[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 14 (Wednesday, January 22, 2020)] [Notices] [Pages 3723-3724] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2020-00990] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Office of the Secretary Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Safety Standards for Underground Coal Mine Ventilation--Belt Entry Used as an Intake Air Course To Ventilate Working Sections and Areas Where Mechanized Mining Equipment Is Being Installed or Removed. ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Safety Standards for Underground Coal Mine Ventilation--Belt Entry Used as an Intake Air Course to Ventilate Working Sections and Areas Where Mechanized Mining Equipment is Being Installed or Removed'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, 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 February 21, 2020. ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free of charge from the RegInfo.gov website at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201910-1219-004 (this link will only become active on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting Frederick Licari by telephone at 202-693-8073, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by email at [email protected]. Submit comments about this request by mail to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL- MSHA, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: 202-395-5806 (this is not a toll-free number); or by email: [email protected]. Commenters are encouraged, but not required, to send a courtesy copy of any comments by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor-OASAM, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Attn: Departmental Information Compliance Management Program, Room N1301, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210; or by email: [email protected]. 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: This ICR seeks to extend PRA authority for the Safety Standards for Underground Coal Mine Ventilation--Belt Entry Used as an Intake Air Course to Ventilate Working Sections and Areas Where Mechanized Mining Equipment is Being Installed or Removed information collection. 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 (Secretary) 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. MSHA allows operators to use air from a belt air course to ventilate a working section, or an area where mechanized mining equipment is being installed or removed, only under certain conditions. The belt air use must be evaluated and approved by the district manager in the mine ventilation plan and operators must follow a number of other requirements that provide additional protection. The Mine Act is supported by a variety of requirements contained in 30 CFR Sections 75.350(b), 75.351(b)(3-4), 75.351(j), 75.351(m), 75.351(n)(2), 75.351(o)(1)(i-iii), 75.351(o)(3), 75.351(p), 75.351(q)(3), 75.352(a-c), 75.371(hh), 75.371(kk), 75.350(b)(6), 75.371(ll), 75.371(mm), 75.371(nn), 75.371(oo), and 75.371(pp). 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 under the PRA 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 Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this information collection under Control Number 1219-0138. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) years without renewal, and the current approval for this collection is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2020. The DOL seeks to extend PRA authorization for this information collection for three (3) more years, without any change to existing requirements. The DOL notes that existing information collection requirements submitted to the OMB receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on October 31, 2019 (84 FR 58412). Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in the ADDRESSES section within thirty-(30) days of publication of this notice in the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 1219-0138. The OMB is particularly interested in comments that: [[Page 3724]]Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility: Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. Agency: DOL-MSHA. Title of Collection: Safety Standards for Underground Coal Mine Ventilation--Belt Entry Used as an Intake Air Course to Ventilate Working Sections and Areas Where Mechanized Mining Equipment is Being Installed or Removed. OMB Control Number: 1219-0138. Affected Public: Private Sector: Businesses or other for-profits. Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 12. Total Estimated Number of Responses: 161. Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 2,478 hours. Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $38,640. Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D). Dated: January 15, 2020. Frederick Licari, Departmental Clearance Officer. [FR Doc. 2020-00990 Filed 1-21-20; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4510-FN-P