U.S. Department of Labor

Mine Safety and Health Administration 1100 Wilson Boulevard Arlington, Virginia 22209-3939

FROM:           KEVIN G. STRICKLIN
                        Administrator for
                       Coal Mine Safety and Health

                      FELIX A. QUINTANA
                        Administrator for
                       Metal and Nonmetal Safety and Health

SUBJECT:      Part 100 Safety and Health Conferences

Scope
This Procedure Instruction Letter (PIL) applies to all safety and health conferences held pursuant to 30 C.F.R. Part 100.6.

Purpose
To provide District Managers broad discretion in limiting the nature and number of safety and health conferences held.

Procedure Instructions
Until further notice, all safety and health conferences held pursuant to 30 C.F.R. Part 100.6 may be limited to unwarrantable failure and high negligence violations. All other violations may be conferenced at the discretion of the District Manager by the Conference Litigation Representative (CLR), or other MSHA personnel assigned to conduct Part 100 safety and health conferences. 30 C.F.R. Part 100.6(b) requires that "a conference request must be in writing and must include a brief statement of the reason why each citation or order should be conferenced."

Conference requests that have already been granted and which do not involve unwarrantable failure and high negligence in the violations should be cancelled. The citations shall be forwarded for assessment of a penalty.

Background
30 C.F.R. Part 100.6(a) allows MSHA to exercise its sole discretion in deciding whether to grant an operator's request for a safety and health conference on any citation or order issued. The procedures outlined in this PIL constitute an exercise of this discretion in an effort of give District Managers the appropriate flexibility to effectively manage the increasing CLR caseload.

Authority
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, as amended 30 U.S.C. § 801 et seq; 30 C.F.R. Part 100.6.

Filing Instructions
A copy of this PIL should be filed in the front of the Alternative Case Resolution Handbook.

Issuing Office and Contact Person
Coal Mine Safety and Health,
Acting Deputy Administrator for Coal,
Terry Bentley, (202) 693-9521
e-mail: bentley.terry@dol.gov

Metal and Nonmetal Mine Safety and Health,
Deputy Administrator for Metal and Nonmetal,
Neal Merrifield, (202) 693-9645
e-mail: merrifield.neal@dol.gov

Distribution
All MSHA Program Policy Manual Holders
All Underground Surface Mine Operators
Independent Contractors