Title XXVIII, Mines and Minerals

(1) All unused workings and abandoned parts of mines shall be protected by safeguards that will prevent the accumulation or overflow of gas, and all avenues leading thereto shall be so arranged and conducted as to give warning to all persons of the danger of entering, and notice …

No person shall attempt to enter, explore, or survey an abandoned mine or portion thereof without the approval of the mine inspector or the commissioner and unless he adheres to conditions prescribed by the commissioner.

opening. (1) No licensee, superintendent, mine manager, or mine foreman of any mine opened after June 16, 1972, shall permit persons to work therein unless there are to every seam of coal worked in the mine at least two (2) separate outlets, separated by natural strata of not les…

Direction signs -- Height and width of escapeway outlets. (1) In every shaft designated as an escape outlet there shall be provided a stairway or ladderway of suitable strength, design, and angle, with platforms or landings at each turn, the stairway or ladderway to be approved b…

(1) At every mine operated by shaft, there shall be an approved safety catch, and on all cages used for lowering and hoisting persons there shall be a sufficient and substantial overhead cover. At the top of each shaft a safety gate shall be provided. An adequate brake, so adjust…

Requirements -- Felony for removal. (1) All underground miners shall be provided with an approved self-contained self- rescuer device and shall have that device within twenty-five (25) feet of them at all times. The self-contained self-rescuer shall be provided to the miners by t…

In all designated escapeways, each operator shall provide lifeline cords, with attached reflective material at not to exceed twenty-five (25) foot intervals and devices indicating the direction to the surface at not to exceed one hundred (100) foot intervals, from outby the loadi…

(1) Only a certified hoistman shall be placed in charge of any mechanism used for lowering or hoisting any persons employed in the mine. Where automatic elevators are used and all safety devices are provided, the services of a hoistman are not required. A certified hoistman shall…

visible warning devices and enclosed operator's cabs at stockpiles with underground feeders or draw-off tunnels -- Barrier requirements for haulage roadways -- Examinations and equipment checks. (1) No employee of a surface coal mining operation shall be assigned, allowed, or req…

equipment. (1) After June 16, 1972, on single-track haulage roads in mines, which the persons employed in the mine must use while performing their work or while traveling on foot to and from their work, there shall be places of refuge on one (1) side not less than five (5) feet i…

All mines utilizing conveyor belts shall have one (1) or more persons to examine the conveyor belts while in operation in the mine to determine that no coal or mine refuse is being transported on the conveyor belt in a manner which would pose a threat to the health and safety of …

devices for making lights and fires forbidden. (1) All underground mines shall be worked exclusively by the use of approved electric lamps for personal lighting. (2) A mine operator shall provide an MSHA-approved, handheld, multigas detector that can measure methane, oxygen, and …

All miners shall wear safety glasses as needed. The safety glasses shall be supplied to the miners by the coal operator at no cost to the miner.

injury -- Investigation, assistance, and records -- Failure to comply -- Testing post-accident -- Investigative powers of commissioner. (1) (a) The superintendent of a mine or, if he or she is absent, the mine manager, or, if he or she is absent, the mine foreman in charge of the…

For every fifty (50) men and fraction thereof employed underground, the operator of each mine shall keep on hand at the mine one (1) properly constructed stretcher, one (1) waterproof and one (1) woolen blanket, and all other necessary equipment required by the department.

(1) The roof and ribs of all active underground roadways, travelways, and working places shall be supported or otherwise controlled adequately to protect persons from falls of the roof or ribs. A roof control plan and revision thereof suitable to the roof conditions and mining sy…

prohibited -- Notification to director of violations of substance- or alcohol- abuse policies. (1) No person shall knowingly injure any shaft, lamp, instrument, air course, or brattice; obstruct or throw open airways; disturb any part of the machinery or appliances; open a door u…

For purposes of this section, "approved" means that a device, apparatus, equipment, machinery, or practice employed in the mining of coal has been approved by the commissioner of the Department for Natural Resources or accepted by a nationally or federally recognized testing labo…

For purposes of this section: "approved" means that a device, apparatus, equipment, machinery, or practice employed in the mining of coal has been approved by the commissioner of the Department for Natural Resources or accepted by a nationally or federally recognized testing labo…

equipment -- Examination for methane gas. For purposes of this section, "approved" means that a device, apparatus, equipment, machinery, or practice employed in the mining of coal has been approved by the commissioner of the Department for Natural Resources or accepted by a natio…

(1) Explosives or detonators carried anywhere underground by any person shall be in containers constructed substantially of nonconductive material, maintained in good condition, and kept closed. (2) When explosives or detonators are transported underground in cars moved by means …

operation. (1) Separate surface magazines shall be provided for the storage of explosives and detonators. (2) Surface magazines for storing and distributing explosives in amounts exceeding one hundred twenty-five (125) pounds shall be: (a) Reasonably bulletproof and constructed o…

(1) Any operator of a mine shall designate only certified persons as shotfirers to prepare the cartridge and set off and discharge the shots. (2) Shotfirers shall at all times be under the direction of a certified mine foreman. (3) The following conditions apply when shooting coa…

Buildings used for the storage of oils or similar flammable material shall not be located within one hundred (100) feet of any hoisting or escape shaft or mine opening. Oil, grease or similar flammable material shall not be stored within one hundred (100) feet of any hoisting or …

examinations. (1) In all mines the licensee, mine manager, or superintendent shall employ one (1) or more properly certified persons. (2) A properly certified person shall examine carefully, within three (3) hours before each shift enters the mine: (a) Every working place; (b) Al…

records to mine inspector and miner. A suitable record book shall be kept at the mine office of every mine wherein fire bosses are employed, and immediately after the examination of the mine or any portion thereof, by a fire boss, he shall enter and sign a record of the examinati…

(1) The mine foreman and the fire boss shall, at or near the main entrance to the mine, provide a permanent station with a proper danger signal, designated by suitable letters and colors placed thereon, and, if the working portions are one (1) mile or more from the entrance to th…

Any fire boss who fails to perform his duties, or who makes a false report of the condition of any place in the portion of the mine allotted to him for examination, shall be suspended by the mine foreman, and his name shall be given to the mine inspector for prosecution. If he is…

(1) All commercial coal mines shall employ a certified mine foreman therein to properly carry out the plans and rules when approved by the commissioner of the department and to be responsible for compliance with the provisions of KRS Chapter 351 and this chapter. (2) When the min…

The mine foreman shall exercise general supervision over the ventilating apparatus and the airways, traveling ways, working places, pumps and drainage, and shall see that as the miners advance their excavations proper breakthroughs are made as required by law to properly ventilat…

-- Record. (1) The mine foreman or his assistants shall: (a) Visit and carefully examine each working place in the mine at least every four (4) hours while the mine employees are at work; (b) Examine as live workings, on regular inspections, all places in live sections that are t…

to reports -- Compliance with inspector's recommendations. (1) The mine foreman shall notify, in writing, the licensee or superintendent of the mine of his inability to comply with any of the requirements of the mining laws, and the licensee or superintendent shall at once attend…

designation of escapeways, and installation of man doors. (1) The mine foreman shall see that breakthroughs are made as required by law, and shall see that ventilation is conducted by means of the breakthroughs and through the rooms by means of check doors or curtains placed on t…

Whenever any working place approaches within fifty (50) feet of abandoned areas in the mine as shown by surveys made and certified by a registered engineer, or within two hundred (200) feet of any other abandoned areas of the mine which cannot be inspected and which may contain d…

In case of the death or resignation of a mine foreman, the superintendent shall select a competent certified man, if one (1) is available, and if not, he may temporarily select any other competent man who, if approved by the mine inspector and the commissioner, may serve until th…

The Mine Safety Review Commission shall revoke, suspend, or probate certificates if it is established in the judgment of the commission that the holder has become unworthy to hold the certificate by reason of violation of law, intemperate habits, failure to maintain drug- and alc…

(1) The licensee of any mine may adopt special rules consistent with KRS Chapter 351 and this chapter for the government and operation of his mine, and covering all the work pertaining thereto in and out of the mine. Before the rules are put into effect they shall be approved in …

(1) Each superintendent or mine manager shall, on behalf and at the expense of the licensee, keep on hand at or within convenient distance of the mine, not to exceed five hundred (500) feet, a sufficient quantity of all materials and supplies required to preserve the safety of em…

(1) The operator, superintendent, or mine manager of each mine shall give the commissioner at least ten (10) days' notice of the following: (a) Abandonment of a mine; (b) Resumption of work in a mine after an abandonment or discontinuance for a period of two (2) weeks or more; an…

(1) The operator, superintendent, or mine manager of every mine shall furnish the mine inspector proper facilities for entering the mine and making examinations or obtaining information. (2) If any inspector discovers that any mine does not conform to the provisions of KRS Chapte…

If seventy-five percent (75%) of the employees of any mine are dissatisfied with the inspection of the mine made by a mine inspector, they may appeal in writing to the department, setting forth clearly and in detail the reasons for their dissatisfaction. The commissioner of the d…

(1) The operator or superintendent of each underground mine shall annually make or cause to be made a map of the workings of the mine which is accurate and of professional quality, on a scale of not less than one hundred (100) and not more than five hundred (500) feet to the inch…

(1) If the operator, superintendent, or mine manager of any mine fails to furnish to the commissioner any map required by KRS 352.450 and 352.480, the commissioner may cause a correct survey and map of the mine or extensions thereof to be made at the expense of the owner, lessee,…

(1) The correctness of each map provided for by KRS 352.450 or 352.460 shall be certified only by a professional engineer or land surveyor registered in Kentucky. KRS 322.290 requires registrants to practice only in areas of competence. The certification shall read as follows: "I…

(1) The commissioner shall, upon the application therefor in written form by any person, make or cause to be made, at the expense of the applicant, a duplicate of any final or abandoned mine map on file with the department. The department also may make public or divulge any porti…

damages. (1) No owner or tenant of any land containing coal shall engage in underground mining within twenty-five (25) feet of the line dividing the mineral owned or held by him from that of another person, without the written consent of every person interested in or having title…