Title 25

(a) All surface transformers, unless of “dead front” construction or if installed at least eight feet above ground, shall be enclosed in a house or surrounded by a fence at least six feet high. If the enclosure is of metal, it shall be grounded effectively. The gate or door to th…

(a) All power circuits entering a mine shall be protected against lightning by lightning arrestors at or near the points of entrance to the mine. All power circuits shall be protected against lightning or other surges by adequate circuit breakers, fuses, or both. (b) All power wi…

Where grounding wires are used to ground metallic sheaths, armors, conduits, frames, casings and other metallic enclosures, such grounding wires must comply with the following conditions: (1) The cross-sectional area (size) of the grounding wire shall be at least one-half the cro…

(a) Circuit breakers or other overload devices shall be provided to protect power circuits. (b) Insulating platforms of dry wood, rubber, or other suitable nonconductive material shall be kept in place at each switchboard, underground telephone station, power control switches, an…

Telephone service or approved equivalent means of communication shall be provided at the bottom of each main shaft or slope and in all mines from the surface to the working sections of the mine where the mine workers are more than 1,500 feet from the surface. (Acts 1949, No. 207,…

(a) Electric drills or other electrically operated rotating tools intended to be held in hands shall have the electric switch constructed so as to break the circuit when the hand releases the switch or shall be equipped with friction or safety clutches. (b) All new trailing cable…

Electric lights shall be installed so that they cannot come in contact with combustible materials. The wires shall be supported by suitable insulators and fastened securely to the power conductors. (Acts 1949, No. 207, p. 242, §45.)

(a) It shall be the duty of the mine foreman and his subordinate supervisors to ascertain that all workmen are trained in proper methods of testing the roof, face, and ribs. The mine foreman shall designate the tool or tools to be used for testing. (b) Face workers and other empl…

(a) Timbering or other adequate roof support systems suitable to the roof conditions and mining system of each mine or part of a mine shall be adopted, complied with, and required. Additional timbering or supporting will be done where necessary. (b) It shall be the duty of the mi…

(a) The operator of each mine shall keep on hand at the mine a sufficient supply of timbers of suitable length and cap pieces to be used as required in timbering underground workings. Timbers and cap pieces in required quantities and lengths as ordered shall be delivered to the w…

(a) Only competent engineers shall be placed in charge of or permitted to operate any engine used for conveying into and hoisting out of any coal mine. When men are being lowered or hoisted, an additional engineer competent to act in emergencies shall be present at the hoist cont…

(a) Mine locomotives must be maintained so that brakes are adequate and in good order, sand riggings are operative, and locomotives are in safe operating condition. (b) Other rolling stock must be maintained so that its condition does not entail undue hazards to transportation cr…

(a) The roadbed, rails, joints, switches, frogs, and other elements of the track of all haulage roads shall be constructed, installed, and maintained in a manner consistent with speed and the type of haulage operations being conducted to insure safe operation. (b) Track switches,…

(a) Haulage roads on entries developed after August 12, 1949, shall have a continuous unobstructed clearance of at least 24 inches from the farthest projection of moving equipment, on the clearance side. (b) On haulage roads where trolley lines are used, the clearance shall be on…

Nonpermissible internal combustion engines or other machinery which gives off noxious fumes shall not be permitted underground in any coal mine. (Acts 1949, No. 207, p. 242, §53.)

(a) Locomotives shall be equipped with proper devices for the rerailing of locomotives and cars. (b) An audible warning device and headlights shall be provided on each locomotive. (c) Approved trip markers shall be used on the rear of trips pulled or pushed and on the front of tr…

(a) Man-trips shall be operated at safe speeds consistent with the condition of roads and type of equipment used, but not to exceed 12 miles an hour in mine cars or 15 miles an hour when special, substantially covered man-trip cars are used. (b) Each man-trip shall be under the c…

(a) The cutter chains of mining machines shall be locked securely at all times except when the machine is cutting, the chain is being oiled or tested after repairs, or when the chain is moved to spot bits. (1) When the chain is being oiled or tested after repairs, an operator mus…

(a) Gears, sprockets, friction devices, and couplings with protruding bolts or nuts, shafting and projecting shaft ends that are within seven feet of floor or platform level, belt or rope drives that are within seven feet of floor or platform level, fly wheels, and circular and b…

Repairmen shall not operate machinery unless they are thoroughly familiar with requirements for safe operation. No person will order or require repairmen to operate machinery for moving or testing without ascertaining that the repairmen are thoroughly familiar with requirements f…

(a) In dangerously dusty locations, electric motors, switches, and controls shall be of dust-tight construction or enclosed with reasonably dust-tight housing or enclosures. Open-type motors, switches, or controls now in use in tipples and cleaning plants in dusty locations may b…

Naphtha or other flammable liquids in lamp houses shall be kept in approved containers or other safe dispensers. (Acts 1949, No. 207, p. 242, §61.)

(a) Stairways, elevated platforms, and runways shall be equipped with handrails. (b) Elevated platforms and stairways shall be provided with toeboards where necessary, and they shall be kept clear of refuse and maintained in good repair. (Acts 1949, No. 207, p. 242, §62; Acts 197…

Good housekeeping shall be practiced in and around mine buildings and yards. Such practices include cleanliness, orderly storage of materials, and the removal of possible sources of injury, such as stumbling hazards, protruding nails, and broken glass. (Acts 1949, No. 207, p. 242…

(a) Oil, grease, and similar flammable materials shall be stored in closed containers, separate from other materials so as not to create a fire hazard to nearby buildings or mines. If oil or grease is stored in a building, the building or the room in which it is stored shall be o…

All other provisions of this chapter, except those obviously peculiar to underground operations and also those specifically provided for in this article, are applicable to surface mining operations. All provisions contained in this article applicable to surface operations of unde…

(a) Guards. Excavations shall be provided with substantial barriers at points where passageways, tracks, roadways, or buildings adjoin such excavation. (b) Loose material. All pit walls shall be kept free of unsafe loose materials. Hazardous areas shall be flagged, and no work sh…

(a) Access. Safe means of access shall be provided to all working places in any pit. (b) Fastening ladders. All fixed ladders shall be properly installed, securely fastened and provided with back guards where necessary. At least three inches of toe clearance shall be provided. (c…

(a) Inspection. Shovels and draglines shall be inspected at the beginning of each shift, and such inspection shall include all mechanical equipment. Electrical equipment shall be regularly inspected by a qualified person. (b) Maintenance. Where mechanical shovels and draglines ar…

(a) Installations and inspections. All electrical equipment installations shall be approved and all electrical inspections made by a qualified person. (b) Grounding. (1) Where grounding wires are used to ground metallic sheaths, armors, conduits, frames, casings, and other metall…

(a) All exposed engines, wheels, screens, shafting, gears, belting, or other moving equipment shall be covered or adequately guarded in such a way as to make employees safe from injury through contact with such equipment. (b) The operator shall be responsible for the safe conditi…

(a)(1) “Blasting agent,” as used in this article, means any material consisting of a mixture of fuel and oxidizer which: a. Is used or intended for use in blasting; b. Is not classed as an explosive by the State Department of Transportation; c. Contains no ingredients classed as …

(a) Only designated persons shall cut, cap, and issue capped fuses and explosives. (b) When cutting fuse, it shall be cut square across with a sharp clean instrument and the cap crimper used shall be of a type recommended by explosive manufacturers. A bench type crimper is recomm…

(a) All blasting shall be done in a safe manner after all persons have been removed to a safe place. (b) All blasting should be done electrically or with detonating fuse. (c) Primers shall be made up near the working place by competent persons experienced in handling explosives. …

(a) When loading or charging blast holes with electric detonators, all electric power within an unsafe distance of the place to be blasted shall be deenergized. (b) Electric blasting with blasting machines or special circuit is permissible. With blasting machines, connections sha…

(a) Explosives, excluding blasting agents, must be unloaded in a safe manner and at a safe distance from the blasting place. (b) If several boxes of explosives, except blasting agents, are deposited near the blasting circuit, the boxes shall be stacked in an orderly manner and pr…

(a) All compressed air receivers, cylinders, or other vessels used in or around surface mining operations shall be protected by safety or relief valves to insure safe operation. All oxygen, acetylene, or similar compressed gas cylinders shall comply with manufacturer’s recommenda…

(a) At or near every pit there shall be adequate approved first aid materials as follows: One stretcher and one broken-back board, or, if a splint stretcher combination is used, it will satisfy both the stretcher and broken-back board requirement; 24 triangular bandages (15, if a…

(a) Approved sanitary toilets shall be provided and kept in a clean and sanitary condition. Such toilets should be in a central location for use by employees. (b) Potable drinking water shall be provided for all employees. (c) Individual drinking cups or bubbling fountains shall …

In case of any occurrence or change of conditions tending materially to increase the hazards of pit operations, whether or not personal injury results, a report thereof shall be promptly sent to the department by the operator. (Acts 1949, No. 207, p. 242, §86.)

The owner, operator, or lessee of any underground coal mine in this state shall make or cause to be made by a competent engineer an accurate and exact detail map of said mine, showing the exact position of said mine in reference to the section line, which shall be connected with …

Whenever the operator of any coal mine shall neglect or refuse or for any cause not satisfactory to the department fails to furnish to it the map or plan of such mine or a copy thereof or of the extension thereto, as provided for in this article, such operator shall be deemed gui…

If the department shall find that any map or plan of any coal mine made or furnished in pursuance of the provisions of this article is materially incomplete, inaccurate, or imperfect, then it may cause a correct survey and map or plan of said mine to be made at the expense of the…

The department shall order a survey to be made between the regular survey periods of the workings of any coal mines and the results to be extended on the maps of the same and the copies thereof whenever, in its judgment, the safety of the employees, the support of the surface, an…

When any coal mine is worked out or is about to be abandoned or indefinitely closed, the operator of the same shall make or cause to be made a final survey where not already made of all parts of such mine, and the results of the same shall be duly extended on all maps of the mine…

In no case shall the workings of any coal mine be driven nearer than 15 feet to the boundary line of the coal rights of the owner of said mine, except for the purpose of establishing an underground communication between contiguous mines as provided for elsewhere in this chapter. …