[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 53 (Wednesday, March 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15501-15502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05614]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Slope and Shaft Sinking Plans (Pertains to
Surface Work Areas of Underground Coal Mines)
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Mine Safety
and Health Administration (MSHA)-sponsored information collection
request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review
and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.
DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives
on or before April 17, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the
Department, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (2) if the information will be processed and used in a timely
manner; (3) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (4) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (5) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frederick Licari by telephone at 202-
693-8073, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 103(h) of the Federal Mine Safety
and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act), 30 U.S.C. 813(h), authorizes MSHA to
collect information necessary to carry out its duty in protecting the
safety and health of miners. Further, section 101(a) of the Mine Act,
30 U.S.C. 811, authorizes the Secretary of Labor to develop,
promulgate, and revise as may be appropriate, improved mandatory health
or safety standards for the protection of life and prevention of
injuries in coal and metal and nonmetal mines. Title 30 CFR 77.1900
requires underground coal mine operators to submit for approval a plan
that will provide for the safety of workmen in each slope or shaft that
is commenced or extended from the surface to the underground coal mine.
Each slope or shaft sinking operation is unique in that each operator
uses different methods and equipment and encounters different
geological strata which make it impossible for a single set of
regulations to ensure the safety of the miners under all circumstances.
This makes an individual slope or shaft sinking plan
[[Page 15502]]
necessary. The plan must be consistent with prudent engineering design.
Plans include the name and location of the mine; name and address of
the mine operator; a description of the construction work and methods
to be used in construction of the slope or shaft, and whether all or
part of the work will be performed by a contractor; the elevation,
depth and dimensions of the slope or shaft; the location and elevation
of the coalbed; the general characteristics of the strata through which
the slope or shaft will be developed; the type of equipment which the
operator proposes to use; the system of ventilation to be used; and
safeguards for the prevention of caving during excavation. For
additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related
notice published in the Federal Register on January 2, 2020 (85 FR
141).
This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and
the public is generally not required to respond to an information
collection, unless the OMB approves it and displays a currently valid
OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions
of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to
comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid
OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for
three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than
three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information
collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive
a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.
Agency: DOL-MSHA.
Title of Collection: Slope and Shaft Sinking Plans (Pertains to
Surface Work Areas of Underground Coal Mines).
OMB Control Number: 1219-0019.
Affected Public: Private Sector: Businesses or other for-profits.
Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 35.
Total Estimated Number of Responses: 91.
Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 1,820 hours.
Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $55.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).
Dated: March 12, 2020.
Frederick Licari,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-05614 Filed 3-17-20; 8:45 am]
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