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In the matter of                                                                 Daves Branch, Inc. No. 4 Mine I.D. No. 15-16218

Petition for Modification Docket No. M-96-077-C

Date Issued: 01/07/1998

PROPOSED DECISION AND ORDER

On June 24, a petition was filed seeking a modification of the application of 30 CFR 75.342 to petitioner's No. 4 Mine, located in Knott County, Kentucky. The petitioner alleges that the alternative method proposed in the petition will at all times guarantee no less than the same measure of protection afforded by the standard.

MSHA personnel conducted an investigation of the petition and filed a report of their findings and recommendations with the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health. After a careful review of the entire record, including the petition and MSHA's investigative report and recommendations, this Proposed Decision and Order is issued.

Finding of Fact and Conclusion of Law

Application of 30 CFR 75.342 to the subject mine will not result in a diminution of safety to the miners and the Petitioner's proposed alternative method will not at all times provide a safe work environment to the miners.

The review of the circumstances surrounding the petition and the condition of the mine revealed that each of the three S & H battery scoops at the mine is at some time used to load coal from the working faces, that each is equipped with an MSHA-approved methane monitor which when properly maintained complies with 30 CFR 75.342, and that the proposed alternative method of removing those monitors and relying on machine-mounted/hand-held continuous duty methane detectors does not provide the same measure of protection as the standard. In addition, MSHA’s investigation revealed that the mine has had detectible amounts of methane and that the mechanical problem(s) with the scoops’ electrical circuit breakers is not related to the methane monitors or mining conditions.

The operator’s alternative method proposes to waive the required monitoring system which will automatically withdraw power from the machines and to rely on the manual withdrawal of power when the equipment operator detects a 1% methane concentration.

MSHA's experience is that using continuous-readout methane monitors, which are mounted on mining equipment working directly in the face, is practical in the mining conditions present in the petitioned mine, reliable, and is required to provide the protection necessary. The continuous monitors required by the existing standard provide the first warning that gas is being liberated in potentially dangerous quantities. These methane monitors shut down mining equipment automatically. The operation of mining equipment under conditions where methane may be present can lead to a spark and catastrophic explosion. In this potentially dangerous environment, automatic deenergization of equipment by a properly calibrated and maintained continuous monitor is preferred to a manual system which is subject to human error.

In addition, the manual gas checks are already required by 30 CFR 75.360(d) before scoops enter a working face and at 20-minute intervals. The use of hand-held methane detectors and the withdrawal of power are required by 30 CFR 75.320 and 75.323(b)(i). The proposed alternative method lacks sufficient justification for waiving the required machine-mounted methane monitors. It also contains no significant benefit which is not already required by the mandatory standards.

On the basis of the petition and the findings of MSHA's investigation, Daves Branch, Inc. is not granted a modification of the application of 30 CFR 75.342 to its No. 4 Mine.