[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10548-10550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03519]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Mine Safety and Health Administration


Petition for Modification of Application of Existing Mandatory 
Safety Standards

AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice is a summary of a petition for modification 
submitted to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) by 
Genesis Alkali, LLC.

DATES: All comments on the petition must be received by MSHA's Office 
of Standards, Regulations, and Variances on or before March 23, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket No. MSHA-2022-
0071 by any of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments for MSHA-2022-0071.
    2. Fax: 202-693-9441.
    3. Email: [email protected].
    4. Regular Mail or Hand Delivery: MSHA, Office of Standards, 
Regulations, and Variances, 201 12th Street South, Suite 4E401, 
Arlington, Virginia 22202-5452.
    Attention: S. Aromie Noe, Director, Office of Standards, 
Regulations, and Variances. Persons delivering documents are required 
to check in at the receptionist's desk in Suite 4E401. Individuals may 
inspect copies of the petition and comments during normal business 
hours at the address listed above. Before visiting MSHA in person, call 
202-693-9455 to make an appointment, in keeping with the Department of 
Labor's COVID-19 policy. Special health precautions may be required.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: S. Aromie Noe, Office of Standards, 
Regulations, and Variances at 202-693-9440 (voice), 
[email protected] (email), or 202-693-9441 (fax). These 
are not toll-free numbers.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety 
and Health Act of 1977 and Title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR) part 44 govern the application, processing, and disposition of 
petitions for modification.

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. The application of such standard to such mine will result in a 
diminution of safety to the miners in such mine.
    In addition, sections 44.10 and 44.11 of 30 CFR establish the 
requirements for filing petitions for modification.

II. Petition for Modification

    Docket Number: M-2022-013-M.
    Petitioner: Genesis Alkali, LLC., 580 Westvaco Road, Green River, 
Wyoming 82935.
    Mine: Westvaco Mine, MSHA ID No. 48-00152, located in Sweetwater 
County, Wyoming.
    Regulation Affected: 30 CFR 57.22305, Approved equipment (III 
mines).
    Modification Request: The petitioner requests a modification of 30 
CFR 57.22305 to allow non-permissible extraction submersible pumps 
(ESPs) through well-bores drilled and installed from the surface to 
access the trona-bearing solution contained in abandoned areas of the 
mine.
    The petitioner states that:
    (a) The Westvaco mine is an underground trona mine in south central 
Wyoming.

[[Page 10549]]

    (b) Since 1988, underground tailings disposal and secondary 
resource recovery have been part of the mining operation. These are 
areas of the mine that have no further production plans and have been 
abandoned and flooded with water through in mine pumping and from 
slurry tailings generated by the mineral preparation process that are 
injected into the mine through surface injection holes. There is no 
access to these abandoned areas because they have been left to 
deteriorate. They have been barricaded with wooden blocks in some 
cases. They are not ventilated, and they are not accessible for travel. 
They are not considered active areas of the mine.
    (c) The petitioner plans to install ESPs through well-bores drilled 
and installed from the surface to access the trona-bearing solution 
contained in abandoned areas of the mine. The pumps will be located 
strategically in the mine based on the mining process and topography to 
ensure a large pool of water can be gathered in an abandoned area of 
the mine. The well-bores will be drilled so that the pump intake and 
electrical motor always remain below the mine floor and under water. 
The ESP design ensures that electrical components will always be 
submerged below the low water level or contained in a solid inner 
casing that is submerged below the low water level, preventing their 
exposure to air currents or the mine atmosphere.
    (d) The permanently abandoned area is not beyond the last open 
crosscut and not ventilated with any air currents.
    (e) The petitioner operates non-permissible, submersible pumps in 
outby areas of the mine which are inspected weekly and which cannot be 
operated in atmospheres containing 1.0 percent or more methane.
    (f) The ESPs will be in locations that are inaccessible by miners. 
The pumps operate autonomously and are controlled remotely from the 
surface.
    (g) Autonomous extraction enables the petitioner to have miners 
involved in processing activities on the surface instead of in 
extraction activities underground. The use of one or more ESPs allows 
the petitioner to avoid exposing miners to hazards associated with 
underground mining.
    The petitioner proposes the following alternative method:
    (a) The electrical equipment shall be isolated from the mine 
atmosphere by deploying a dual threaded, unperforated, solid metal 
inner casing extending below the low water level in the well-bore and 
thus providing a water seal to isolate the pump, pump motor, and power 
cable, including the pigtail from the power cable to the motor 
connection. The larger outer casing shall contain perforations to allow 
the water to flow from the mine into the well bore sump and into the 
pump intake for pumping out of the mine. The low water level shall be 
the mine floor.
    (b) To ensure the inner casing remains below the low water level at 
the mine floor level, a water level monitoring system shall be 
installed consisting of two redundant fiber optic pressure sensors with 
a low-level alarm and interlock system. The monitoring system shall 
shut down the pump motor in the event of low water level inside the 
well. These fiber optic sensors, which are intrinsically safe and 
designed to withstand harsh environments, measure the pressure of the 
water column, convert it to an elevation, and determine the low water 
level, which is above the pump before the pump motor is started. The 
low water level interlock system in each identical/redundant sensor 
shall be set to the mine floor elevation (above the pump) and shall 
trigger an alarm and automatically shut down the pump if the water 
level drops to that level, or if the discrepancy between the readings 
for each sensor is greater than 1 foot. The sensors shall be located at 
least 10 feet below the low water level and above the pump. If either 
water level sensor starts to drift or fail, exceeding preestablished 
thresholds, an alarm shall be triggered and power to the ESP shall 
automatically shut off.
    (c) If the sensors need to be removed, a workplace exam shall be 
conducted, and the sensors shall be slowly extracted from the conduit 
in the well-bore and stored on a reel. The water level sensors shall be 
calibrated or replaced and reinstalled. A final water level shall be 
determined upon installation and an ``as built'' well-profile shall be 
created noting the location of the sensors.
    (d) All motor terminations and cable splices shall be underwater 
and isolated from the mine atmosphere. To verify after installation 
that the inner casing is sealed/isolated from the mine atmosphere by 
water, this testing procedure shall be followed:
    (1) Measure initial static water level in inner casing with 
wireline.
    (2) Set a retrievable packer or other drillable plug at the bottom 
of inner casing.
    (3) Add water to the inner casing to approximately 10 feet above 
the static water level or 10 feet above the base of the casing grout, 
whichever is higher. Since the casing is grouted to the surface, test 
the portion of the casing below the grout line; there is no need to 
test the entire length of the casing.
    (4) Wait for water to degas to ensure no air entrapment.
    (5) Confirm and measure water level with wireline.
    (6) Wait 30 minutes and measure water level again.
    (7) If the water level change is less than 0.02 feet, isolation is 
in place (the wireline precision is 0.01 feet).
    (8) If the water level change is greater than or equal to 0.02 
feet, further testing of well shall be performed to locate the leak off 
point. The testing procedure shall be repeated until isolation is 
demonstrated.
    (e) The ESP electrical system design is an industry standard design 
and encompasses the process from the first transformer on the mine 
property with incoming utility power to the pump motor connection. The 
incoming power from the utility provider (35KV) is stepped down to 
480V. The 480V feeds a variable frequency drive (VFD) assembly 
connected to a step-up transformer to increase the voltage to 4160V. 
This is fed to the extraction well pump motor approximately 1,700 feet 
underground via a power cable adequate in design to power the ESP.
    (f) The pump motors are paired in series and have a distinct 
connection point that does not require a ground wire since the pump 
motors are continuously submerged under water during operation. The 
power cable used in this application shall be spliced to a pigtail that 
uses a connector designed for this pump.
    (g) The following is a summary of the specifications for each of 
the major components of the ESP:
    (1) Baker Hughes CentriLift VFD specially designed for ESP 
applications. The VFD does not have an automatic restart and requires 
an operator to push the start/stop button if the VFD is shut down for 
any reason. The motor protection shall be the overload protection set 
to 120 percent of the motor full load amps.
    (2) Southwest Electric 480V/4160V Transformer with Multi Tap 
Switch.
    (3) High Resistance Grounding System which consists of a 15A, 160-
ohm Neutral Grounding Resistor connected to the Step-up Transformer 
(480V/4160V) Neutral.
    (4) Baker Hughes ESP Pump and Motor Assembly rated at 350 HP, 
125A@3450V.
    (5) Baker Hughes Centriline CPS76932 power cable--5KV Rated Cable 
#1 AWG (American Wire Gauge) with an ampacity of 183A, approximately 
1,700 ft cable length from VFD to motor. The initial installation of 
the power cable

[[Page 10550]]

shall be a continuous run. The power cable shall have current carrying 
capacity of not less than 125 percent of the full-load-amperage of the 
submersible pump motor and an outer jacket suitable for ``harsh 
locations'' and high voltage. The power cable shall be banded to the 
discharge casing at intervals of 9 feet per the manufacturer.
    (6) Opsens Solutions OPP-C, MEMS-based fiber optic pressure sensor 
water level monitoring system consisting of two redundant fiber optic 
pressure sensors with a low-level alarm and interlock system. This 
system shall be fail-safe in that it will always trip the pump motor 
circuit in the event of loss-of-signal, loss-of-power, or a pre 
established discrepancy between the sensors and not allow the circuit 
to reclose. The light source used is a white light, not a laser. These 
fiber optic pressure sensors along with their amplifiers have a typical 
output of between 10 mW (megawatt) to 100 mW.
    (7) SEL-710-5 Motor Protection Relay with a 50P/51P Phase 
Overcurrent Protection Function, 27 Undervoltage Protection function, 
and a 50G/51G Residual Ground Overcurrent protection function. This 
relay has a shunt trip to the VFD Main Breaker.
    (8) Bender RC48 C ground fault ground and ground continuity 
monitoring system which monitors the residual ground current and 
monitors the grounding conductor for low resistance, high resistance, 
and a short circuit. The relay monitor shall be installed in a non-
hazardous area and is a typical setup used in high resistance grounded 
systems at mines that operate with high voltage. The relay monitor 
shall conform to the applicable National Electric Code requirements and 
provide safeguards equivalent to pertinent MSHA standards and this 
application.
    (9) Baker Hughes Cable Splice, Regional Power Cable and MLE Splice 
and Baker Hughes Connector. The pigtail is necessary to take the 
incoming 1 AWG power conductors and downsize them to a 4 AWG power 
conductor that fits the connector used to connect to the pump motor. 
The pigtail is typically less than 15 feet in length and can carry the 
necessary amperage for this short distance.
    (h) All equipment associated with this ESP and located on the 
mine's surface shall be protected from dust, rain, and rodents by 
suitable enclosures.
    (i) A grounding circuit, originating at the grounded side of the 
grounding resistor, shall extend along with the power cable 
(conductors) to the pigtail and serve as the grounding conductor for 
the ESP. No other electrical equipment shall be supplied power from 
this circuit. This relay takes a zero-sequence current transformer 
input for ground fault protection and uses termination devices at the 
motor to monitor the continuity of the ground wire and to check for low 
resistance, high resistance, and shorted faults. This ground check 
circuit shall cause the circuit breaker to open when either a ground 
fault is present or a ground wire is broken.
    (j) The grounding circuit shall include the pigtail splice through 
the termination device which shall be installed on the surface since 
the Baker Hughes pump does not provide for termination devices for 
grounds and ground checks. The pigtail splice armor shall provide the 
ground continuity connection to the motor/pump casing to prevent a 
shock hazard. Additionally, the pump/motor casing is inaccessible to 
personnel, mitigating the shock hazard.
    (k) The grounding resistor shall limit the ground-fault current to 
not more than 15 amperes. The grounding resistor shall be rated for the 
maximum fault current available and shall be insulated from ground for 
a voltage equal to the phase-to-phase voltage of the system.
    (l) A lightning arrestor shall be provided and shall be grounded to 
a low resistance grounding medium and separated from the pump power 
neutral grounding circuit by not less than 25 feet.
    (m) The circuit breaker shall be of adequate interrupting capacity 
with auxiliary relay protection to provide protection against under-
voltage, grounded phase, short-circuit, and overload.
    (n) The grounded phase protection device must be set not to exceed 
40 percent of the current rating of the neutral ground resistor.
    (o) The high voltage pump shall be provided with instantaneous 
ground fault protection set at no more than 0.125 amperes; the time 
delay setting must not exceed 0.25 seconds or the minimum setting to 
allow the pump to start without nuisance tripping.
    (p) The short circuit protection device shall be set not to exceed 
the required short circuit protection for the power cable or 75 percent 
of the minimum available phase-to-phase short circuit current, 
whichever is less. The trip point will be set at 1140 amps. The 
overload protection or the motor will be set at 125 percent of the full 
load amps.
    (q) The undervoltage connection device shall operate on a loss of 
voltage to prevent automatic restarting of the equipment.
    (r) The disconnect device installed in conjunction with the circuit 
breaker shall provide a visible disconnect.
    (s) All surface installed electrical equipment associated with the 
pump shall be accessible for inspection.
    (t) A functional test shall be conducted for the motor ground 
conductor prior to any energization of the pump/motor system. A record 
that such tests were conducted shall be kept by the operator for a 
period of 1 year and shall be made available for review by the 
Secretary or his/her authorized representative.
    (w) A look-ahead circuit shall be provided to detect ground-fault 
condition and prevent the circuit interrupting device from closing 
while the ground-fault condition exists.
    (x) The surface pump control and power circuit shall be examined at 
least every 6 months. The examination shall include a test that 
simulates the functional test of all protective devices (ground fault, 
short circuit, overload, ground monitor, grounded phase, and under 
voltage) to determine proper operation. A record of these tests shall 
be recorded. The record shall be made in a secure book or in a computer 
system that is not susceptible to alteration. Records shall be retained 
by the operator for at least 1 year and shall be made available for 
review by the Secretary or his/her authorized representative.
    (y) Every 12 months, the operator shall conduct an examination that 
shall include a full functional test of all protective devices (ground 
fault, short circuit, overload, ground monitor, grounded phase, and 
under voltage) to determine proper operation. A record of these tests 
shall be recorded. The record shall be made in a secure book or in a 
computer system that is not susceptible to alteration. Records shall be 
retained by the operator for at least 1 year and shall be made 
available for review by the Secretary or his/her authorized 
representative.
    The petitioner asserts that the alternative method proposed will at 
all times guarantee no less than the same measure of protection 
afforded the miners under the mandatory standard.

Patricia W. Silvey,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations, Mine Safety and Health 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-03519 Filed 2-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4520-43-P