[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 228 (Wednesday, November 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70570-70574]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28031]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Mine Safety and Health Administration


Petitions for Modification of Application of Existing Mandatory 
Safety Standards

AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Section 101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 
1977 and Title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 30 CFR part 44, 
govern the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for 
modification. This notice is a summary of petitions for modification 
submitted to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) by the 
parties listed below.

DATES: All comments on the petitions must be received by the Office of 
Standards, Regulations and Variances on or before December 26, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments, identified by ``docket 
number'' on the subject line, by any of the following methods:
    1. Electronic Mail: [email protected]. Include the docket 
number of the petition in the subject line of the message.
    2. Facsimile: 202-693-9441.
    3. Regular Mail or Hand Delivery: MSHA, Office of Standards, 
Regulations and Variances, 1100 Wilson Boulevard, Room 2350, Arlington, 
Virginia 22209-3939, Attention: Sheila McConnell, Acting Director, 
Office of Standards, Regulations and Variances. Persons delivering 
documents are required to check in at the receptionist's desk on the 
21st floor. Individuals may inspect copies of the petitions and 
comments during normal business hours at the address listed above.
    MSHA will consider only comments postmarked by the U.S. Postal 
Service or proof of delivery from another delivery service such as UPS 
or Federal Express on or before the deadline for comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Barron, Office of Standards, 
Regulations and Variances at 202-693-9447 (Voice), 
[email protected] (Email), or 202-693-9441 (Facsimile). [These are 
not toll-free numbers.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Section 101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 
(Mine Act) allows the mine operator or representative of miners to file 
a petition to modify the application of any mandatory safety standard 
to a coal or other mine if the Secretary of Labor determines that:
    1. An alternative method of achieving the result of such standard 
exists which will at all times guarantee no less than the same measure 
of protection afforded the miners of such mine by such standard; or
    2. That the application of such standard to such mine will result 
in a diminution of safety to the miners in such mine.
    In addition, the regulations at 30 CFR 44.10 and 44.11 establish 
the requirements and procedures for filing petitions for modification.

II. Petitions for Modification

    Docket Numbers: M-2014-037-C.
    Petitioner: Jesse Creek Mining, LLC, 1615 Kent Dairy Road, 
Alabaster, Alabama 35007.
    Mine: Clark No. 1 Mine, MSHA I.D. No. 01-03422, located in Shelby 
County, Alabama.
    Regulation Affected: 30 CFR 75.364(b)(2) (Weekly examinations).
    Modification Request: The petitioner requests a modification of the 
existing standard to permit an alternative method of having a certified 
person take air quantity and quality measurements at evaluation points 
EP-1, EP-2 and EP-3. The petitioner states that:
    (1) Multiple roof falls have blocked travel in the Main West Area 
left side return at survey spads 40 and 41 for approximately three 
crosscuts, making it unsafe for mine examiners to travel and the roof 
falls are impractical to rehabilitate.
    (2) Three evaluation points (EP-1, EP-2 and EP-3) will allow 
effective evaluation of airflow through the air split used to ventilate 
the Main West Area left side return air courses at the inaccessible 
roof falls. Evaluation points EP-2 and EP-3 will be established to 
monitor the air inby the roof fall. Evaluation point EP-1 will monitor 
the air outby the roof fall.
    (3) Signs will be posted in an adjacent travel entry showing the 
safe travel route to each evaluation point. The evaluation points and 
routes of travel to the evaluation points will be kept free of water 
accumulations. Prior to October 14, 2014, a water pump was being used 
to maintain the water level in the West Mains Area. The power has been 
removed from the pump and all water from this area will gravity drain 
to a location that will be safe for a fire boss to examine. The water 
being gravity drained will be done in a manner so that no water 
accumulations prevent safe travel in any area traveled by persons or 
equipment.

[[Page 70571]]

    (4) A certified person will conduct weekly evaluations at each of 
the evaluation points. The evaluations will include the quantity and 
quality of the air entering or exiting the evaluation points. The 
evaluation will also include a determination of any airflow from 
adjacent entries. The measurements will be made using MSHA-approved and 
calibrated hand-held multi-gas detectors to check the methane and 
oxygen gas concentrations, and appropriate calibrated anemometers to 
check airflow volume.
    (5) A diagram showing the normal direction of the airflow will be 
posted at the evaluation points. The diagram will be maintained in 
legible condition and any change in airflow will be reported to the 
mine foreman for immediate investigation.
    (6) At each evaluation point, a date board will be provided with 
the date, time, and examiner's initials recorded along with the 
measured quantity and quality of air. The results of the examinations 
including the condition of the accessible permanent ventilation 
controls creating the air course will be recorded in a book kept on the 
surface and made accessible to all interested parties.
    (7) Evaluation points and approaches to the evaluation points will 
be maintained in safe condition at all times. The roof will be 
adequately supported by roof bolts or other suitable means to prevent 
deterioration of the roof in the vicinity of the evaluation points.
    (8) Methane gas or other harmful, noxious, or poisonous gases will 
not be permitted to accumulate in excess of legal limits for return 
air. An increase of 0.5 percent methane above the last previous methane 
reading or a 10 percent change in airflow quantity will cause an 
immediate investigation of the affected area. The results of the 
investigation will be reported immediately to the mine foreman.
    (9) The initial airflow from adjacent air courses will be 
determined during the first evaluation following implementation of this 
modification. Airflow from adjacent air courses will be defined as the 
difference between the air quantity entering and exiting the petitioned 
area, as measured at the evaluation points. When there is a 10 percent 
change from the initial airflows in the air course, an immediate 
examination and evaluation will be conducted to determine the cause. 
Appropriate corrective action will then be taken. Following corrective 
action, a new ``initial airflow'' will be determined and serve as the 
basis for subsequent examinations.
    (10) The evaluation point locations will be shown on the annually 
submitted mine ventilation map. The locations will not be moved to 
other locations without prior approval by the District Manager as part 
of the Ventilation Plan for the mine.
    (11) Prior to implementing this modification, all mine personnel 
will be instructed that except along designated routes, no travel will 
be permitted into the affected area and all approaches will be fenced 
off or barricaded with ``DO NOT ENTER'' warning signs. Entrance into 
the affected area will be permitted only to conduct investigations and 
to correct problems with airflow detected through the monitoring 
process. All such work will be done under supervision of an authorized 
person. All persons who work in the area will be instructed in the 
emergency evacuation procedures and all provisions of 30 CFR 75.1502.
    (12) Within 60 days after the Proposed Decision and Order (PDO) 
becomes final, the petitioner will submit proposed revisions for its 
approved part 48 training plan to the District Manager. These proposed 
revisions will include initial and refresher training regarding 
compliance with the PDO. All personnel will receive training of plan 
content prior to implementing the plan.
    The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method will at 
all times guarantee no less than the same measure of protection 
afforded by the existing standard.
    Docket Number: M-2014-038-C.
    Petitioner: Eric Snyder Coal, LLC, 337 East Shamokin Street, 
Trevorton, Pennsylvania 17881.
    Mine: Rattling Run Slope, MSHA I.D. No. 36-10092, located in 
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
    Regulation Affected: 30 CFR 49.2(b) (Availability of mine rescue 
teams).
    Modification Request: The petitioner requests a modification of the 
existing 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 of either team. The petitioner states that:
    (1) The underground mine is a small mine with hardly enough 
physical room to accommodate more than three or four miners in the 
working places. An attempt to utilize five or more rescue team members 
in the mines confined working places will result in a diminution of 
safety to the miners at the mine and the members of the rescue team.
    (2) Records of Mine Emergency responses over the last 20 years 
indicate that rescue and recovery operations conducted by Anthracite 
Underground Rescue, Inc., (AUGR) have never utilized more than one 
team. In addition, when one rescue team was utilized there were no more 
than three members traveling to a working place simultaneously.
    (3) The electric power does not reach beyond the bottom of the 
slope. Therefore, all coal haulage is done by hand trammed cars or 
battery electric motor and car at very slow rates of speed. These facts 
considerably reduce the risk of a disaster and the need for as many 
mine rescue team members as required by the regulations.
    (4) The employment in the underground anthracite mines has 
decreased substantially and the ratio of mine rescue teams to 
underground miners has correspondingly been reduced. The loss of the 
underground work force dramatically reduces the pool of qualified 
people available to fill mine rescue positions.
    (5) Pennsylvania Deep Mine Safety presently has four deep mine 
inspectors that have deep mine rescue training and are pledged to 
assist if required in an emergency. In addition, the surrounding small 
mines have always provided assistance during mine emergencies.
    (6) As a result of poor market conditions and a significant number 
of underground mines now conducting final pillar recovery, the downward 
trends are expected to continue.
    The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method will 
provide no less than the same measure of protection afforded the miners 
under the existing standard.
    Docket Number: M-2014-039-C.
    Petitioner: Eric Snyder Coal, LLC, 337 East Shamokin Street, 
Trevorton, Pennsylvania 17881.
    Mine: Rattling Run Slope, MSHA I.D. No. 36-10092, located in 
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
    Regulation Affected: 30 CFR 75.1002(a) (Installation of electric 
equipment conductors; permissibility).
    Modification Request: The petitioner requests a modification of the 
existing standard to permit the use of nonpermissible electric 
equipment within 150 feet of the pillar line to include drags and 
battery locomotives due in part to the method of mining used in 
pitching anthracite mines and the alternative evaluation of the mine 
air quality for methane on an hourly basis during operation with one of 
the gas test results to be recorded in the on-shift examination record. 
The petitioner proposes to:
    (1) Suspend equipment operation anytime methane concentration at 
the equipment reaches 0.5 percent methane

[[Page 70572]]

either during operation or when found during a pre-shift examination.
    (2) The equipment will be operated in only the working section's 
intake entry (gangway) which is regularly traveled and examined.
    (3) The use of drags on less than moderate pitching veins (less 
than 20 degrees pitch) is the only practical system of mining in use.
    (4) Permissible drags are not commercially available, and due in 
part to their small size, permissible locomotives are not commercially 
available either.
    (5) As a result of low daily production rates and full timbering 
support, in-rushes of methane due to massive pillar falls are unlikely 
to occur.
    (6) Recovery of the pillars above the first miner heading is 
usually accomplished on the advance within 150 feet of the section 
intake (gangway) and the remaining minable pillars recovered from the 
deepest point of penetration outby.
    (7) The 5,000 cfm of required intake airflow is measured just outby 
the nonpermissible equipment with the ventilating air passing over the 
equipment to ventilate the pillar being mined.
    (8) The electrical equipment is attended during operation, and 
either power to the unit is deenergized at the intersection of the 
working gangway and intake slope, or the equipment is moved to that 
area potential from the pillar recovery area.
    (9) Where more than one active line of pillar breast recovery 
exists, the locomotive may travel to a point just outby the deepest 
active chute/breast (room) workings or the last open crosscut in a 
developing set of entries.
    The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method will 
provide no less than the same measure of protection afforded the miners 
under the existing standard.
    Docket Number: M-2014-040-C.
    Petitioner: Eric Snyder Coal, LLC, 337 East Shamokin Street, 
Trevorton, Pennsylvania 17881.
    Mine: Rattling Run Slope, MSHA I.D. No. 36-10092, located in 
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
    Regulation Affected: 30 CFR 75.340 (Underground electrical 
installations).
    Modification Request: The petitioner requests a modification of the 
existing standard to permit batteries to be charged 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 
station, 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 states that:
    (1) The mine utilizes a full timber roof support system double 
hardwood stopping construction, and wooden chutes throughout the 
gangway, making fireproof construction impossible.
    (2) Anthracite mining utilizes a single intake (gangway) and single 
return (monkey) with connecting crosscuts (chutes).
    (3) The battery locomotive must remain on the track in the gangway, 
which would require ventilating air to be totally short-circuited, 
removing ventilation from the gangway inby the charger.
    (4) The only viable alternative would require removal of the 
batteries and transporting them in the slope's gunboat to the surface 
for charging.
    (5) Due to the pitch of the vein, mining either or both the top and 
bottom rock would be required to install a side track weakening timber 
anchorage.
    The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method will 
provide no less than the same measure of protection afforded the miners 
under the existing standard.
    Docket Number: M-2014-041-C.
    Petitioner: Eric Snyder Coal, LLC, 337 East Shamokin Street, 
Trevorton, Pennsylvania 17881.
    Mine: Rattling Run Slope, MSHA I.D. No. 36-10092, located in 
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
    Regulation Affected: 30 CFR 75.1200(d) and (i) (Mine map).
    Modification Request: The petitioner requests a modification of the 
existing standard to permit the substitution of cross-sections in lieu 
of contour lines through the intake slope at locations of rock tunnel 
connections between veins and at 1,000 feet 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 vein(s) being 
mined unless these veins are interconnected to other veins beyond the 
100 feet limit through rock tunnels. The petitioner states that:
    (1) Due to the steep pitch encountered in mining anthracite coal 
veins, contours provide no useful information and their presence would 
make portions of the map illegible.
    (2) Use of cross-sections in lieu of contour lines has been 
practiced since the late 1800's and provides critical information about 
spacing between veins and proximity to other mine workings which 
fluctuate considerably.
    (3) The vast majority of current underground anthracite mining 
involves either second mining of remnant pillars from previous mining/
mine operators or the mining of veins of lower quality in proximity to 
inaccessible and frequently flooded abandoned mine workings that may or 
may not be mapped.
    (4) All mapping for mines above and below is researched by the 
petitioner's contract engineer for the presence of interconnecting rock 
tunnels between veins in relation to the mine and a hazard analysis is 
done when mapping indicates the presence of known or potentially 
flooded workings.
    (5) When no rock tunnel connections are found, mine workings that 
exist beyond 100 feet from the mine, are recognized as presenting no 
hazard to the mine due to the pitch of the vein and rock separation.
    (6) The mine workings above and below are usually inactive and 
abandoned and not subject to changes during the life of the mine.
    (7) Where evidence indicates prior mining was conducted on a vein 
above or below and research exhausts the availability of mine mapping, 
the vein will be considered mined and flooded and appropriate 
precautions will be taken through as required in 30 CFR 75.388, which 
addresses drilling boreholes in advance of mining, where possible.
    (8) Where potential hazards exist and in-mine drilling capabilities 
limit penetration, surface boreholes may be used to intercept the 
workings and the results analyzed prior to beginning mining in the 
affected area.
    The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method will 
provide no less than the same measure of protection afforded the miners 
under the existing standard.
    Docket Number: M-2014-042-C.
    Petitioner: Eric Snyder Coal, LLC, 337 East Shamokin Street, 
Trevorton, Pennsylvania 17881.
    Mine: Rattling Run Slope, MSHA I.D. No. 36-10092, located in 
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
    Regulation Affected: 30 CFR 75.1202-1(a) (Temporary notations, 
revisions and supplements).
    Modification Request: The petitioner requests a modification of the 
existing standard to permit the interval of survey to be established on 
an annual basis from the initial survey in lieu of every 6 months as 
required. The petitioner proposes to continue to update the mine map by 
hand notations on a daily basis and conduct subsequent surveys prior to 
commencing retreat mining, and whenever either a drilling program is 
required by 30 CFR 75.388 or a plan for mining into inaccessible areas 
is

[[Page 70573]]

required by 30 CFR 75.389. The petitioner states that:
    (1) The low production and slow rate of advance in anthracite 
mining make surveying on 6-month intervals impractical. In most cases 
annual development is frequently limited to less than 500 feet of 
gangway advance with associated up-pitch development.
    (2) The vast majority of small anthracite mines use non-mechanized, 
hand-loading mining methods.
    (3) Development above the active gangway is designed to mine into 
the level above at designated intervals thereby maintaining sufficient 
control between both surveyed gangways.
    (4) The available engineering/surveyor resources are limited in the 
anthracite coal fields. Surveying on an annual basis is difficult to 
achieve with four individual contractors currently available.
    The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method will 
provide no less than the same measure of protection afforded the miners 
under the existing standard.
    Docket Number: M-2014-043-C.
    Petitioner: Eric Snyder Coal, LLC, 337 East Shamokin Street, 
Trevorton, Pennsylvania 17881.
    Mine: Rattling Run Slope, MSHA I.D. No. 36-10092, located in 
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
    Regulation Affected: 30 CFR 75.1400(c) (Hoisting equipment; 
general).
    Modification Request: The petitioner seeks to permit the use of a 
slope conveyance (gunboat) to transport persons without safety catches 
or other no less effective devices because to date, no such safety 
catch or device is available for steeply pitching and undulating slopes 
with numerous curves and knuckles present in the main haulage slopes of 
Anthracite mines, that range in length from 30 to 4200 feet and vary in 
pitch from 12 degrees and 75 degrees. The petitioner states that:
    (1) A functional safety catch has not been developed. Makeshift 
devices, if installed, would be activated on knuckles and curves when 
no emergency exist causing a tumbling effect on the conveyance which 
would increase rather than decrease the hazard to miners.
    (2) As an alternative, the petitioner proposes to operate the man 
cage or steel gunboat with secondary safety connections securely 
fastened around the gunboat and to the hoisting rope above the main 
connecting device and use hoisting ropes having a factor of safety in 
excess of the 4 to 8 to 1 as suggested in the American Standards 
Specifications for Use of Wire Ropes for Mines.
    The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method will 
provide no less than the same measure of protection afforded the miners 
under the existing standard.
    Docket Number: M-2014-044-C.
    Petitioner: Eric Snyder Coal, LLC, 337 East Shamokin Street, 
Trevorton, Pennsylvania 17881.
    Mine: Rattling Run Slope, MSHA I.D. No. 36-10092, located in 
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
    Regulation Affected: 30 CFR 75.311(b)(2) and (b)(3) (Main mine fan 
operation).
    Modification Request: The petitioner requests a modification of the 
existing standard to permit the electrical circuits entering the 
underground mine to remain energized to the mine's pumps while the main 
fan has been intentionally shut down during idle shifts when no miners 
are working underground. The petitioner states that:
    (1) The mine requires pumping of water from the sump area of the 
intake haulage slope below the active gangway level workings 
intermittently and at varying levels of time duration on a daily basis. 
During the wet seasons from late winter to early summer the pumps are 
often required to operate for extended periods of time to keep the mine 
from flooding.
    (2) Most anthracite mines work only one shift per day, 5-6 days per 
week during the colder months when coal sales are greatest, and may 
only work 2-3 days per week during the warmer months because of poor 
coal sales.
    (3) The vast majorities of underground anthracite mines are small, 
employ 5 or less miners underground, have very low daily coal 
production of less than 25 tons, and never encountered a measurable 
quantity of methane during the life of the mine.
    (4) Methane liberation in the few underground mines with a history 
of liberation occurs only when coal is shot from the solid and is 
dissipated by face ventilation shortly thereafter.
    (5) Underground anthracite miners are significantly affected by 
natural ventilation that continues after the mine fan has been 
intentionally stopped during idle periods.
    (6) Accumulations of methane, in those underground mines with a 
history of liberation, are historically found in chutes and breasts 
(entries driven up the pitch) and are not yet connected to the adjacent 
return entry. These entries are not affected by the natural ventilation 
air currents.
    (7) The primary method of face ventilation utilized in underground 
anthracite mines is compressed air movers with approved tubing in the 
working place. They are shut off prior the miners exiting the mine at 
the end of the shift and prior to the stoppage of the main fan for the 
idle shifts. Potential accumulations of methane in the working face, is 
therefore unlikely to be affected by natural ventilation currents.
    (8) The mine's pumping system typically consists of a submersible 
pump located below the water level in the sump and a centrifugal pump 
located in the intake haulage slope above the active gangway level. The 
pumps are started and shut off by a set of switches of electrodes 
located in the sump. The switch/electrode located at the highest 
elevation in the sump will start the pumps when the water level depth 
increase to that pre-determined level to protect the active gangway 
level from flooding. The pumps will continue to operate until the water 
level depth is decreased to the elevation of the lower switch/
electrode.
    (9) Compliance with 30 CFR 75.311 through the continuous operation 
of the main mine fan when pumps are energized would result in a 
diminution of safety to the miners. During the colder months, the wet 
conditions present in the intake haulage slope will result in freezing 
and accumulations of ice creating a hazard to the miners riding the 
slope conveyance and to those miners who must manually chip away the 
ice in the pitching slope thereby increasing a fall hazard. The mount 
of ice accumulations during a single shift of production is usually 
minimal and can be melted during the idle shifts, with the main fan 
off, as the natural ventilating air current is warmed by the higher 
underground temperatures and carried through slope.
    (10) The mine operator proposes to initiate the following 
alternatives to ensure the safety of the miners:
    (a) The examiner will determine whether the pumps are operating and 
if the natural ventilation air current is moving in the proper 
direction prior to energizing the main mine fan and before starting the 
required pre-shift examination.
    (b) In the cases where the pumps are not operating when the 
examiner arrives, the examiner will deenergize the pump circuits before 
starting the main mine fan and will allow the fan to operate for 30 
minutes prior to entering the mine to conduct the pre-shift 
examination.
    (c) During the pre-shift examination, when no accumulation of 
methane is found in the vicinity of the pumps, the pump circuits may be 
energized before the miners travel underground.

[[Page 70574]]

    (d) In those cases where the pumps are found to be already in 
operation because of high water levels and when the natural ventilating 
currents are moving in the proper direction, the main mine fan will be 
started and running for 30 minutes before entering the mine to conduct 
a pre-shift examination. Examination of the mine pump installation will 
be completed prior to entering the active gangway level working and 
continuing the pre-shift examination.
    The petitioner asserts that the proposed alternative method will 
provide no less than the same measure of protection afforded the miners 
under the existing standard.

    Dated: November 21, 2014.
Sheila McConnell,
Acting Director, Office of Standards, Regulations and Variances.
[FR Doc. 2014-28031 Filed 11-25-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-43-P