Title 50, Title 50

(1) "Authorized representative" means mine inspector or any other person employed or authorized by the department to perform any and all duties under this chapter. (2) "Corporation" means a body formed and authorized by law to act as a single person although constituted by one or…

A civil action for preventive relief, including but not limited to an application for a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or other order, may be instituted by the department in the district court for the county in which the mine in question is located or in wh…

(1) Any person who knowingly: (a) violates or fails or refuses to comply with any order, rule, or regulation issued under this chapter; (b) interferes with, hinders, or delays the department or its authorized representatives in carrying out any duties under this chapter; (c) refu…

(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…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), as long as the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. 801, et seq., is administered and enforced with respect to metallic and nonmetallic mines in Montana by means that include regular inspections of mines by federal inspec…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), as long as the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 is administered and enforced with respect to metallic and nonmetallic mines in Montana by means that include regular inspection of mines by federal inspectors, the department is no…

For the purpose of making any inspection or investigation authorized by this chapter, authorized representatives of the department shall have the right of entry to, upon, or through any mine which is subject to this chapter.

If, upon any inspection of a mine that is subject to this chapter, authorized representatives of the department find that the conditions or practices in the mine are such that a danger exists that could reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical harm immediately or…

(1) If, upon any inspection or investigation, an authorized representative finds that there has been a failure to comply with a mandatory standard that is applicable to a mine, but that the failure to comply has not created a danger that could reasonably be expected to cause deat…

(1) Findings and orders issued pursuant to this part 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 per…

A notice or order issued by an authorized representative pursuant to this part may be annulled, canceled, or revised by the authorized representative, and in case of a department order, the department may annul, cancel, or revise the order.

The order of the duly authorized representative 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 pursuant to 50-72-204 may apply to the department for a hearing, revision, or annulment of such order. Whenever the department after such a hearing, upon complaint or upon its own motion, finds that danger throughout the area of such mine…

In view of the urgent need for prompt decisions of matters submitted to the department under this part, all actions which the department or its authorized representatives are required to take under this part shall be taken as rapidly as practical, consistent with adequate conside…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Montana Coal Mining Code".

As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply: (1) "Department" means the department of labor and industry and the state coal mine inspectors employed by the department. (2) "Excavations" and "workings" mean all parts of a mine excavated or being excavated, including s…

The department may adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this chapter and safety standards for all coal mines in this state.

A civil action for preventive relief, including but not limited to an application for a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or other appropriate order, may be instituted by the department in the district court for the county in which the mine in question is loca…

(1) A person who knowingly: (a) violates or fails or refuses to comply with an order, rule, or standard adopted under this chapter; (b) interferes with, hinders, or delays the department or its authorized representatives in carrying out any duties under this chapter; (c) refuses …

(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.