A Resource Blog on MSHA and Above Ground Aggregate Mines

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Take care, and remember to be in contact with your state officials to voice your concerns about MSHA. Our tax dollars pay for MSHA, which is under the Department of Labor. Our fine money goes into the general fund, and we cannot afford to keep paying out costly fines on the more and more frequent trivial citations to essentially support government spending. At least that is how I feel about it.

~ Kathy


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Saturday, July 24, 2010

"A Big Win for Aggregate Producers" Article by Katie E. Jeremiah

A Big Win for Aggregate Producers

Local aggregate producers had a big win on July 21, 2010, when the House Education and Labor Committee, considering laws designed to overhaul the Mine Safety Health Administration ("MSHA"), voted H.R. 5663 out of committee with a provision that specifically excludes most surface mines from the new Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act.

Regulators have been under intense pressure to tighten workplace safety regulations and impose tougher penalties on violators, following several recent and fatal coal mine disasters. Tension has been high between industry and lawmakers, as they seek to strike a balance between addressing workplace safety concerns and imposing costly requirements on contractors in order to encourage workplace safety.

MSHA has broad jurisdiction, ranging from expansive coal mining operations on the East Coast to small, family-owned gravel quarries in Oregon. Although coal mining in West Virginia is dramatically different from surface mine aggregate production in Oregon, local aggregate producers have been subject to the same stringent MSHA regulations.

Local operators and industry associations have been working diligently to educate lawmakers on the dramatic differences between surface and underground coal mining operations. The amendments that were voted out of committee proved that lobbying efforts were successful in demonstrating that regulating these two types of mining operations under the same law would not be practical.

If surface mining had not been excluded from this legislation, operators could have faced stiff civil and criminal penalties of up to $2 million and imprisonment for up to 10 years for violations. This is not to say that legislators will not draft subsequent laws with similar penalties specifically targeting surface mine operations. Local aggregate producers can find some comfort in knowing that for the time being they are excluded from the current draft of the MSHA reform legislation.

Published Summer 2010
This article is intended to inform the reader of general legal principles applicable to the subject area. It is not intended to provide legal advice regarding specific problems or circumstances. Readers should consult with competent counsel with regard to specific situations.

7 comments:

Cobbles said...

MSHA has broad jurisdiction, ranging from expansive coal mining operations on the East Coast to small, family-owned gravel quarries in Oregon.

Unknown said...

It's too bad that government regulation is having this effect on the industry. I understand that there are good intentions, but nobody wants to see people get hurt. It would be nice to see the government take a step back and let the industry regulate itself. http://www.carlsonstaffing.com/training/

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