[Federal Register: January 15, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 10)]
[Notices]
[Page 2544]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15ja08-106]
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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 containing
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.
DATES: Submit comments on or before March 17, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Debbie Ferraro, Records Management Branch,
1100 Wilson Boulevard, Room 2141, Arlington, VA 22209-3939. Commenters
are encouraged to send their comments on computer disk, or via e-mail
to ferraro.debbie@dol.gov. Ms. Ferraro can be reached at (202) 693-9821
(voice), or (202) 693-9801 (facsimile).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact the employee listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice.
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 after the Buffalo Creek dam
failure in 1972 in West Virginia. The refuse pile and impound
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. Desired Focus of Comments
Currently, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is
soliciting comments concerning the proposed extension of the
information collection requirement related to the Refuse Piles and
Impoundment Structures, Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements. MSHA
is particularly interested in comments that:
Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of MSHA's functions, including
whether the information has practical utility;
Evaluate the accuracy of MSHA's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
Suggest methods to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected; and
Address 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) to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond.
A copy of the proposed information collection request can be
obtained by contacting the employee listed in the ADDRESSES section of
this notice or viewed on the Internet by accessing the MSHA home page
(http://www.msha.gov/) and selecting ``Rules and Regs'', and then
selecting ``Fed Reg Docs.''
III. Current Actions
There are approximately 646 coal mine impounding structures and 46
hazardous refuse piles, for a total of 692 sites. 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 Safety and Refuse Piles, Reporting Requirements,
Certifications and Recordkeeping.
OMB Number: 1219-0015.
Recordkeeping: 3 years.
Affected Public: Business or other for profit.
Cite/Reference/Form/etc: 30 CFR Sections 77.215 and 77.216.
Total Respondents: 692.
Total Responses: 11,054.
Total Burden Hours: 32,081.
Total Burden Cost: $6,816,460.
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 at Arlington, Virginia, this 10th day of January, 2008.
David L. Meyer,
Director, Office of Administration and Management.
[FR Doc. E8-534 Filed 1-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-43-P