[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 174 (Wednesday, September 9, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48247-48248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-24189]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Mine Safety and Health Administration
Proposed Information Collection Request Submitted for Public
Comment and Recommendations; Refuse Piles and Impounding Structures,
Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements
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 Refuse Piles and Impounding
Structures, Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements. 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, 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 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 November 9, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Patricia W. Silvey, Director, Office of
Standards, Regulations, and Variances, 4015 Wilson Boulevard, Room 627,
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. Ms. Silvey can be reached at (703) 235-
1910 (voice) or (703) 235-5551 (facsimile).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mrs. Theresa M. O'Malley, Program Analysis Officer, Office of Program
Evaluation and Information Resources, U.S. Department of Labor, Mine
Safety and Health Administration, Room 719, 4015 Wilson Boulevard,
Arlington, VA 22203-1984. Mrs. O'Malley can be reached at
TOM[email protected] (Internet E-mail), (703) 235-1470 (voice), or (703)
235-1563 (facsimile).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 was amended by the
Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977
[[Page 48248]]
after the Buffalo Creek dam failure in 1972 in West Virginia. The
refuse pile and impoundment standards, Title 30 CFR Sections 77.215 and
77.216 had been enacted earlier in 1975 and were incorporated into the
Act. Additional parts of these Sections were promulgated and enacted in
1992.
The standards require that the agency approve prudently engineered
design plans for dams and their impoundments, as well as the plans for
hazardous refuse piles that are routinely constructed by coal mine
operators. Plan revisions are also required to be submitted for
approval. In addition, the standards also require plans when one of
these sites is to be abandoned. And plans are required when spontaneous
fires erupt and need to be extinguished at the burning site. Records of
weekly inspections and instrument monitoring are also required to
ensure that the sites remain safe. Finally, the mine operators are also
required to submit an annual status report and certification that
guarantees that the site is being constructed in accordance with the
approved plan, and the site has not been altered during the
construction year.
II. Current Actions
There are approximately 750 coal mine impounding structures, of
which at least 250 are high-hazard sites. In addition, there are
hundreds of refuse piles, and of these, it is estimated that 25 are
hazardous. All impoundments and hazardous refuse piles are required by
the standards to be constructed and operated in an approved manner. In
addition, coal mine operators frequently revise construction plans to
accommodate mining conditions, cycles or markets. Since these revisions
to the structures can adversely affect a great number of people, such
changes are required to be planned in a prudent manner and approved by
the agency.
Fire extinguishing plans are only required from an operator when a
spontaneous combustion has occurred, and the operator is directed to
extinguish the fire.
Inspections on a weekly basis, or inspections at a longer interval
for long-established and stable impoundments (after the regulation
changes in 1992), are required to ensure that precipitation, seismic
activity, or perhaps an unknown construction flaw, has not adversely
affected any part of the dam site. The annual status report and
certification ensures that the company's engineers confirm that the
site is in accordance with the approved engineering plan.
An abandonment plan approved by the agency, ensures that a
hazardous site is not left in place after all mining activity has
ceased.
Type of Review: Extension.
Agency: Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Title: Impounding Structures and Refuse Piles, Reporting
Requirements, Certifications and Recordkeeping.
OMB Number: 1219-0015.
Agency Number: MSHA 211.
Recordkeeping: 3 years.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
Cite/Reference/Form/etc: 30 CFR Sections 77.215 and 77.216.
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): None.
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintaining): $3,618,412.
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Average time
Cite/Reference Total Frequency Total per response Burden hours
respondents responses (hours)
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77.215 New Refuse Piles...... 24 Annually......... 50 16 800
Fire Ext. Plans.............. 24 Annually......... 1 4 4
Abandonment Plans............ 25 Annually......... 25 8 200
Certification................ 15 Annually......... 15 2 30
77.216 New Impoundments...... 731 Annually......... 50 1,300 65,000
Revisions.................... 100 Annually......... 100 5 500
Annual Certification......... 100 Annually......... 100 2 200
Inspections w/monitoring 300 On Occasion...... 5,100 3 15,300
Instruments.
Without Monitoring 431 Annually......... 7,327 2 14,654
Instruments.
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Totals................... 755 ................. 12,768 .............. 96,688
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Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget
approval of the information collection request; they will also become a
matter of public record.
Dated: September 2, 1998.
George M. Fesak,
Director, Program Evaluation and Information Resources.
[FR Doc. 98-24189 Filed 9-8-98; 8:45 am]
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