H. B. 2372
(By Delegates Hrutkay, Hamilton, M. Poling,
Eldridge, Ellis, Rodighiero, Tucker, Moore and Barker)
[Introduced January 22, 2007; referred to the
Committee on Industry and Labor, Economic Development and Small
Business then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto two new sections, designated §22A-2-4a and
§22A-2-71b; and to amend and reenact §22A-2-60 of said code,
all relating to providing safety in coal mines; restricting
the use of belt haulage entries as intake and return air
courses in mines; modifying requirements for lifeline cords in
escapeways; and providing whistle-blower protection for
complainants in mines.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto two new sections, designated §22A-2-4a and
§22A-2-71b; and that §22A-2-60 of said code be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. UNDERGROUND MINES.
§22A-2-4a. Belt haulage entries not to be used for ventilation.
In any coal mine operating after the effective date of this
section, the entries used as intake and return air courses shall be
separated from belt haulage entries, and each operator of a mine
shall limit the velocity of the air coursed through belt haulage
entries to the amount necessary to provide an adequate supply of
oxygen in the entries, and to insure that the air in the entries
contain less than one volume per centum of methane, and the air may
not be used to ventilate active working places. Whenever the
director finds, in the case of any coal mine opened on or prior to
the effective date of this section, that has been developed with
more than two entries, that the conditions in the entries, other
than belt haulage entries, are such as to permit adequately the
coursing of intake or return air through the entries:
(1) The belt haulage entries may not be used to ventilate,
unless the entries are necessary to ventilate, active working
places; and
(2) When the belt haulage entries are not necessary to
ventilate the active working places, the operator of the mine shall
limit the velocity of the air coursed through the belt haulage
entries to the amount necessary to provide an adequate supply of
oxygen in the entries, and to assure that air therein shall contain
less than one volume per centum of methane.
§22A-2-60. Accessible outlets; safe roadways for emergencies; accessibility of first aid equipment; use of
special capsule for removal of personnel.
(a)
No An operator or mine foreman of any coal mine
shall may
not employ any person to work in
such the mine, or permit any
persons to be in the mine for the purpose of working
therein in the
mine unless they are provided with two openings or outlets to each
seam, separated by natural strata,
such the openings to be not less
than three hundred feet apart, if the mine
be is worked by shaft;
if the mine
be is worked by shaft and slope,
such the openings
shall be separated by one hundred feet of natural strata; and not
less than fifty feet apart at the outlets, if worked by slope or
drift; but this requirement of a distance of three hundred feet
between openings or outlets to shaft mines
shall does not apply
where
such the openings or outlets have been made prior to the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred seventy-one.
(b) At least two separate and distinct travelable passageways
designated as escapeways shall be maintained to ensure passage at
all times to any person, including disabled persons. The escapeway
openings to the surface shall be separated in
such the manner
as
shall be prescribed by the director. If at least two escapeways
are not available for any reason, all miners in the affected area
other than those requisite to remedy the situation shall be
withdrawn from the affected area until
such time as the escapeway
is made passable. Where the height of the coal bed is more than five feet, the escapeways shall be maintained at a height of at
least five feet excluding necessary roof support, and the travelway
in
such the escapeway shall be maintained at a width of at least
six feet, excluding necessary roof support and in those situations
where the height of the coal bed is less than five feet the
escapeway should be maintained to the height of the coal bed
excluding any necessary roof support, and the travelway in
such the
escapeway shall be maintained at a width of at least six feet. At
least one escapeway ventilated with intake air, maintained to the
last open crosscut, shall be provided from each working section
continuously to the nearest available opening on the surface, and
shall be maintained in safe condition and properly marked. Mine
openings shall be adequately protected to prevent the entrance into
the underground area of the mine of floodwater. Escape facilities
approved by the director, properly maintained and frequently
tested, shall be present at or in each escape shaft or slope to
allow all persons, including disabled persons, to escape quickly to
the surface in event of an emergency. Return airways entries
designated as escapeways shall be provided with permissible two-way
communication systems to the surface, and
such the systems shall be
located at points not to exceed every four thousand feet.
On or
after the first day of April, one thousand nine hundred
seventy-eight After the effective date of the amendments made to
this section during the regular session of the Legislature in two thousand seven, in all designated escapeways each operator shall
provide lifeline cords, with
attached reflective material at
intervals not to exceed twenty-five
foot intervals, from the last
open crosscut to the surface along a designated escapeway
ventilated by return air: Provided, That in case of a shaft mine
such lifeline cords shall extend from the last open crosscut to the
bottom of the designated escape shaft. Such
feet and devices
indicating the direction to the surface at intervals not to exceed
one hundred feet, from outby the loading point. In case of a shaft
mine, the lifeline cords shall extend from outby the loading point
to the bottom of the designated escape shaft. All lifeline cord
cords shall be made of durable construction sufficient to allow
miners to see and to use effectively to guide themselves out of the
mine in the event of an emergency.
(c) Escapeways shall be inspected and traveled at least once
each week by a certified mine examiner who shall place his or her
initials and the date in a conspicuous place or places and who
shall file a written report thereon which shall be kept on the
surface.
(d) When new coal mines are opened, not more than twenty
miners shall be are allowed at any one time in any mine until a
connection has been made between the two mine openings, and such
the connections shall be made as soon as possible.
(e) When only one opening is available because of final mining of pillars, not more than twenty miners shall be are allowed in
such the mine at any one time, and the distance between the mine
opening and working face shall may not exceed five hundred feet.
(f) First-aid materials and such other equipment as the
director may require requires shall be maintained within five
hundred feet of each area in which miners are regularly working to
which they may have access in case of an emergency and for
protection against hazards.
(g) Each working area of the mine not serviced by
track-mounted or rubber-tired vehicles which uses conveyor belts
for removal of coal shall be equipped with a special capsule in
which an injured person can be placed and transported on the belt
to the surface or to other transportation facilities. The director
shall within nine months of the eighth day of July, one thousand
nine hundred seventy-seven, promulgate standards and guidelines, or
allow to continue in effect any present standards and guidelines,
as to what such the "special capsule" as used in this subsection
shall include. Each section of the mine using or serviced by
track-mounted or rubber-tired equipment shall have readily
available a vehicle which can be used to promptly remove a person
in case of injury.
§22A-2-71b. Whistle-blower protection for complainants in mines.
A licensee, operator, mine superintendent, mine manager or
other supervisory personnel may not terminate or otherwise discipline a miner or other employee employed at a mine site for
complaints made to any public agency, including the Office of
Miners' Health Safety and Training concerning the existence of a
perceived health or safety hazard at the mine site.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide additional
safety measures in coal mines by restricting the use of belt
haulage entries as intake and return air courses, modifying
requirements for lifeline cords in escapeways and providing
whistle-blower protection for miners and other mine employees.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§22A-2-4a and §22A-2-71b are new; therefore, strike-throughs
and underscoring have been omitted.
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