Podcast - Panorama del sector energético en Colombia
Challenges for Infrastructure Projects in the Current Environment
As part of its “Blurring the Lines” initiative, MSHA is now implementing plans to dramatically change its internal organization for enforcement and has released a map showing the new hierarchy. Before, individual coal and...more
An Ohio court case on the validity of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s 2013 rule on “pattern of violation,” or “POV,” may be near an end. At the joint request of the plaintiffs and MSHA, a judge for the U.S....more
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) held its quarterly stakeholder teleconference on April 25, 2017. The call served three purposes: (1) It provided an update to the timeline of the agency’s final Examinations of...more
The Mine Health and Safety Administration has released a serious accident alert in the wake of an accident involving a haul truck driver in the metal and nonmetal mine industry. The operator of a loaded haul truck...more
The panel that reviews mine safety and health cases has prevailed in recent federal court filings on the issue of whether it has the legal authority to approve settlements of penalties that MSHA reaches with mining employers....more
After the deaths of 29 miners over the past decade from falls in metal and nonmetal mines, the Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued a safety alert on reducing the risk of dangerous falls, reminding employers of...more
MSHA decided to move forward with its controversial Examination of Workplaces in Metal and Nonmetal Mines Rule without regard to a White House Memorandum requesting federal agencies to delay rules for sixty days. (see our...more
On January 23, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) issued its Final Rule for Examinations of Working Places in Metal and Nonmetal Mines. In light of the White House’s regulatory freeze on new rules, questions...more
MSHA’s proposed changes to the Workplace Exam Standard will create logistical challenges for mine operators. MSHA refers to the workplace exam rule as “common sense,” but the impact on your mine operation will likely be...more
Convinced that the tough enforcement action brought against a West Virginia coal operator by an inspector for the Mine Safety and Health Administration was influenced by a long-standing grudge the inspector held toward the...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has identified seven proposals the agency hopes to release as final rules before the end of the year, while the Mine Safety and Health Administration, its sister agency within...more
Mine operators can look to MSHA’s 2015 enforcement data to identify patterns in the most frequently cited safety and health violations, making it easier to avoid costly citations and possible long-term legal ramifications....more
Over the years, the Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA) has tried on two different occasions to overhaul the workplace examination standard at 30 CFR §56/57.18002 by issuing program policy letters. The agency’s primary...more
For the fourth time since the Upper Big Branch coal mine explosion in April 2010, a Congressional bill proposes to further amend the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. The Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act...more
As in other industries, mining companies must contend with employees and contractors using or being under the influence of illegal drugs in the workplace. Marijuana is one of the most prominent substances detected in drug...more
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently released mining industry and enforcement data that reflects noteworthy changes the industry has experienced over the last six years. Of particular significance in the...more
Only two months into 2015 and it has already been a busy year for the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Last year, MSHA launched “Voice in the Workplace” as an initiative to prompt more involvement by miners in...more
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is in the process of reviewing proposed new civil penalty regulations following multiple hearings in which stakeholders offered their comments. Civil penalties for safety...more
A number of fatal mine accidents occurred in the United States between January 1 and September 22, 2014. Coal Mines - - Four underground employees on foot were crushed by equipment in operation. - Two...more
At a mining industry safety conference in June, an MSHA Assistant District Manager stated that the agency viewed persons that perform workplace examinations pursuant to 30 C.F.R. § 56.18002 as performing an “agent-like”...more
In the mining industry MSHA enforcement of “pattern of violations” sanctions can be devastating to a mine operator’s business....more
“Congress has given . . . MSHA powerful tools to protect miners. ...more
Section 103 of the Federal Mine Safety Act requires the Secretary of Labor to conduct frequent inspections and investigations at mines....more
Escalating Enforcement by MSHA of Prohibition against Advance Notice of Inspection - Section 103 of the Federal Mine Safety Act requires the Secretary of Labor to conduct frequent inspections and investigations at...more
A private person who inspects a workplace can be held liable for injury or death due to hazards that should have been found and addressed. That is effectively what the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia recently held...more