[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 14, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 11317]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02999]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Refuse Piles and Impoundment Structures, 
Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Mine Safety 
and Health Administration (MSHA)-sponsored information collection 
request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review 
and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that the agency 
receives on or before March 15, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
    Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and 
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Howell by telephone at 202-
693-6782, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Requires coal mine operators to submit to 
MSHA annual reports and certification on refuse piles and impoundments 
and to keep records of the results of weekly examinations and 
instrumentation monitoring. Impoundments are structures that can 
impound water, sediment, or slurry or any combination of materials; and 
refuse piles are deposits of coal mine waste (other than overburden or 
spoil) that are removed during mining operations or separated from 
mined coal and deposited on the surface. The failure of these 
structures can have a devastating effect on a community. To avoid or 
minimize such disasters, standards have been promulgated for the 
design, construction, and maintenance of these structures; for annual 
certifications; for certification for hazardous refuse piles; for the 
frequency of inspections; and the methods of abandonment for 
impoundments and impounding structures. For additional substantive 
information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the 
Federal Register on August 16, 2023 (88 FR 55728).
    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 the OMB approves it 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 
OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
    DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for 
three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than 
three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information 
collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive 
a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.
    Agency: DOL-MSHA.
    Title of Collection: Refuse Piles and Impoundment Structures, 
Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 1219-0015.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 907.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 22,533.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 55,933 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $1,155,051.

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

Michael Howell,
Senior Paperwork Reduction Act Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2024-02999 Filed 2-13-24; 8:45 am]
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