Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 2006 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to revise regulations prescribed pursuant to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to require coal mine operators to expeditiously provide notification of any accident where rescue and recovery work is necessary.
Requires the Secretary to revise regulations regarding mine rescue teams to: (1) address training and qualifications for team members, rescue equipment and technology, the structure and organization of teams, and the guidelines about liability and insurance issues; and (2) require that mine operators employ rescue teams to provide a rapid response and have a plan for coordination and communication between the rescue teams and local emergency response personnel.
Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations to require: (1) each coal mine to maintain at strategic locations sufficient emergency supplies of air and self-contained breathing equipment, and independent means of communication with the surface, for people awaiting rescue; and (2) each operator to implement a communication and electronic tracking system to assist in rescue and to equip each person that enters a mine with certain communication and tracking devices.
Requires the Secretary to revise regulations in order to prohibit belt haulage entries from being used to ventilate active working places in any coal mine.
Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations to establish minimum civil penalties for violations: (1) where the operator displays negligence or reckless disregard of a mandatory health or safety standard; and (2) of rescue notification requirements.
Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish an Office of Science and Technology Transfer within the Mine Safety and Health Administration to conduct research and development to apply advancing sciences and technologies to mines and miner health and safety; (2) review and revise mine health and safety standards with regard to implementing such technologies.
Establishes the position of Miner Ombudsman within the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Labor to be responsible for ensuring the safety of mines through information collection and sharing.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2231 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2231
To direct the Secretary of Labor to prescribe additional coal mine
safety standards, to require additional penalties for habitual
violators, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 1, 2006
Mr. Byrd (for himself, Mr. Rockefeller, and Mr. Kennedy) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Labor to prescribe additional coal mine
safety standards, to require additional penalties for habitual
violators, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Mine Safety and Health Act
of 2006''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the Mine Safety and Health
Administration should strictly enforce mine health and safety standards
as required under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30
U.S.C. 801 et seq.).
SEC. 3. ENHANCED UNDERGROUND COAL MINE SAFETY STANDARDS.
(a) Notification.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall revise the
regulations prescribed pursuant to section 101 of the Federal Mine
Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 811) to require that the
operator of each coal mine expeditiously provide notification of any
accident where rescue and recovery work is necessary. The Secretary
shall take such steps as are necessary to ensure that a system is in
place within the Mine Health and Safety Administration to immediately
receive such notification.
(b) Rapid Emergency Response.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall revise the
regulations prescribed pursuant to section 115(e) of the Federal Mine
Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 825(e)) regarding mine rescue
teams. Such regulations--
(1) shall address the efficacy and adequacy of--
(A) training and qualifications for rescue team
members;
(B) the equipment and technology used in mine
rescue, including refuge chambers and other rescue
alternatives;
(C) the structure and organization of rescue teams,
including the number of team members and the procedural
rules for the use of teams, including contractor teams;
and
(D) the guidelines addressing the potential
liability of and insurance issues relating to rescue
teams; and
(2) shall require--
(A) that the operator of each coal mine maintain
mine rescue teams whose members--
(i) are employed by such operator and who
are familiar with the workings of such coal
mine; and
(ii) shall be available at such coal mine
for rescue and recovery work to provide an
immediate and rapid response to an emergency;
and
(B) that the operator of each coal mine have in
place a plan for coordination and communication between
the operator and mine rescue teams and local emergency
response personnel, and that such local personnel be
eligible to receive appropriate training in order to be
familiar with mine rescue and recovery work.
(c) Emergency Air and Communications Equipment.--Not later than 90
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor
shall prescribe regulations as authorized by section 315 of the Federal
Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 825(e)). Such regulations
shall require that each coal mine maintain at strategic locations
within each mine, the following:
(1) Emergency supplies of air and self-contained breathing
equipment for persons awaiting rescue due to an emergency
within the mine. Such equipment shall be sufficient to maintain
such persons for a sustained period of time and shall be in
addition to the self-rescue devices referred to in section 317
of that Act (30 U.S.C. 877(n)).
(2) Independent means of communication with the surface for
persons awaiting rescue at such locations, including secondary
telephone or equivalent two-way communications facilities to
the surface.
(d) Emergency Tracking and Communications Equipment.--Not later
than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Labor shall prescribe regulations to require each operator of a coal
mine to implement a communication and electronic tracking system to
assist in rescue and recovery work of persons awaiting rescue due to an
emergency within the coal mine. Such regulations shall require that
each person who enters a coal mine to be equipped with--
(1) a portable communications device calibrated to
communicate with both the surface and to rescue personnel; and
(2) an electronic tracking device permitting persons on the
surface and rescue personnel to determine the exact location of
each such person within the mine.
(e) Prohibited Practices.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall revise the
regulations prescribed pursuant to section 303(y) of the Federal Mine
Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 863(y)) to require, in any
coal mine, regardless of the date on which it was opened, that belt
haulage entries not be used to ventilate active working places.
SEC. 4. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR HABITUAL VIOLATORS.
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Labor shall prescribe regulations--
(1) to establish that no civil penalty less than $10,000
shall be assessed pursuant to section 110 of the Federal Mine
Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 820) for a violation
which occurs of a mandatory health or safety standard where the
operator displays negligence or reckless disregard of such
standard; and
(2) to provide for a civil penalty of up to $100,000 for an
operator who fails to comply with section 3(a) of this Act.
SEC. 5. TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFER AND APPLICATION.
(a) Office of Science and Technology Transfer.--The Secretary of
Labor shall establish within the Mine Safety and Health Administration
an Office of Science and Technology Transfer for the purposes of
conducting research and development to apply advancing sciences and
technologies to underground coal mine and coal miner health and safety.
Such Office shall consult with other Federal agencies, as appropriate
and on a regular basis, in order to stay informed of the latest
technologies that are available to ensure coal miner health and safety.
(b) Periodic Review and Application.--The Secretary of Labor shall,
on a periodic basis, review the underground coal mine health and safety
standards for possible revision with regard to advancing sciences and
technologies, and shall, on a periodic basis, revise such standards to
require the implementation of such technologies.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the purposes of
implementing this section.
SEC. 6. MINER OMBUDSMAN.
(a) Establishment.--There shall be established within the Office of
the Inspector General of the Department of Labor the position of Miner
Ombudsman. The President, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, shall appoint an individual with expertise in mine safety and
health to serve as the Miner Ombudsman.
(b) Duties.--The Miner Ombudsman shall--
(1) be responsible for ensuring the safety of mines through
information collection and sharing;
(2) establish a toll-free telephone number and appropriate
Internet website to permit individual miners to confidentially
report mine safety and health violations;
(3) forward information collected concerning mine safety
and health violations to the appropriate officials of the Mine
Safety and Health Administration for investigation; and
(4) carry out other activities to improve the safety of
mines.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act, the terms ``coal mine'' and ``operator'' have
the meanings given such terms in section 3 of the Federal Mine Safety
and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 802).
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S449-451, S451)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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