[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 145 (Wednesday, July 29, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45236-45237]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18529]


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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, without change, in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives 
on or before August 28, 2015.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; 
including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency 
of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free of charge 
from the RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201409-1219-001 (this link will only become active 
on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting 
Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are 
not toll-free numbers) or by email at [email protected].
    Submit comments about this request by mail or courier to the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-
MSHA, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: 202-395-5806 (this is not a toll-free 
number); or by email: [email protected]. Commenters are 
encouraged, but not required, to send a courtesy copy of any comments 
by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor-OASAM, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, Attn: Departmental Information Compliance 
Management Program, Room N1301, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210; or by email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-
4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by email 
at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ICR seeks to extend PRA authority for 
the Mine Mapping and Records of Opening, Closing, and Reopening of 
Mines information collection requirements codified in regulations 30 
CFR part 75. This collection 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 
that is unaware of the hazards were to mine into such an area, miners 
could be killed or seriously injured. Federal Mine Safety and Health 
Act of 1977 section 103(h) authorizes this information collection. See 
30 U.S.C. 813(h).
    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 that 
does not display a valid 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.
    OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) 
years without renewal, and the current approval for this collection is 
scheduled to expire on August 31, 2015. The DOL seeks to extend PRA 
authorization for this information collection for three (3) more years, 
without any change to existing requirements. The DOL notes that 
existing information collection requirements submitted to the OMB 
receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. For 
additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related 
notice published in the Federal Register on May 11, 2015 (80 FR 26953).
    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 thirty (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

[[Page 45237]]

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: 1,631.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 711.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 13,872 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $17,573,769.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

    Dated: July 22, 2015.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-18529 Filed 7-28-15; 8:45 am]
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