Senate Bill No. 247
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, and Sprouse, By Request of
the Executive)
_____________
[Introduced January 23, 2006.]
_____________
A BILL to repeal §22A-2-69 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended; to amend said code by adding thereto a new article,
designated §15-5B-1, §15-5B-2, §15-5B-3, §15-5B-4 and §15-5B-
5; and to amend and reenact §22A-2-55 and §22A-2-66 of said
code, all relating to mine and industrial emergencies;
creating the Mine and Industrial Accident Rapid Response
System; providing requirements for protective equipment in
underground mines; providing for criminal penalties for
unauthorized removal of or tampering with certain protective
equipment; providing for notification requirements in the
event of an accident in or about any mine; and imposing a
civil administrative penalty for the failure to comply with
such notification requirements.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §22A-2-69 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be repealed; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
article, designated §15-5B-1, §15-5B-2, §15-5B-3, §15-5B-4 and §15-
5B-5; and that §22A-2-55 and §22A-2-66 of said code be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 15. PUBLIC SAFETY.
ARTICLE 5B. MINE AND INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT RAPID RESPONSE SYSTEM.
§15-5B-1. Legislative Purpose; Mine and Industrial Accident
Rapid Response System created.
(a) The Legislature finds that the health and safety of our
fellow citizens working in and around the mining industry and other
industries is of paramount concern to the people of West Virginia
and that deaths and serious injuries resulting from dangerous
working conditions cause grief and suffering to workers and their
families. The Legislature further finds that there is an urgent
need to provide more effective means and measures for improving
emergency response and communications for dealing with mine and
industrial accidents. The Legislature declares that it is in the
best interest of the citizens of West Virginia to designate an
emergency telephone number for mining or industrial personnel to
initiate a rapid emergency response to any mine or industrial
accident. Provision of a single, primary emergency number through
which emergency services can be quickly and efficiently obtained
and through which the response of various state agencies charged by
law with responding to mine and industrial emergencies can be coordinated, will significantly contribute to the public good. The
Mine and Industrial Accident Rapid Response System will provide a
vital resource to the citizens of West Virginia by providing a
critical connection between the Director of the Office of Miners'
Health, Safety and Training, the Division of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management, local and regional emergency services
organizations, and other responsible agencies.
(b) The Mine and Industrial Accident Rapid Response System is
hereby created and shall consist of:
(1) the mine and industrial accident emergency operations
center established in section two of this article; and
(2) the twenty-four hour a day statewide telephone number
established by the Director of the Division of Homeland Security
and Emergency Management.
§15-5B-2. Mine and industrial accident emergency response
center.
(a) The Director of the Division of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management, working in conjunction with the Office of
Miners' Health, Safety and Training, shall maintain the mine and
industrial accident emergency operations center, which shall be the
official and primary state government twenty-four hour a day
communications center for dealing with mine and industrial
accidents.
(b) The emergency operations center shall be operated constantly by emergency service personnel employed by the director
to provide emergency assistance and coordination to mine and
industrial accidents or emergencies.
(c) The emergency operations center shall be readily
accessible twenty-four hours a day at a statewide telephone number
established and designated by the director.
§15-5B-3. Emergency mine response.
(a) To assist the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency
Management in implementing and operating the Mine and Industrial
Accident Rapid Response System, the Office of Miners' Health,
Safety and Training shall on a quarterly basis provide the
emergency operations center with a mine emergency contact list:
Provided, That in the event of any change in the information
contained in the mine emergency contact list, such changes shall be
provided immediately to the emergency operations center. The mine
emergency contact list shall include the following information:
(1) the name and telephone numbers of the Director of the
Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training, including at least
one telephone number that may be called twenty-four hours a day;
(2) the name and telephone numbers of all district mine
inspectors, including at least one telephone number for each
inspector that may be called twenty-four hours a day;
(3) a current listing of all regional offices or districts of
the Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training, including a detailed description of the geographical areas served by each such
regional office or district; and
(4) the names, locations and telephone numbers of all mine
rescue stations, including at least one telephone number for each
station that may be called twenty-four hours a day, and a listing
of all mines that each such mine rescue station serves in
accordance with the provisions of section thirty-five, article one,
chapter twenty-two-a of this code.
(b) Upon the receipt of an emergency call regarding any
accident in or about any mine, as defined in section sixty-six,
article two, chapter twenty-two-a of this code, the emergency
operations center shall immediately notify:
(1) the Director of the Office of Miners' Health, Safety and
Training;
(2) the district mine inspector assigned to the district or
region in which the accident occurred;
(3) all mine rescue stations that provide rescue coverage to
the mine in question; and
(4) local emergency service personnel in the area in which the
accident occurred.
(c) In the event that an emergency call regarding any accident
in or about any mine, as defined in section sixty-six, article two,
chapter twenty-two-a of this code, is initially received by a local
organization for emergency services as defined in section eight, article five of this chapter, or local emergency telephone system
operator as defined in article six, chapter twenty-four of this
code, such local organization or telephone system operator shall
immediately route the call to the emergency operations center,
which shall then immediately make the notifications set forth in
subdivisions (1), (2) and (3) of subsection (b) of this section.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to relieve an
operator, as defined in section two, article one, chapter twenty-
two-a of this code, from any reporting or notification obligation
under federal law.
(e) The Mine and Industrial Accident Rapid Response System and
the emergency operations center are designed and intended to
provide communications assistance to emergency responders and other
responsible persons. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
conflict with the responsibility and authority of an operator to
provide mine rescue coverage in accordance with the provisions of
section thirty-five, article one, chapter twenty-two-a of this code
or the authority of the Director of the Office of Miners' Health,
Safety and Training to assign mine rescue teams under the
provisions of subsection (d), section thirty-five, article one,
chapter twenty-two-a of this code or to exercise any other
authority provided in chapter twenty-two-a of this code.
§15-5B-4. Study of other industrial emergencies.
The Director of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management shall immediately cause a study to be
conducted to determine the feasibility of providing emergency
coverage to other industrial, manufacturing, chemical or other
emergencies through the Mine and Industrial Accident Rapid Response
System. On or before the first day of November, two thousand six,
the director shall submit a report to the Governor, the President
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates setting
forth the findings of his or her study and recommendations for
legislation consistent with the purposes of this article.
§15-5B-5. Rule-making authority.
The Director of the Division of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management shall propose rules for legislative
promulgation in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-
a of this code regarding the implementation and administration of
the Mine and Industrial Accident Rapid Response System. From the
effective date of this section until the date of promulgation of
these rules, the director may promulgate emergency rules in
accordance with the applicable provisions of this code in order to
implement and administer this system.
CHAPTER 22A. MINERS' HEALTH, SAFETY AND TRAINING.
ARTICLE 2. UNDERGROUND MINES.
§22A-2-55. Protective equipment and clothing.
(a) Welders and helpers shall use proper shields or goggles to
protect their eyes. All employees shall have approved goggles or shields and use the same where there is a hazard from flying
particles, or other eye hazards.
(b) Employees engaged in haulage operations and all other
persons employed around moving equipment on the surface and
underground shall wear snug-fitting clothing.
(c) Protective gloves shall be worn when material which may
injure hands is handled, but gloves with gauntleted cuffs shall not
be worn around moving equipment.
(d) Safety hats and safety-toed shoes shall be worn by all
persons while in or around a mine:
Provided, That metatarsal guards
shall not be required to be worn by persons when working in those
areas of underground mine workings which average less than forty-
eight inches in height as measured from the floor to the roof of
the underground mine workings.
(e) Approved eye protection shall be worn by all persons while
being transported in open-type man trips.
(f)
(1) A self-rescue device approved by the director shall be
worn by each person underground or kept within his immediate reach,
and such device shall be provided by the operator. The self-rescue
device shall be adequate to protect such miner for one hour or
longer. Each operator shall train each miner in the use of such
device, and refresher training courses for all underground
employees shall be held during each calendar year.
(2) In addition to the requirements of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the operator shall also provide caches of additional
self-rescue devices throughout the mine in accordance with a plan
approved by the director. Each such additional self-rescue device
shall be adequate to protect a miner for one hour or longer. The
total number of additional self-rescue devices, the total number of
storage caches and the placement of each such cache throughout the
mine shall be established by rule pursuant to subsection (i) of
this section. Intrinsically safe battery-powered strobe lights
shall be affixed to each cache and shall be capable of automatic
activation in the event of an emergency. A luminescent sign with
the words "SELF-RESCUER" or "SELF-RESCUERS" shall be conspicuously
posted at each such cache and luminescent direction signs shall be
posted leading to each cache. Lifeline cords, with reflective
material at twenty-five foot intervals, shall be attached to each
cache from the last open crosscut to the surface. The operator
shall conduct weekly inspections of each cache, the affixed strobe
lights, and each lifeline cord to ensure operability.
(3) Any person that, without the authorization of the operator
or the director, knowingly removes or attempts to remove any self-
rescue device or battery powered strobe light from the mine or mine
site with the intent to permanently deprive the operator of the
device or light or knowingly tampers with or attempts to tamper
with such device or light shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than ten
years, or fined not less than ten thousand dollars, or both.
(g) (1) A wireless emergency communication device approved by
the director shall be worn by each person underground, and such
device shall be provided by the operator. The wireless emergency
communication device shall be capable of receiving emergency
communications from the surface at any location throughout the
mine. Each operator shall train each miner in the use of such
device, and refresher training courses for all underground
employees shall be held during each calendar year. The operator
shall install in or around the mine any and all equipment necessary
to transmit emergency communications from the surface to each
wireless emergency communication device at any location throughout
the mine.
(2) Any person that, without the authorization of the operator
or the director, knowingly removes or attempts to remove any
wireless emergency communication device or related equipment from
the mine or mine site with the intent to permanently deprive the
operator of the device or equipment or knowingly tampers with or
attempts to tamper with such device or equipment shall be deemed
guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not less than one
year nor more than ten years, or fined not less than ten thousand
dollars, or both.
(h) (1) A wireless tracking device approved by the director
shall be worn by each person underground, and such device shall be
provided by the operator. In the event of an emergency, the
tracking device shall be capable of providing real-time monitoring
of the physical location of each person underground: Provided,
That no person shall discharge or in any other way discriminate
against any miner based on information gathered by such wireless
tracking device during non-emergency monitoring. Each operator
shall train each miner in the use of such device, and refresher
training courses for all underground employees shall be held during
each calendar year. The operator shall install in or around the
mine any and all equipment necessary to provide real-time emergency
monitoring of the physical location of each person underground.
(2) Any person that, without the authorization of the operator
or the director, knowingly removes or attempts to remove any
wireless tracking device or related equipment from a mine or mine
site with the intent to permanently deprive the operator of the
device or equipment or knowingly tampers with or attempts to tamper
with such device or equipment shall be deemed guilty of a felony,
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state
correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than ten
years, or fined not less than ten thousand dollars, or both.
(i) The director may promulgate emergency rules to implement
and enforce this section pursuant to the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
§22A-2-66. Accident; notice; investigation by office of miners'
health, safety and training.
(a) For the purposes of this section, the term "accident"
shall mean:
(1) a death of an individual at a mine;
(2) an injury to an individual at a mine which has a
reasonable potential to cause death;
(3) an entrapment of an individual;
(4) an unplanned inundation of a mine by a liquid or gas;
(5) an unplanned ignition or explosion of gas or dust;
(6) an unplanned ignition or explosion of a blasting agent or
an explosive;
(7) an unplanned fire in or about a mine not extinguished
within five minutes of ignition;
(8) an unplanned roof fall at or above the anchorage zone in
active workings where roof bolts are in use or an unplanned roof or
rib fall in active workings that impairs ventilation or impedes
passage;
(9) a coal or rock outburst that causes withdrawal of miners
or which disrupts regular mining activity for more than one hour;
(10) an unstable condition at an impoundment, refuse pile, or
culm bank which requires emergency action in order to prevent
failure, or which causes individuals to evacuate an area, or the failure of an impoundment, refuse pile, or culm bank;
(11) damage to hoisting equipment in a shaft or slope which
endangers an individual or which interferes with use of the
equipment for more than thirty minutes; and
(
12) an event at a mine which causes death or bodily injury to
an individual not at the mine at the time the event occurs;
(b) Whenever
by reason of any explosion or other any accident
occurs in or about any coal mine or the machinery connected
therewith,
loss of life, or serious personal injury occurs, it is
the duty of the
superintendent of the mine, and in his or her
absence, operator or the mine foreman in charge of the mine, to
give immediate notice,
within fifteen minutes of ascertaining the
occurrence of the accident, to the
director and the inspector of
the district mine and industrial accident emergency operations
center at the statewide telephone number established by the
Director of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency
Management pursuant to the provisions of article five-b, chapter
fifteen of this code, stating the particulars of such accident:
Provided, That the operator or the mine foreman in charge of the
mine may comply with this immediate notice requirement by
immediately providing said notice to the appropriate local
organization for emergency services as defined in section eight,
article five, chapter fifteen of this code, or the appropriate
local emergency telephone system operator as defined in article six, chapter twenty-four of this code: Provided, however, That
nothing in this subsection shall be construed to relieve the
operator from any reporting or notification requirement under
federal law.
(c) The Director of the Office of Miners' Health, Safety and
Training shall impose a civil administrative penalty of one hundred
thousand dollars on the operator if it is determined, in the sole
discretion of the director, that the operator or the mine foremen
in charge of the mine, failed to give immediate notice as required
in this section: Provided, That the director may waive imposition
of the civil administrative penalty at any time if he or she finds
that the failure to give such immediate notice was caused by
circumstances wholly outside the control of the operator.
(d) If anyone is killed, the inspector shall immediately go to
the scene of such accident and make such recommendations and render
such assistance as he or she may deem necessary for the future
safety of the men, and investigate the cause of such explosion or
accident and make a record thereof which he or she shall preserve
with the other records in his or her office, the cost of such
records to be paid by the office of miners' health, safety and
training, and a copy shall be furnished to the operator and other
interested parties. To enable him or her to make such
investigation, he or she has the power to compel the attendance of
witnesses and to administer oaths or affirmations. The director has the right to appear and testify and to offer any testimony that may
be relevant to the questions and to cross-examine witnesses.
Note: The purpose of this bill is to improve mine and
industrial safety; to create and implement the Mine and Industrial
Accident Rapid Response System to assist in the coordination and
provision of emergency response services in the event of a mine or
industrial accident; to establish a statewide emergency telephone
number for mining and industrial accidents; to require additional
caches of self-rescue devices in underground mines; to require
persons working in underground mines to be equipped with wireless
communication and tracking devices; to provide criminal penalties
for the unauthorized removal of or tampering with certain
protective equipment; and to require coal mine operators to give
immediate notification to the appropriate emergency response
agencies and to provide a civil administrative penalty for the
failure to give such notice.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added. §15-5B-1, §15-5B-2, §15-5B-3, §15-5B-4 and §15-5B-5 are
new, therefore, underscoring and strike-throughs have been omitted.