News & Analysis as of

Mining Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Coal Mines

Fisher Phillips

MSHA’s Silica Rule Enforcement on Pause After Court Blocks Effective Date: A Compliance Gameplan for Mine Operators

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A federal appeals court just gave mine operators a reprieve from its strict new silica rule after temporarily blocking it from going into effect. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) had announced on April 9 that...more

Conn Maciel Carey LLP

MSHA’s Final Rule for Respirable Crystalline Silica: What is Required and How Long Do Operators Have to Comply?

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On April 16, 2024, the Mine Safety & Health Administration (“MSHA”) released its final rule for Respirable Crystalline Silica (“RCS”) for preliminary viewing, and it was published in the Federal Register on April 18, 2024....more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

MSHA Issues Final Powered Haulage Rule

On December 20, 2023, and more than two years after announcing a proposed rule, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) issued its much-anticipated final rule regarding safety plans for powered haulage. The rule...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

MSHA Announces New Silica Enforcement Initiative

While the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) continues to work on developing a new crystalline silica standard (that is expected to cut the exposure limit in half), the agency has decided to ramp up enforcement of...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

MSHA Announces New Public Education Campaign

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MSHA has announced a new campaign focusing on mine operators’ obligations to ensure that miners are fully trained and able to take time to follow best safety practices. To that end, MSHA is providing resources on powered...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Executive Order on COVID-19 - Vague Regarding MSHA

On January 21, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. signed an executive order directing the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to take certain actions to address worker safety and health with regard to...more

Fisher Phillips

What Mine Operators Can Expect after the Pandemic: MSHA Will Soon Push Its Regulatory Agenda

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As the country begins to reopen, many mine operators are contemplating next steps for their own operations. One certainty is that the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) will continue to enforce the provisions of the...more

Fisher Phillips

Winds of Change Blowing At Mine Safety Agency

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The federal agency overseeing mine safety and health has been undergoing a bit of a transformation over the past several years, and employers can expect to see the most significant change in a matter of weeks. The Mine Safety...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

Currents - Energy Industry Insights: Issue 42, November 2019 #2

FBI Eyes How Pennsylvania Approved Pipeline - "The FBI has begun a corruption investigation into how Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration came to issue permits for construction on a multibillion-dollar pipeline project to carry...more

Fisher Phillips

MSHA Conducts Stakeholders' Meeting On Workplace Examinations

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On Thursday, November 7, 2019, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) held the second of five stakeholder meetings to discuss the implementation of the revised Workplace Examination standard for metal/non-metal...more

Fisher Phillips

MSHA Issues Program Policy Letter on Refuge Chambers for Public Comment

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At the end of July, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) announced the issuance of a Program Policy Letter (“PPL”) to provide mine operators guidance regarding the existing requirement to provide escape ways or...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

MSHA’s First Quarter Stakeholder Call Emphasizes Powered Haulage Training and Showcases Improvements to Mine Data Retrieval System

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) held its quarterly stakeholder call on May 2, 2019. MSHA began the discussion by reviewing the five fatalities that occurred in the first quarter of 2019. The agency then...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

Currents - Energy Industry Insights - February 2019 #3

NY Natural Gas Moratorium Due to Lack of Pipelines, but Some in Denial - "The slowing of economic development resulting from New York's political actions is a testament to what happens when energy becomes politicized." ...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

MSHA’s First Stakeholder Call for 2019 Focuses on Large Mobile Equipment Safety and Dust Enforcement

On January 24, 2019, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) held its first Quarterly Stakeholder Call of the year. As with previous calls, the agency emphasized its efforts to support its powered haulage safety...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

MSHA Names New Administrator for Coal and Metal/Nonmetal Safety and Health

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently named Deputy Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health Timothy R. Watkins to fill the newly created MSHA position of administrator for Coal and Metal/Nonmetal Mine...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Widow Of Miner Killed In Upper Big Branch Explosion Files Lawsuit Against MSHA

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On April 10, 2010, Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch underground coal mine suffered an explosion, resulting in the death of 29 miners. The investigation determined that inadequate ventilation caused a buildup of toxic gases,...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

Can Trump Save Coal Without Killing All the Miners?

Last month, the New York Times reported on the identification of the largest cluster of advanced black lung cases ever reported. (And lest you think that this is fake news, the Times contains a link to the article, which was...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Mine Safety Agency Enhances Enforcement Of ‘Rules To Live By’ To Prevent Mining Fatalities

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

The Mine Safety and Health Administration said it has begun “enhanced” enforcement of its “Rules to Live By” initiative, regulating standards commonly linked to mine deaths, as well as nine underground coal mine exam...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Mine Safety Agency Re-Launches Annual Program To Prevent Roof And Rib Fall Accidents

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

The Mine Safety and Health Administration said that it is re-launching its annual Preventive Roof/Rib Outreach Program (PROP) to expand awareness among coal miners and mine operators of roof and rib fall hazards. The...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Mine Safety Agency Launches ‘Training Assistance Initiative’ For Miners With Less Experience

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Recent coal-mining deaths have prompted the Mine Safety and Health Administration to launch a voluntary “training assistance initiative” for miners with less than one year of experience in mining or in their current job, MSHA...more

Conn Maciel Carey LLP

Met Coal Still a Hot Commodity But Coal Regulatory Enforcement Resources Have Cooled

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The Wall Street Journal reported this week that metallurgical coal (or “met” coal) remains a sought-after commodity despite the general malaise of the coal industry as a whole. Met coal is a higher-grade coal than the thermal...more

Conn Maciel Carey LLP

[Webinar] MSHA's Most-Cited Standards and How to Avoid Them - May 17th, 1:00pm ET

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MSHA’s published enforcement initiatives and Fatalgrams are an easy place to start when improving mine safety and proactively preparing sites for inspection, especially if you do your research. Reviewing MSHA’s most-cited...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Mine Safety Agency Issues Blasting Equipment Alert

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The Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued a safety alert advising employers to take precautions when storing, handling, transporting, and using explosives and detonators in underground coal mines near energized...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Mine Safety Agency to Award Up to $1 Million in Grants for Education, Training

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The Mine Safety and Health Administration will award up to $1 million in new grants for education and training programs to help identify, avoid, and prevent unsafe working conditions at mines in the United States as part of a...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

MSHA Announces Results of Special Impact Inspections From December 2016

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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration has announced the results of its monthly special impact inspections from December 2016. During the month, MSHA conducted inspections at 10 coal mines and...more

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