Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations: Preparation and Maintenance of Accurate and Up-to-date Certified Mine Maps for Surface and Underground Coal Mines, Submittal of Underground Mine Closure Maps, and Notification of MSHA Prior to Opening New Mines or the Reopening of Inactive or Abandoned Mines

Federal RegisterMar 3, 1999

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Mine Safety and Health Administration

Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public

Comment and Recommendations: Preparation and Maintenance of Accurate

and Up-to-date Certified Mine Maps for Surface and Underground Coal

Mines, Submittal of Underground Mine Closure Maps, and Notification of

MSHA Prior to Opening New Mines or the Reopening of Inactive or

Abandoned Mines

ACTION: Notice.

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Summary: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to

reduce paperwork and respondent burden conducts a preclearance

consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies

with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing

collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995 (PRA95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to

ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format,

reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized,

collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of

collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed.

Currently, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is

soliciting comments concerning the proposed extension of the

information collection related to the Record of Mine Closeure addressed

in 30 CFR 75.1204; the inclusion of standards requiring MSHA

notification and inspection prior to mining when opening a new mine or

reopening an inactive or abandoned mine addressed in 30 CFR 75.373 and

75.1721; and, the inclusion of standards requiring underground and

surface mine operators to prepare and maintain accurate and up-to-date

mine maps addressed in 30 CFR 75.1200, 75.1200-1, 75.1201, 75.1202,

75.1202-1, 75.1203, 77.1201 and 77.1202. MSHA is particularly

interested in comments which:

Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is

necessary for the proper performance of the 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,

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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 the forms of information technology, e.g., permitting

electronic submissions of responses.

A copy of the proposed information collection request can be

obtained by contacting the employee listed below in the For Further

Information Contact section of this notice

DATES: Submit comments on or before May 8, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Theresa M. O'Malley, Chief, Records

Management Branch, Office of Program Evaluation and Information

Resources, 4015 Wilson Boulevard, Room 715, Arlington, VA 22203-1984.

Commenters are encouraged to send their comments on a computer disk, or

via E-mail to [email protected], along with an original printed copy.

Mrs. O'Malley can be reached at (703) 235-1470 (voice) or (703) 235-

1563 (facsimile).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theresa M. O'Malley, Chief, Records

Management Branch, Office of Program Evaluation and Information

Resources, U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health

Administration, Room 715, 4015 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22203-

1984. Mrs. O'Malley can be reached at [email protected] (Internet E-

mail), (703) 235-1470 (voice), or (703) 235-1563 (facsimile).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Title 30 CFR 75.1200, 75.1200-1, 75.1201, 75.1202, 75.1202-1, and

75.1203 require underground coal mine operators to have in a fireproof

repository in an area on the surface of the mine chosen by the mine

operator to minimize the danger of destruction by fire or other

hazards, an accurate and up-to-date map of such mine drawn on scale.

These standards specify the information which must be shown, the range

of acceptable scale, the surveying technique or equivalent accuracy

required of the surveying which must be used to prepare the map, that

the maps must be certified as accurate by a registered engineer or

surveyor, that the maps must be kept continuously up-to-date by

temporary notations and must be revised and supplemented to include the

temporary notations at intervals not more than 6 months. In addition,

the mine operator must provide the MSHA District Manager a copy of the

certified mine map annually during the operating life of the mine.

These maps are essential to the planning and safe operation of the

mine. In addition, these maps provide a graphic presentation of the

locations of working sections and the locations of fixed surface and

underground mine facilities and equipment, escapeway routes, coal

haulage and man and materials haulage entries and other information

essential to mine rescue or mine fire fighting activities in the event

of mine fire, explosion or inundations of gas or water. The information

is essential to the safe operation of adjacent mines and mines

approaching the worked out areas of active or abandoned mines.

Title 30 CFR 75.1204 and 75.1204-1 require that whenever an

underground coal mine operator permanently closes or abandons a coal

mine, or temporarily closes a coal mine for a period of 90 days, the

operator shall file with MSHA a copy of the mine map revised and

supplemented to the date of closure. Maps are retained in a repository

and are made available to mine operators of adjacent properties. The

maps are necessary to provide an accurate record of underground areas

that have been mined to help prevent active mine operators from mining

into abandoned areas that may contain water or harmful gases.

Title 30 CFR 77.1200, 77.1201 and 77.1202 require surface coal mine

operators to maintain an accurate and up-to-date map of the mine and

specifies the information to be shown on the map, the acceptable range

of map scales, that the map be certified by a registered engineer or

surveyor, that they be available for inspection by the Secretary or his

authorized representative. These maps are essential for the safe

operation of the mine and provide essential information to operators of

adjacent surface and underground mine operations. Properly prepared

effectively utilized surface mine maps can prevent outbursts of water

impounded in underground mine workings and/or inundations of

underground mines by surface impounded water or water and/or gases

impounded in surface auger mining worked out areas.

Title 30 75.373 and 75.1721 require that after a mine is abandoned

or declared inactive and before it is reopened, mine operations shall

not begin until MSHA has been notified and has completed an inspection.

Standard 75.1721 specifies that the notification be in writing and

lists specific information, preliminary arrangements and mine plans

which must be submitted to the MSHA District Manager.

II. Current Actions

Mine operators are required to conduct surveying such that mine

maps are maintained accurate and up-to-date, the maps must be revised

every 6 months and certified accurate by a registered engineer or

surveyor and to submit copies of the certified underground maps to MSHA

annually and an up-to-date and revised mine closure map whenever an

operator permanently closes or abandons a coal mine, or temporarily

closes a coal mine for a period of more than 90 days, he or she shall

promptly notify the Secretary of such closure.

In addition, mine operators must notify MSHA so that an inspection

can be conducted when ever a new mine is opened or a previously

abandoned or inactive mine is reopened. The information required to be

gathered and recorded on mine maps is essential to the safe operation

of the mine and essential to the effectiveness of mandatory inspections

and mandated mine plan approval by MSHA. Such information cannot be

replaced by any other source and anything less than continuously

updated and accurate information would place miner's safety at risk.

The information collected through the submittal of mine closure

maps is used by operators of adjacent coal mines when approaching

abandoned underground mines. The abandoned mine could be flooded with

water or contain explosive amounts of methane or harmful gases. If the

operator were to mine into such an area, unaware of the hazards, miners

could be killed or seriously injured. In addition, it is in the public

interest to maintain permanent records of the locations, extent of

workings and potential hazards associated with abandoned mines. The

public safety can be adversely affected by future land usage where such

hazards are not known or inaccurately assessed. MSHA collects the

closure maps and provides those documents to the Office of Surface Mine

Reclamation for inclusion in a repository of abandoned mine maps.

Therefore, MSHA is continuing the certification and application of 30

CFR 75.1204 to assure the required information remains available for

the protection of miner's and public safety. In addition, MSHA has

added the burden hours and cost estimates for standards which address

the preparation and maintenance of certified mine maps for surface and

underground coal mines and the

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notification of MSHA prior to the opening on new coal mines or the

reopening of inactive or abandoned mines.

Type of Review: Reinstatement and Existing collection in use

without an OMB control number.

Agency: Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Title: Preparation and Maintenance of Accurate and Up-to-date

Certified Mine maps for Surface and Underground Coal Mines; Submittal

of Underground Mine Closure Maps; and, Notification of MSHA Prior to

Opening New Mines or the Reopening of Inactive or Abandoned Mines.

OMB Number: 1219-0073.

Agency Number: MSHA 205.

Recordkeeping: Mine operators are required conduct surveying such

that mine maps are maintained accurate and up-to-date, the maps must be

revised every 6 months and certified accurate by a registered engineer

or surveyor and to submit copies of the certified underground maps to

MSHA annually and an up-to-date and revised mine closure map whenever

an operator permanently closes or abandons a coal mine, or temporarily