(a) This subpart implements the provisions of section 115(e) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, as amended by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006. Every operator of an underground coal mine shall assure the availability of mine rescue capability for purposes of emergency rescue and recovery.
(b) The following Table 49.11 summarizes the new requirements for mine rescue teams contained in section 4 of the MINER Act.
Table 49.11—Summary of New Miner Act Requirements for Underground Coal Mine Operators and Mine Rescue Teams
| Requirement | Type of mine rescue team | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mine-site | Composite | Contract | State- sponsored |
|
| Team members must participate at least annually in two local mine rescue contests | YES | YES | YES | YES. |
| Team members must participate in mine rescue training at each mine covered by the mine rescue team. A portion of the training must be conducted underground | Annually at Large Mines; Semi-annually at Small Mines | Semi-annually | Quarterly at Large Mines; Semi-annually at Small Mines | Annually at Large Mines; Semi-annually at Small Mines. |
| Team must be available at the mine within 1 hour ground travel time from the mine rescue station | YES | YES | YES | YES. |
| Team members must be knowledgeable about the operations and ventilation of each covered mine | YES | YES | YES | YES. |
| Team must include at least two active employees from each covered large mine and at least one active employee from each covered small mine | YES | |||
| Team must be comprised of persons with a minimum of 3 years underground coal mine experience that shall have occurred within the 10-year period preceding their employment on the contract mine rescue team | YES | |||
| All mine operators must provide for two certified mine rescue teams. Large mine operators shall provide one team that is either an individual mine-site mine rescue team or a composite team. | ||||
Team members of State-sponsored teams who are full-time State employees whose primary job duties include (1) inspecting underground mines for compliance with State safety laws or (2) training mine rescue teams or (3) other similar duties that would enhance their mine rescue knowledge may substitute their regular job experience for 50 percent of the training requirements for non-State employee mine rescue team members, except these team members must participate in two local mine rescue contests and train at the covered mine in accordance with §49.20(b).
[73 FR 7648, Feb. 8, 2008, as amended at 74 FR 28608, June 17, 2009]
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