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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Mine Safety and Health Administration
NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice.
SUBJECT CATEGORY: Proposed Information Collection Request; Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations; Qualification/Certification Program and Man Hoist Operators Physical Fitness
DATES: Submit comments on or before February 11, 2008.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps ensure that requested data is provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed.
SUMMARY: Agency information collection activities; proposals, submissions, and approvals,
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
I. Background Persons performing tasks and certain required examinations at coal
mines related to miner safety and health, which require specialized
training, experience, and physical qualifications, are required to be
either ``certified'' or ``qualified''. The regulations recognized State
certification and qualification programs. However, under the Federal
Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 and MSHA standards, where State
programs do not exist, MSHA may certify and qualify persons for as long as they
[[Page 70350]]
continue to satisfy the requirements needed to obtain the certification
or qualification, fulfill any applicable retraining requirements, and
remained employed at the same mine or by the same independent contractor.
Applications for Secretarial qualification or certification are submitted to the MSHA Qualification and Certification Unit in Denver, Colorado. Form 500041 provides the coal mining industry with a standardized reporting format that expedited the certification and qualification process while ensuring compliance with the regulations. MSHA uses the form's information to determine if applicants satisfy the requirements to obtain the certification or qualification sought. Persons must meet certain minimum experience requirements depending on the type of certification or qualification.
Sections 75.155 and 77.105 of Title 30 of the CFR explain the qualifications to be a qualified hoisting engineer or a qualified hoist man on a slope or shaft sinking operation. Sections 75.100 and 77.100 pertain to the certification of certain persons to perform specific examinations and tests. Under Sec. Sec. 75.160, 75.161, 77.107 and 77.1071, the mine operator must have an approved training plan developed to train and retrain the qualified and certified people to effectively perform their tasks.
Sections 75.159 and 77.106 requires the operator of a mine to maintain a list of all certified and qualified persons designated to perform certain duties, which require specialized expertise at underground and surface coal mines, i.e., conduct test for methane and oxygen deficiency, conduct tests of air flow, perform electrical work, repair energized surface highvoltage lines, and perform duties of hoisting engineer. The recorded information is necessary to ensure that only persons who are properly trained and have the required number of years of experience are permitted to perform these duties. MSHA does not specify a format for the recordkeeping; however, it normally consists of the names of the certified and qualified person listed in two columns on a sheet of paper. One column is for certified persons and the other is for qualified persons.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
Currently, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is
soliciting comments concerning the proposed extension of the
information collection requirement related to the Qualification/
Certification Program and Man Hoist Operators Physical Fitness. MSHA is particularly interested in comments that:
A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the employee listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice or viewed on the internet by accessing the MSHA home page (http://www.msha.gov/) and selecting ``Rules and Regs'', and then selecting ``Fed Reg Docs.''
III. Current Actions
This request for collection of information contains provisions
whereby persons may be temporarily qualified or certified to perform
tests and examinations requiring specialized expertise related to inner safety and health at coal mines.
Type of Review: Extension.
Agency: Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Title: Qualification/Certification Program and Man Hoist Operators Physical Fitness.
OMB Number: 12190127.
Frequency: Quarterly and on occasion.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit.
Number of Respondents: 1,721.
Recordkeeping: One year.
Total Burden Hours: 15,355.
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintaining): $8,047.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget approval of the information collection request; they will also become a matter of public record.
Dated at Arlington, Virginia, this 6th day of December, 2007. David L. Meyer,
Director, Office of Administration and Management.
[FR Doc. E723942 Filed 121007; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 451043P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT Contact the employee listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
Common CFR Searches
14 CFR Part 39 40 CFR Part 52 14 CFR Part 71 33 CFR Part 165 50 CFR Part 679 47 CFR Part 73 26 CFR Part 1 40 CFR Part 180 33 CFR Part 117 50 CFR Part 17 44 CFR Part 67 50 CFR Part 648 14 CFR Part 97 40 CFR Part 63 33 CFR Part 100 50 CFR Part 622 50 CFR Part 660 26 CFR Part 301 44 CFR Part 65 39 CFR Part 111 40 CFR Part 300 6 CFR Part 5 40 CFR Part 271 47 CFR Part 64 40 CFR Parts 52 and 81 50 CFR Part 665 10 CFR Part 50 44 CFR Part 64 49 CFR Part 571 39 CFR Part 3020