[Federal Register: April 25, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 79)]
[Notices]
[Page 20563-20564]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25ap07-108]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary
Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request
April 19, 2007.
The Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted the following public
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 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35). A copy of
this ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained
from RegInfo.gov at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain or by
contacting Darrin King on 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free
number)/e-mail: king.darrin@dol.gov.
Comments should be sent to Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA), Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235,
Washington, DC 20503, Telephone: 202-395-7316/Fax: 202-395-6974 (these
are not a toll-free numbers), within 30 days from the date of this
publication in the Federal Register.
The OMB 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 submission of responses.
Agency: Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Type of Review: Extension without change of currently approved
collection.
Title: Application for a Permit to Fire More than 20 Boreholes for
the use of Non-permissible Blasting Units, Explosives and Shot-firing
Units.
OMB Number: 1219-0025.
Form Number: None.
Type of Response: Reporting and Third-party disclosure.
Affected Public: Private Sector: Business or other for-profit
(mining industry).
Number of Respondents: 50.
Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 107.
Average Response Time: 1 hour to prepare and submit a permit
application and 20 minutes to prepare and post a notice warning that an
un-disposed misfire is present.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 69.
Total Annualized capital/startup costs: $0.
Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or purchasing
services): $635.
Description: Under Section 313 of the Federal Mine Safety and
Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act), 30 U.S.C. 873, any explosives used in
underground coal mines must be permissible. The Mine Act also provides
that under safeguards prescribed by the Secretary of Labor, a mine
operator may permit the firing of more than 20 shots and the use of
non-permissible explosives in sinking shafts and slopes from the
surface in rock. Title 30 CFR 75.1321 outlines the procedures by which
a permit may be issued for the firing of more than 20 boreholes and/or
the use of non-permissible shot-firing units in underground coal mines.
In those instances in which there is a misfire of explosives, 30 CFR
75.1327 requires that a qualified person post each accessible entrance
to the affected area with a warning to prohibit entry. Title 30 CFR
77.1909-1 outlines the procedures by which a coal mine operator may
apply for a permit to use non-permissible explosives and/or shot-firing
units in the blasting of rock while sinking shafts or slopes for
underground coal mines.
To obtain a permit, the mine operator files an application with the
MSHA district manager in the district in which the mine is located.
Applications may be mailed or faxed, using company letterhead
stationery and should contain the name and address of the mine, the
designated active workings in which the units will be used and the
approximate number of shots to be fired, the period of time during
which such units are to be used, the nature of the development or
construction for which they will be used, a plan to protect miners, a
statement of the specific hazards anticipated, and the method to be
employed to avoid the dangers anticipated.
The district manager may permit the firing of more than 20
boreholes of permissible explosives in a round where he has determined
that it is necessary to
[[Page 20564]]
reduce the overall hazard to which miners are exposed during
underground blasting. The district manager issues a permit to use non-
permissible items when he finds that a permissible shot-firing unit
does not have adequate blasting capacity and the use of such
permissible units will create development or construction hazards. As a
condition of use, the district manager may include safeguards, in
addition to those proposed by the operator, that he determines are
necessary to protect the safety of the miners at the time the blasting
is permitted collection.
MSHA uses the information requested to issue a permit to the mine
operator for the use of non-permissible explosives and/or shot-firing
units. The permit informs mine management and the miners of the steps
to be employed to protect the safety of any person exposed to such
blasting while using non-permissible items.
Darrin A. King,
Acting Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. E7-7823 Filed 4-24-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-43-P