[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 120 (Thursday, June 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37440-37441]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15188]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Mine Mapping and Records of Opening, Closing, 
and Reopening of Mines

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Mine Safety 
and Health Administration (MSHA) sponsored information collection 
request (ICR) titled, ``Mine Mapping and Records of Opening, Closing, 
and Reopening of Mines,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

DATES: Submit comments on or before July 23, 2012.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; 
including a description of the likely

[[Page 37441]]

respondents, proposed frequency of response, and estimated total burden 
may be obtained from the RegInfo.gov Web site, http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, on the day following publication of this notice or 
by contacting Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129 (this is not a 
toll-free number) or sending an email to [email protected].
    Submit comments about this request to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-MSHA, Office of 
Management and Budget, Room 10235, New Executive Office Building, 
Washington, DC 20503, Telephone: 202-395-6929/Fax: 202-395-6881 (these 
are not toll-free numbers), email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Michel Smyth by telephone at 
202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ICR addressed by this notice is intended 
to protect miners by assuring that up-to-date, accurate mine maps 
contain the information needed to clarify the best alternatives for 
action during an emergency operation. Coal mine operators routinely use 
maps to create safe and effective development plans.
    Mine maps are schematic depictions of critical mine infrastructure, 
such as water, power, transportation, ventilation, and communication 
systems. Using accurate, up-to-date maps during a disaster, mine 
emergency personnel can locate refuges for miners and identify sites of 
explosion potential; they can know where stationary equipment was 
placed, where ground was secured, and where they can best begin a 
rescue operation. During a disaster, maps can be crucial to the safety 
of the emergency personnel who must enter a mine to begin a search for 
survivors. Mine maps may describe the current status of an operating 
mine or provide crucial information about a long-closed mine that is 
being reopened.
    Coal mine operators use map information to develop safe and 
effective plans and to help determine hazards before beginning work in 
areas, such as abandoned underground mines or the worked out and 
inaccessible areas of an active underground or surface mine. Abandoned 
mines or inaccessible areas of active mines may have water inundation 
potentials, explosive levels of methane or lethal gases. If an 
operator, unaware of the hazards, were to mine into such an area, 
miners could be killed or seriously injured.
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA and displays 
a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any 
other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if the 
collection of information does not display a valid OMB Control Number. 
See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this 
information collection under Control Number 1219-0073. The current 
approval is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2012; however, it should be 
noted that existing information collection requirements submitted to 
the OMB receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. 
For additional information, see the related notice published in the 
Federal Register on March 22, 2012 (77 FR 16863).
    Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in 
the ADDRESSES section within 30 days of publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate 
consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 1219-0073. 
The OMB is particularly interested in comments that:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    Agency: DOL-MSHA.
    Title of Collection: Mine Mapping and Records of Opening, Closing, 
and Reopening of Mines.
    OMB Control Number: 1219-0073.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--Businesses or other for-profits.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,876.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 804.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 16,476.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $21,474,889.

    Dated: June 15, 2012.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-15188 Filed 6-20-12; 8:45 a.m.]
BILLING CODE 4510-43-P