[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 27, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62722-62723]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-24046]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Mine Safety and Health Administration


Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public 
Comment and Recommendations; Refuse Piles and Impounding Structures, 
Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden conducts a preclearance 
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or containing 
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to 
ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, 
reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, 
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of 
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed.

DATES: Submit comments on or before December 27, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Melissa Stoehr, Acting Chief, Records 
Management Branch, 1100 Wilson Boulevard, Room 2134, Arlington, VA 
22209-3939. Commenters are encouraged to send their comments on 
computer disk, or via e-mail to [email protected]. Ms. Stoehr can 
be reached at (202) 693-9837 (voice), or (202) 693-9801 (facsimile).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact the employee listed in the 
ADDRESSES section of this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 was amended by the 
Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 after the Buffalo Creek dam 
failure in 1972 in West Virginia. The refuse pile and impound 
standards, Title 30 CFR sections 77.215 and 77.216 had been enacted 
earlier in 1975 and were incorporated into the Act. Additional parts of 
these Sections were promulgated and enacted in 1992. The standards 
require that the agency approve prudently engineered design plans for 
dams and their impoundments, as well as the plans for hazardous refuse 
piles that are routinely constructed by coal mine operators. Plan 
revisions are also required to be submitted for approval. In addition, 
the

[[Page 62723]]

standards also require plans when one of these sites is to be 
abandoned. And plans are required when spontaneous fires erupt and need 
to be extinguished at the burning site. Records of weekly inspections 
and instrument monitoring are also required to ensure that the sites 
remain safe. Finally, the mine operators are also required to submit an 
annual status report and certification that guarantees that the site is 
being constructed in accordance with the approved plan, and the site 
has not been altered during the construction year.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    Currently, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is 
soliciting comments concerning the proposed extension of the 
information collection requirement related to the Refuse Piles and 
Impoundment Structures, Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements. MSHA 
is particularly interested in comments that:
    * Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of MSHA's functions, including 
whether the information has practical utility;
    * Evaluate the accuracy of MSHA's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    * Suggest methods to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and
    * Address the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, 
or other technological collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology, (e.g., permitting electronic submissions of 
responses) to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond.
    A copy of the proposed information collection request can be 
obtained by contacting the employee listed in the ADDRESSES section of 
this notice or viewed on the Internet by accessing the MSHA home page 
(http://www.msha.gov) and then choosing ``Statutory and Regulatory 
Information'' and ``Federal Register Documents.''

III. Current Actions

    There are approximately 740 coal mine impounding structures and 30 
hazardous refuse piles, for a total of 770 sites. All impoundments and 
hazardous refuse piles are required by the standards to be constructed 
and operated in an approved manner. In addition, coal mine operators 
frequently revise construction plans to accommodate mining conditions, 
cycles or markets. Since these revisions to the structures can 
adversely affect a great number of people, such changes are required to 
be planned in a prudent manner and approved by the agency. Fire 
extinguishing plans are only required from an operator when a 
spontaneous combustion has occurred, and the operator is directed to 
extinguish the fire. Inspections on a weekly basis, or inspections at a 
longer interval for long established and stable impoundments (after the 
regulation changes in 1992), are required to ensure that precipitation, 
seismic activity, or perhaps an unknown construction flaw, has not 
adversely affected any part of the dam site. The annual status report 
and certification ensures that the company's engineers confirm that the 
site is in accordance with the approved engineering plan. An 
abandonment plan approved by the agency ensures that a hazardous site 
is not left in place after all mining activity has ceased.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Agency: Mine Safety and Health Administration.
    Title: Impounding Safety and Refuse Piles, Reporting Requirements, 
Certifications and Recordkeeping.
    OMB Number: 1219-0015.
    Recordkeeping: 3 years.
    Frequency: Annually and 17 times a year.
    Affected Public: Business or other for profit.
    Cite/Reference/Form/etc.: 30 CFR Sections 77.215 and 77.216.
    Total Respondents: 770.
    Total Responses: 12,885.
    Average Time Per Response: 8 hours.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 96,432.
    Total Annualized Capital/Startup Costs: $0.
    Total Operating and Maintenance Costs: $0.
    Total Burden Cost (Capital/Startup): None.
    Total Burden Cost (Operating/Maintaining): None.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval of the information collection request; they will also become a 
matter of public record.

    Dated at Arlington, Virginia, this 19th day of October, 2004.
David L. Meyer,
Director, Office of Administration and Management.
[FR Doc. 04-24046 Filed 10-26-04; 8:45 am]
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