[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 249 (Friday, December 27, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79010-79012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31033]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Mine Safety and Health Administration

[Docket Number MSHA-2013-0037]


Criteria to Certify Coal Mine Rescue Teams

AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice informs the public that the Mine Safety and Health 
Administration (MSHA) has updated the coal mine rescue team 
certification criteria. The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response 
(MINER) Act of 2006 requires MSHA to update these criteria every five 
years. One of the criteria for a mine operator to certify the 
qualifications of a coal mine rescue team is that team members are 
properly

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trained annually. MSHA has updated the prescribed instruction guides 
for annual training of coal mine rescue teams to provide improved 
advanced mine rescue training by including more hands-on skills 
training to enhance team performance when responding to an actual mine 
emergency.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George F. Triebsch, Director, Office 
of Standards, Regulations, and Variances, MSHA, at 
[email protected] (email); 202-693-9440 (voice); or 202-693-9441 
(facsimile). These are not toll-free numbers.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Under title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations (30 CFR) part 49, 
underground coal mine operators must designate at least two mine rescue 
teams to provide mine rescue coverage at an underground coal mine at 
all times when miners are underground. Underground coal mine operators 
must annually certify the qualifications of these designated teams. 
MSHA provides the criteria for certifying the qualifications of coal 
mine rescue teams under 30 CFR 49.50.
    Initial criteria to certify the qualifications of coal mine rescue 
teams under 30 CFR 49.50 are: (1) Team is available at all times when 
miners are underground; (2) Except where alternative compliance is 
permitted, team has five members and one alternate; (3) Members have 
experience working in an underground coal mine; (4) Team is available 
within 1-hour ground travel time from the mine rescue station to the 
mine; (5) Appropriate mine rescue equipment is provided, inspected, 
tested, and maintained; (6) Members are physically fit; and (7) Members 
have completed initial training.
    The annual criteria to maintain mine rescue team certification 
under 30 CFR 49.50 are: (1) Members are properly trained annually; (2) 
Members are familiar with the operations of each covered mine; (3) 
Members participate in at least two local mine rescue contests 
annually; (4) Members participate in mine rescue training at each 
covered mine; and (5) Members are knowledgeable about the operations 
and ventilation of each covered mine.
    The MINER Act requires MSHA to update the criteria to certify the 
qualifications of mine rescue teams every five years. The revised 
instruction guides do not change the certification criteria listed 
above, but rather update the prescribed training that team members need 
annually to be properly trained. The specific annual training 
requirements are listed at 30 CFR 49.18(b).

II. Revision of Instruction Guides

    The annual training requirements for coal mine rescue teams include 
Sec.  49.18(b)(4), which requires advanced mine rescue training and 
procedures as prescribed by MSHA's Office of Educational Policy and 
Development (EPD). Under this requirement, EPD currently prescribes 
Instruction Guide IG7, ``Advanced Mine Rescue Training--Coal Mines,'' 
which includes best practices, handouts, visuals, and text materials 
for the classroom and activities or exercises for practice using 
equipment and developing teamwork.
    To update this prescribed training, the existing lessons and 
exercises from the current Instruction Guide IG7 were reorganized and 
Instruction Guide IG7a, containing new practical exercises, was added. 
The materials for classroom training are retained as Instruction Guide 
IG7, ``Advanced Mine Rescue Training--Coal Mines,'' and the practice 
exercises are moved to new Instruction Guide IG7a, ``Advanced Skills 
Training--Activities for Coal Mine Rescue Teams.'' Instruction Guide 
IG7a also contains new exercises to assure practice on skills a team 
would need in a mine emergency, as well as expectations training.
    MSHA published a notice in the Federal Register (78 FR 58567) 
announcing the availability of the revised instruction guides on the 
Agency's Web site and soliciting comments to assure that the revised 
instruction guides would improve the quality and effectiveness of 
instruction and skills training for coal mine rescue teams. The comment 
period closed on November 25, 2013.
    MSHA received five comments from industry, state government, 
academia, and a mine rescue association. One commenter stated that IG7a 
provides a good basic format for mine rescue trainers to quickly 
develop training exercises for their mine rescue teams. This commenter 
stated that the expectations training in IG7a was important and 
recommended that MSHA add an expectation that team members can expect 
delays in movement and exploration in an actual emergency. MSHA 
recognizes that it is important for team members to expect delays when 
exploring in an actual emergency due to the time needed to coordinate 
their movements with the Command Center. MSHA added this expectation to 
IG7a.
    A commenter stated that IG7a should include an exercise in the 
actual construction of ventilation controls. There are several 
different types of ventilation controls used in underground coal mining 
and they vary from mine to mine. In MSHA's experience, training in 
ventilation controls, already included in IG7, appropriately addresses 
how to construct a variety of ventilation controls, including temporary 
and permanent stoppings, air locks, and line brattice.
    Another commenter stated that teams would be better trained if the 
training consisted of actually putting out a fire, being exposed to 
heat and dense smoke, and spending more time preparing for an actual 
emergency. MSHA believes that the exercises prescribed in IG7a will 
provide appropriate training in smoke, fire hose management, and 
firefighting.
    A commenter stated that MSHA should revise IG7a to include a 
statement that all skills covered in Instruction Guide IG7a can be 
achieved by participating in a skills contest. Another commenter stated 
that its teams perform the exercises prescribed in IG7a through 
participation in a skills contest. MSHA does not require participation 
in a skills contest. MSHA believes, however, that skills contests 
provide a valuable training experience for mine rescue teams and 
encourages teams to participate in these contests. Participation in a 
skills contest can satisfy the training in IG7a, as long as an exercise 
is included for each skill area prescribed in IG7a.
    A commenter stated that MSHA should revise IG7a to include a smoke 
tube exercise. This commenter also provided recommendations for 
additional materials that MSHA should list as needed for several 
exercises. MSHA revised IG7a to include a smoke tube exercise in which 
tubes filled with a visible chemical smoke are opened and the escaping 
smoke is carried away by any air flow. In the Agency's experience, 
smoke tube training will help prepare teams to determine the 
ventilation direction and measure speed in areas with low air velocity, 
which may be encountered in a mine emergency. Where appropriate, MSHA 
also revised the list of materials needed.
    Another commenter stated that the fire hose management and 
firefighting exercises contained in IG7a are not practical for 
anthracite mine rescue teams because: (1) Of the coal seam's extreme 
pitch; (2) anthracite coal requires more heat to combust; (3) 
anthracite dust does not propagate an explosion; and (4) there are no 
anthracite mines with electrical face equipment.

[[Page 79012]]

    MSHA recognizes that underground anthracite mines are unique. 
Revised IG7a does not include fire hose management or firefighting 
exercises for mine rescue teams for anthracite coal mines that have no 
electrical equipment at the face or working section. In MSHA's 
experience, a mine rescue team would use fire extinguishers, rather 
than hoses, to fight a fire in an underground anthracite mine due to 
the pitch of the entry. MSHA believes that appropriate training in the 
use of fire extinguishers is already provided through the Emergency 
Response Plans at anthracite mines.
    Some commenters stated that the existing requirement that teams 
train at covered mines two times per year be revised to require 
training once per year. This requirement was a provision of the MINER 
Act and is outside the scope of this notice. Another commenter 
suggested that MSHA revise the guidelines for Mine Emergency Response 
Drills (MERD) to allow for rescue training in the MERD format without 
three total teams and a declared winner. Under the existing standard, a 
local mine rescue contest can be a MERD exercise or a practical 
simulation exercise. If a mine operator choses a MERD exercise to 
satisfy the requirements for a local mine rescue contest, the MERD 
exercise must have three teams and a winner.
    In MSHA's experience, revised Instruction Guide IG7 and new 
Instruction Guide IG7a are resources that will assist coal mine rescue 
team trainers in providing team members with the necessary knowledge 
and skills to respond effectively in the event of an emergency. Changes 
in mine rescue team technologies and practices may necessitate changes 
in advance mine rescue skills training. When these changes become 
available, MSHA will provide the public an opportunity to comment.
    Beginning in 2014, coal mine rescue teams must complete advanced 
skills training prescribed in IG7 and IG7a to be properly trained under 
the criteria for certification of coal mine rescue teams in 30 CFR 
49.50.
    The comments and the final instruction guides for advanced mine 
rescue training of coal mine rescue teams are posted on 
www.regulations.gov (docket number MSHA-2013-0037) and on MSHA's Web 
site at http://www.msha.gov/MineRescue/Training/TeamTraining.asp.

    Authority: 30 U.S.C. 811, 825(e).

    Dated: December 23, 2013.
Joseph A. Main,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2013-31033 Filed 12-26-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-43-P