MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION PUBLIC HEARING 30 CFR Section 75.403 Emergency Temporary Standard Maintenance of Incombustible Content of Rock Dust in Underground Coal Mines Tuesday, October 26, 2010 Marriott St. Louis Airport 10700 Pear Tree Lane St. Louis, Missouri Reported by: Kevin J. Weichman, CSR, CCR ILLINOIS CSR NUMBER: 084-003189 MISSOURI CCR NUMBER: 915 A P P E A R A N C E S Ms. Patricia W. Silvey, Director, Office of Standards and Regulations, U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, 1100 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22209. Ms. Deborah K. Green, Senior Attorney, Mine Safety and Health Division, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, 1100 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22209. Mr. Gregory W. Fetty, Staff Assistant, U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, 604 Cheat Road, Morgantown, West Virginia 26508-4210. Mr. Mario V. Distasio, Chief, Economic Analysis Division, Office of Standards, Regulations & Variances, U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, 1100 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22209. Mr. Kevin R. Burns, Educational Policy and Development, U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, 1100 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22209. MS. SILVEY: Good morning. My name is Patricia W. Silvey and I am the director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration's Office of Standards, Regulations and Variances. I will be the moderator of this public hearing on MSHA's ETS on Maintenance of Incombustible Content of Rock Dust in Underground Coal Mines. On behalf of Assistant Secretary Joseph A. Main, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health, I want to welcome all of you here today. At this point, I would like to introduce the members of the MSHA panel: To my left is Kevin Burns who is with the Office of Educational Policy and Development; To my immediate left, Gregory Fetty who is with the Coal Mine Safety and Health; And to my right, Deborah Green, who is our attorney on the project and with the Department of Labor Office of the Solicitor of Mine Safety and Health Division; And to her right is Mario Distasio who is the chief economist in my office. This is the first of four hearings on the Emergency Temporary Standard, to which I will refer to as the ETS. The second hearing will be in Birmingham, Alabama on Thursday; the third will be in Lexington, Kentucky on November 16; and the fourth in Charleston, West Virginia, on November 18. The purpose of these hearings, as many of you know who have participated in MSHA's rule-makings over the years, is to receive information from the public that will help us evaluate requirements in the ETS and develop a final rule that protects miners from hazards associated with coal dust explosions. We will also use the data and information gained from these hearings to help us develop a final rule that responds to the needs and concerns of the mining public, so that the requirements of the final rule can be implemented in the most effective and appropriate manner. This ETS was issued in accordance with Section 101(b) of the Federal Mine and Safety Health Act of 1977, the Mine Act. Under Section 101(b), the ETS is effective until superseded by a mandatory standard; and in accordance with the Mine Act, the mandatory standard must be issued no later than nine months after publication of the ETS. The ETS also serves as the proposed rule, as most of you know, and commences the regular rule-making process. Mine operators apply rock dust in underground bituminous coal mines to reduce the explosion potential of coal dust and other dust generated during mining operations. Effective rock dust application is essential to protect miners from the potential of a coal dust explosion; or if one occurs, to reduce its severity. MSHA established a standard, based on the Federal Coal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1969, that required mine operators to maintain at least 80 percent incombustible content of the combined coal dust, rock dust, and other dust in return airways. In all other areas of the mine, under the coal act, the combined dust needed to contain at least 65 percent incombustible content. MSHA determined that revising the standard for "Maintenance of incombustible content of rock dust" is necessary to immediately protect miners from hazards of coal dust explosions. This determination is based on: MSHA's accident investigation reports of mine explosions in intake air courses that involved coal dust, and that was embodied in Dubaniewicz 2009; the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, Report of Investigations 9679 (Cashdollar, et al. 2010), "Recommendations for a New Rock Dusting Standard to Prevent Coal Dust Explosions in Intake Airways"; and MSHA's experience and data. MSHA has estimated the economic impact of the ETS and has included a discussion of the costs and benefits in the preamble. As stated earlier, we will use the information provided by you to help us decide how to develop the final rule. The preamble to the ETS discusses the requirements of the ETS and also includes several requests for comment and information. As you address the requirements of the ETS and any specific requests for comment that we have made, either in comments to us today or those sent to us in Arlington, please be as specific as possible with respect to the impact on miner safety and health, specific mining conditions, and feasibility of implementation. That will be very important. At this point, I want to reiterate the specific requests for comment and information. And these were the requests that were contained in the ETS. MSHA solicits comments from the mining community regarding the increase in incombustible content of dust in air courses where methane is present; the ETS requires an additional 0.4 percent total incombustible content for each 0.1 percent of methane where methane is present in any ventilating current. Please include rationale and supporting documentation for any suggested alternative compliance methods. MSHA requests comments on all the estimates of cost and benefits, including net benefits, presented in this ETS. Specifically, MSHA requests comments on the Agency's benefit estimates, as well as supporting data. MSHA solicits information from the mining community that would enable a more specific analysis of costs, which could include the costs of: additional rock dust; increased labor needed to apply the rock dust; and any additional equipment that would be necessary, such as, pod dusters, trickle dusters, finger dusters and scoop batteries. For equipment, please include the type, number of pieces, costs and expected service life. Please explain whether mining methods would affect the costs, such as longwall compared to non-longwall mines. To date, the Agency has received one comment on the ETS. You can view comments on the Agency's website at www.msha.gov under the section entitled Rules and Regulations. The post-hearing comment period for the proposal closes on December 20, 2010 and MSHA must receive your comments by midnight Eastern Standard Time on that date. You may submit comments following this hearing by any of the methods identified in the ETS. The hearing, as many of you know, will be conducted in an informal manner; cross-examination and formal rules of evidence will not apply. The panel may ask questions of the speakers. The speakers may ask questions of the panel. MSHA will make a transcript of the hearing available on the Agency's website within one week of each hearing. If you wish to present written statements or information today, please clearly identify your material and give a copy to the court reporter. We also ask that those in attendance who may not be speaking sign the attendance sheet in the back of the room. We also have additional copies of the ETS should anybody need a copy. Please begin by clearly stating your name and organization, and spell your name for the court reporter so that we have an accurate record. And now we will begin today's hearing. Our first speaker will be Edgar "Butch" Oldham with the United Mine Workers of America. MR. OLDHAM: My name is Edgar Oldham, Junior, E-d-g-a-r, O-l-d-h-a-m, Junior. I am with the United Mine Workers of America. First, I would, Madam Chair, I would like to thank you for this opportunity and distinguished panel members to be here today to speak on this issue. It's one that we totally support and I just have a few comments and will be rather brief. Like I say, at first I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak today on this issue. I will say for the record that I support all of the comments that have been submitted by the United Mine Workers of America on this issue. I understand the company's concern with trying to comply with this new standard, but I also understand what their concern might be if something happens at their mine if inadequate rock dusting isn't applied. I think I can speak pretty freely on this issue. I have had the opportunity to be at the -- part of the investigations of the last five major explosions in this country. I have seen the destruction, not only within the mine but also within these communities. I know what it does. I know how powerful these explosions can be. You can take an explosion that rips a roof strap, that's bolted to the roof, from a roof. That's powerful. When you can take a scoop bucket and it busts the welds on a scoop bucket, that's something that's powerful. If more rock dust helps us prevent something like this, then that's what we need to do. If everybody at the mines had the same opportunity to see the destruction that I witnessed, they probably would encourage more rock dusting and hopefully in that effort would reduce these explosions. The amount of rock dust that is applied in the immediate intake and that return airways coming off the mining section is our first line of defense in the event of ignition or explosion. This ultimately determines how far an explosion may travel in the event that something ever happens. To me, this is no different than having an adequate fire extinguisher in your home. Do you want something that might put a fire out in your home, or do you want one that will do an adequate job and distinguish a fire. To me it is the same principle so that's why I support the 80 percent rule on this ETS. I can say just personally from all the mines that I have been, and I have been doing this job 22 years so I have seen a lot of coal mines and been a lot of places, very few mines do an adequate rock dusting job in my opinion. When places are dusted after mining is completed, they usually have someone take a couple bags of rock dust and hand dust the place. If anybody has ever been in a mine, you can see what hand dusting is. In my opinion, it is not adequate rock dusting. It's what I refer to as salt and pepper dusting, just do enough to get by until the rock dusting can be adequately applied usually on the third shift which is normally a noncoal producing shift. So like I say, if something -- if you have an ignition, a little bit of rock dusting that they apply with a couple bags of dust is not going to help you. In closing, if this rule prevents one explosion from happening or if it prevents one from coming off a section and affecting the entire mine, it will be well worth the effort. So again, I support the comments that we previously submitted by the United Mine Workers and hope this ETS becomes a final rule. Thank you. MS. SILVEY: Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Oldham. Does anybody else wish to speak? Yes, ma'am. MS. GIANINO: I just saw this on the news this morning and had an interest in this. MS. SILVEY: And your name? MS. GIANINO: My name is Peggy Gianino, P-e-g-g-y, G-i-a-i-n-o. I'm just a private citizen who has a major interest in this and I have been watching on the news and what's been going on all over with our miners throughout the world. And if there is any way to strengthen the laws to protect the miners, I'm all for it. I am actually looking to go back to school, and mining safety is an issue of mine. It has also been something that's been brought to me on a personal level with an individual who has had to deal with blasting and exploding coming from an area quarry which would shake our homes. And literally you would be standing in your home and an explosion would go off, and my God, your house just shakes. And to bring this to the attention of people, they just don't understand what it feels like to be losing balance under your feet. And these are explosions going on somewhere within the vicinity of a third of a mile from my home with an interstate in between. But all I know is, as a homeowner, I am feeling these vibrations going through the ground and hearing and then you see the dust going up in the air and how it's affecting the environment of the people who are even a third of a mile away, I can't even imagine the effects that it has on our people that are underneath ground. You know, this is an issue that everybody seems to not want to take an interest in because, you know, you just might shake, rattle and roll an area where people don't want to go. Well, I am not scared to do that. As a homeowner and a private citizen, this has affected -- you know, with the vibrations and sound and dust of how it affected the community in St. Charles County. And this is just not something that is affecting people here. This is a United-States-wide thing. There are people all over the United States and all over the world who are dealing with this problem and everybody seems to keep ignoring it and pushing it to the side. The laws on mine safety, blasting and explosives, they need to be strengthened and they need to be hardened. We need to protect our people. We need to protect our homes, our private citizens. Like I said, maybe I am on the right track, maybe I am not, but all I know is that I am working with people through the United States who -- we are trying to bring this issue up to our federal government. And it's really hard to get somewhere because we are just small little simple people, and when you are dealing with blasting companies and quarries and mining companies, they are going to do anything they can to silence us and try to put us to the side. So I am so glad to see you here and just to have my five minutes to tell you my concerns and I would love to talk to someone more because I can put you in touch with people through the United States who find this an issue, and we all swear to God at the day's end we will meet on the steps in Washington, D.C. So thank you. Please keep pushing for the safety of our miners. MS. SILVEY: Thank you. Does anybody else wish to speak? (No response.) Does anybody else -- if nobody else wishes to speak right now, we are going to take a break, and we will take a break probably for a half-hour just to see if anybody else is going to come, and then we will decide what to do after if nobody else comes. But right, now let's just take a half-hour break. Thank you. (A break was taken from 9:33 a.m. to 10:21 a.m.) MS. SILVEY: At this time we will reconvene the Mine Safety and Health Administration's public hearing on the ETS Maintenance of Incombustible Content of Rock Dust in Underground Coal Mines. At this point, is there anybody else who wishes to make a statement? (No response.) If nobody else wishes to make a statement, at this point I am going to close today's hearing. And as I close the hearing, I am going to reiterate to everybody again that we ask you to respond to review the Emergency Temporary Standard and to respond to the request for information that we include in the ETS and in the preamble to the ETS. We ask that when you do that, you please include your rationale and supporting documentation. We do appreciate the people who have come to the public hearing today, and we also appreciate people who came and may not have spoken. But if anybody wishes to respond before the record closes, the record closes on December 20, 2010, please get your comments to us by any of the methods listed in the ETS. So, at this point, thank you, again, and we are going to conclude. I'm going to conclude now. If anybody happens to come later, we can reopen the hearing, but right now at this point we will conclude the hearing. Thank you very much. (Hearing concluded.) REPORTER CERTIFICATE I, KEVIN J. WEICHMAN, CSR, CCR, do hereby certify that the PUBLIC HEARING was reduced to writing by me; and that this hearing is a true and correct record of the testimony given. I further certify that I am neither attorney nor counsel for nor related nor employed by any of the parties to the action in which this deposition is taken; further, that I am not a relative or employee of any attorney or counsel employed by the parties hereto or financially interested in this action. Dated October 30, 2010. ___________________________ KEVIN J. WEICHMAN, CSR, CCR ?? ?? ?? ?? 2