ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 247
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, and Sprouse,
By Request of the Executive)
____________
[Passed January 23, 2006; in effect from passage.]
____________
AN ACT 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
; to amend and reenact §22A-2-55 and §22A-2-66
of said code;
and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section,
designated §24-6-14, 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 the unauthorized removal of or tampering with
certain protective equipment;
defining certain terms;
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; providing rule-making authority;
and clarifying the responsibilities of county answering
points.
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be repealed; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new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
; that §22A-2-55 and §22A-2-66
of said code be amended and
reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated §24-6-14, 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
persons 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 24-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 operations
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 24-hour-a-day communications
center for dealing with mine and industrial accidents.
(b) The emergency operations center shall be operated twenty-
four hours a day, seven days a week 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. 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 names and telephone numbers of the Director of the
Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training, or his or her
designee, including at least one telephone number at which the Director or designee may be reached at any time;
(2) The names and telephone numbers of all district mine
inspectors, including at least one telephone number for each
inspector at which each inspector may be reached at any time;
(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
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 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, as defined in section sixty-six, article two, chapter
twenty-two-a of this code, in or about any mine, the emergency
operations center shall immediately notify:
(1) The Director of the Office of Miners' Health, Safety and
Training or his or her designee;
(2) The district mine inspector assigned to the district or
region in which the accident occurred; and
(3) Local emergency service personnel in the area in which the
accident occurred.
(c) The director or his or her designee shall determine the
necessity for and contact all mine rescue stations that provide
rescue coverage to the mine in question.
(d) In the event that an emergency call regarding any
accident, as defined in section sixty-six, article two, chapter
twenty-two-a of this code, in or about any mine, is initially
received by a county answering point, as defined in article six,
chapter twenty-four of this code, the call shall be immediately
forwarded to the Mine and Industrial Accident Emergency Operations
Center.
(e) 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.
(f) 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) of said section 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 emergency and legislative rules
for 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. The
requirements of this article enacted during the regular session of
the Legislature in January, two thousand six, shall not be
implemented until the emergency rule authorized herein has been
approved.
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
are not 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-contained self-rescue device approved by the
Director shall be worn by each person underground or kept within
his immediate reach and the device shall be provided by the
operator. The self-contained self-rescue device shall be adequate
to protect a 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-contained self-rescue devices throughout the mine in
accordance with a plan approved by the director. Each additional
self-contained self-rescue device shall be adequate to protect a
miner for one hour or longer. The total number of additional self-
contained self-rescue devices, the total number of storage caches
and the placement of each 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-
CONTAINED SELF-RESCUER" or "SELF-CONTAINED SELF-RESCUERS" shall be
conspicuously posted at each cache and luminescent direction signs
shall be posted leading to each cache. Lifeline cords or other
similar device, with reflective material at 25-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 or other
similar device to ensure operability.
(3) Any person that, without the authorization of the operator or the director, knowingly removes or attempts to remove any self-
contained 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 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 nor more than one
hundred thousand dollars, or both.
(g)(1) A wireless emergency communication device approved by
the director and provided by the operator shall be worn by each
person underground. The wireless emergency communication device
shall, at a minimum, 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 the
device and provide refresher training courses for all underground
employees 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 the device or equipment shall be 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 nor more
than one hundred thousand dollars, or both.
(h)(1) A wireless tracking device approved by the director and
provided by the operator shall be worn by each person underground.
In the event of an accident or other emergency, the tracking device
shall, at a minimum, be capable of providing real-time monitoring
of the physical location of each person underground: Provided, That
no person shall discharge or discriminate against any miner based
on information gathered by a wireless tracking device during
nonemergency monitoring. Each operator shall train each miner in
the use of the device and provide refresher training courses for
all underground employees during each calendar year. The operator
shall install in or around the mine 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, approved by the
director, 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 the device or equipment
shall be 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 nor more than one hundred thousand dollars, or both.
(i) The director may promulgate emergency and legislative
rules to implement and enforce this section pursuant to the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(j) The penalties set forth in this article enacted during the
regular session of the Legislature in January, two thousand six,
shall become effective the first day of July, two thousand six.
§22A-2-66. Accident; notice; investigation by Office of Miners'
Health, Safety and Training.
(a) For the purposes of this section, the term "accident"
means:
(1) The 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) The entrapment of an individual;
(4) The unplanned inundation of a mine by a liquid or gas;
(5) The unplanned ignition or explosion of gas or dust;
(6) The 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 any accident occurs in or about any coal mine or
the machinery connected therewith, it is the duty of the operator
or the mine foreman in charge of the mine to give notice, within
fifteen minutes of ascertaining the occurrence of an accident, to
the 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 the accident: Provided, That the
operator or the mine foreman in charge of the mine may comply with
this notice requirement by immediately providing notice to the
appropriate local organization for emergency services as defined in
section eight, article five of said chapter, 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, pursuant to rules authorized in this
section, a civil administrative penalty of one hundred thousand
dollars on the operator if it is determined 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 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 the accident and make recommendations and render
assistance as he or she may deem necessary for the future safety of
the men and investigate the cause of the explosion or accident and
make a record. He or she shall preserve the record with the other records in his or her office. The cost of the investigation
records shall be paid by the Office of Miners' Health, Safety and
Training. A copy shall be furnished to the operator and other
interested parties. To enable him or her to make an 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.
CHAPTER 24. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.
ARTICLE 6. LOCAL EMERGENCY TELEPHONE SYSTEM.
§24-6-14. Notification of mining accidents.
Each county answering point that receives a call reporting an
accident in or about any mine shall immediately route the call to
the Mine and Industrial Accident Emergency Operations Center
created pursuant to section two, article five-a, chapter fifteen of
this code.
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