift examinations, not to exceed each 2 hours; 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 the existing 
standard.

6. McElroy Coal Company

[Docket No. M-2004-001-C]

    McElroy Coal Company, RD 1, Box 67A, Glen Easton, West Virginia 
26039 has filed a petition to modify the application of 30 CFR 
75.364(b)(2) (Weekly examination) to its McElroy Mine (MSHA I.D. No. 
46-01437) located in Marshall County, West Virginia. Due to 
deteriorating roof conditions in the Main East return air entries, 
traveling the entire entry from One North seals to the Preparation 
Plant exhaust fan bottom would be unsafe to make weekly examinations. 
The petitioner proposes to establish a check point on each side of the 
bad top area to monitor the return air in the affected area. These 
monitoring stations will be established at Station Number 1 located in 
the air leg outby the Number One Seal, and Station Number 2 located in 
the entry toward Main East inby the Number Six seal of One North Seals. 
The petitioner states that all monitoring stations and the approaches 
to such stations will be maintained in safe condition at all times; 
tests for methane and the quantity and quality of air will be 
determined by a certified person on a weekly basis at each monitoring 
station; the date, initials of the examiner, time, and results of the 
examinations will be recorded in a book or on a date board at the 
monitoring stations; and results of the examinations will also be 
recorded in a book that will be kept on the surface and made available 
to all interested parties. The petitioner asserts that the proposed 
alternative method would provide at least the same measure of 
protection as the existing standard.

Request for Comments

    Persons interested in these petitions are encouraged to submit 
comments via e-mail to [email protected], or on a computer disk along 
with an original hard copy to the Office of Standards, Regulations, and 
Variances, Mine Safety and Health Administration, 1100 Wilson 
Boulevard, Room 2350, Arlington, Virginia 22209. All comments must be 
postmarked or received in that office on or before February 26, 2004. 
Copies of these petitions are available for inspection at that address.

    Dated at Arlington, Virginia this 22nd day of January 2004.
Marvin W. Nichols, Jr.,
Director, Office of Standards, Regulations, and Variances.
[FR Doc. 04-1637 Filed 1-26-04; 8:45 am]
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