According to the newest available figures in a report released at the workshop, 34 mines have installed and fully operational systems. The MINER Act outlines developed in 2006 after the Sago and Darby mine incidents note that 415 active underground operations are required to have complete, working systems.
A total of 491 mines are required to have emergency response plans, or ERPs, dictating the types of systems planned for use underground. As of March 5, the newest data reflects 412 of those submitted plans have been approved.
MSHA’s Dave Chirdon, speaking for an absent Coal Mine Safety and Health division of safety chief Steve Gigliotti, noted that 23 mines in West Virginia alone have complied with regulations.
Some 144 total mines in the state require systems, which equates to 16% compliance.
An important notable distinction: West Virginia state requirements differ from federal mandates, as the state’s mines are not required to have system coverage on working sections, meaning that those mines meeting state regulations may not be meeting federal requirements or may be running into compliance obstacles.
While MSHA spokesperson Amy Louviere told regional media outlets that installations of some systems have been delayed by design bugs and long turnover times for delivery, agency officials noted at the WJU conference that no true installation deadline or outlines for system inspections yet exists as part of the rulemaking.
While the MINER Act originally had set June 2009 as the deadline for emergency response plans to be approved with wireless communications and tracking systems, the regulations also said that it would permit compliance by alternative means if companies were not able to be in line with federal law.
MSHA officials said several times throughout the workshop that it would be working towards a hard installation deadline, and in the interim are drafting a public information letter and communications to set boundaries for ERP compliance, compile many compliance questions and answers fielded by the agency to date, and set guidelines for federal inspectors to evaluate the systems.
It will also identify a responsible surface individual to monitor miner locations, detail two-way communications inside refuge alternatives, audit matching numbers between miners’ brass tags and a mine’s system, and require a minimum safe distance to prevent interference with blasting circuits.
According to MSHA data, the agency was working to approve 48 applications for communications and tracking technology as of February 26. Since the beginning of 2006, 135 new or revised approvals for products have been granted.
Additionally, federal officials have observed 73 tests or demonstrations of 34 difference communications and/or tracking systems at various US sites, and staff has met with representatives from 69 system manufacturers and discussed 184 product development proposals.
