Title 50, Title 50

(1) The department may conduct mine safety training for mine operators, miners, and other persons working in and around mines. (2) When providing mine safety training, the department shall schedule the training in a cost-effective manner, while taking into account the needs of tr…

(1) The department may provide onsite safety and industrial health consultation services to mine operators that request onsite safety and industrial health consultation services. (2) The department may not charge for the consultation provided by this section, but it may recover f…

Every operator of every coal mine in this state shall make or cause to be made an accurate map or plan of the mines, drawn to a scale of not less than 200 feet to 1 inch and as much larger as practicable, on which shall appear the name of the state, county, and township in which …

Every map or plan or, at the option of the operator, a separate map shall show the surface boundary lines contiguous to the workings and pertaining to each mine, all section or quarter-section lines and corners, town lots and streets, the tracts and side tracts of all railroads, …

For the underground working, the map shall show all power distribution and ventilation in mines and all shafts, slopes, tunnels, or other openings to the surface or to the workings of a contiguous mine; all excavations, entries, rooms, and crosscuts; the rise or dip of the seam f…

A separate and similar map for all active mining areas drawn to the same scale in all cases shall be made of every seam which shall be worked in any mine, and the maps of all seams shall show all shafts, drifts, tunnels, incline planes, or other passageways connecting them.

The original or true copies of all maps must be kept in the office at the mine, and true copies must also be furnished to the department upon request. The maps delivered to the department become the property of the state. The maps must be kept at the office of the department and …

An extension of the last preceding survey of every mine in active operation shall be made once every 6 months, and the result of the survey, with the date, must be promptly and accurately entered upon the original maps to show all changes in plan or new work in the mine and all e…

The department shall require an extension of the last preceding survey once every 12 months of every mine in active operation in which five people or less are employed on any one shift.

(1) When a coal mine is worked out, is about to be abandoned, or indefinitely closed, the operator shall make or cause to be made a final survey of all available parts of the mine, and the results shall be duly extended on all maps and copies of the mine to show all excavations a…

When the operator of a mine neglects or refuses or fails to respond to the department's request for a copy of a map or an updated map for any cause considered unsatisfactory by the department, the department may make or cause to be made an accurate map or plan of the mine at the …

In no case shall the workings of a coal mine be driven nearer than 50 feet to the boundary line of the coal rights pertaining to the mine, except for the purpose of establishing connecting workings between properties owned by the same person or an underground communication betwee…

Within 15 days after the close of each calendar month, the operator of a coal mine shall report to the department the tons of coal produced each day during the preceding month.

Hoisting of personnel and licensing of hoisting engineers shall be performed in mines under the provisions of the law and rules and standards adopted by the department.

Nonpermissible internal-combustion engines or other machinery which gives off noxious fumes may not be permitted underground in any coal mine.

The owner, lessee, or operator of every coal mine shall provide and maintain airways of sufficient dimensions, and in no case shall the area of the aircourse be less than 25 square feet in mines operated in any underground system.

(1) A person may not enter a mine that is generating firedamp in great enough quantities to be detected by a safety lamp until the mine examiners make a report to the department. (2) A person, unless accompanied by the mine examiner, may not go beyond a danger signal until all st…

Immediate notice must be conveyed to the department by the operator interested: (1) when an accident occurs whereby a person receives serious or fatal injury; (2) when work is commenced to sink a shaft, slope, or drift either for hoisting or escape purposes; (3) when there is int…

An operator of a coal mine or the operator's agent shall make and preserve for the information of the department, upon uniform blanks furnished by the department, a record of all injuries sustained by any employees on the premises.

The operator shall, upon being notified of a fatality in a coal mine, relay that information promptly to the district office of the miners' organization.

(1) The department shall employ an adequate number of qualified coal mine inspectors for the enforcement of this chapter and shall prescribe their duties. (2) A person is not eligible to be a state coal mine inspector unless the person is a citizen of the United States, is a resi…

(1) The department may enter, inspect, and examine any coal mine or any shaft, drift, or slope in the process of sinking for the purpose of mining coal in this state and the workings and the machinery belonging to the coal mine at all reasonable times either by day or night. The …

If the department has in its possession any complaint to the effect that this chapter is being violated, it shall notify the employer and the employees that it is about to make an inspection.

The employees' representative has the right to accompany the department in making an official mine inspection. The owner or operator has the right to personally accompany the department while inspecting the owner's or operator's property or to designate someone to accompany the d…

The owner, lessee, operator, superintendent, or mining boss of the mine is required to furnish the means necessary for the entry, inspection, examination, inquiry, and exit.

The department shall carefully examine all the coal mines in operation in this state at least semiannually and more often if necessary to see that every precaution is taken to ensure the safety of all workers that may be working in the coal mine.

The department shall immediately notify the owner, lessee, superintendent, or mining boss of the discovery of any violation of the mining laws of this state and the penalty thereby imposed for those violations.

(1) If the notice provided for in 50-73-407 is disregarded, the department may stop immediately the working and operation of any mine or any part thereof where any dangerous or unlawful conditions are found. (2) However, where conditions justify the department in so doing, it may…

(1) The operator shall post the department's written inspection report at each mine visited and inspected by the department. (2) The written inspection report, signed by the department inspector, must include the date of inspection and be posted in one or more conspicuous locatio…

(1) When advised by an operator of any accident in a coal mine involving loss of life or serious personal injury, the department shall, if it considers it necessary from the facts reported and in all cases of loss of life, immediately have an inspector go to the scene of the acci…

The representative of the miners' organization or some person delegated by the representative may enter any coal mine for the purpose of investigating the causes of a fatal accident.

If, upon an inspection of a mine, the department finds that the conditions or practices in the mine create a danger that could reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical harm immediately or before the danger can be eliminated, the department shall determine the ext…

If upon an inspection or investigation the department finds that there has been a failure to comply with a mandatory standard that is applicable to the mine, but that the failure to comply has not created a danger that could reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physic…

(1) Findings and orders issued under this chapter shall contain a detailed description of the conditions or practices which cause and constitute a situation of imminent danger or a violation of a mandatory standard and a description of the area of the mine throughout which person…

A notice or order issued by the department under this chapter may be amended, canceled, or revised by the department.

The order of the department shall remain in effect but shall immediately be subject to review as provided in this chapter.

(1) An operator notified of an order made under 50-73-412 may apply to the department for a hearing, revision, or amendment of the order. When the department after a hearing upon complaint or upon its own motion finds that danger throughout the area of the mine as set out in the …

In view of the urgent need for prompt decisions of matters submitted to the department under this chapter, all actions which the department is required to take under this chapter shall be taken as rapidly as practicable, consistent with adequate consideration of the issues involv…