Petition
for Modification
In the matter of
The American Coal Company
Galatia Mine
I.D. No. 11-02752
Docket No. M-2000-109-C
30 CFR 75.900
PROPOSED
DECISION AND ORDER
On July 10, 2000, a petition was
filed seeking a modification of the application of 30 CFR 75.900 to Petitioner's
Galatia Mine located in Saline County, Illinois. The Petitioner requests to
use a combination of suitably sized fuses or non-undervoltage release
circuit breaker, contactor, ground fault device, and three-phase under voltage
relay, serving a three-phase low or medium voltage alternating circuit. The requested modification is to apply to
any or all low or medium voltage circuits.
The Petitioner alleges that the alternative method outlined in the
petition will at all times guarantee no less than the same measure of
protection afforded 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 recommendation, this Proposed Decision and
Order (PDO) is issued.
Finding
of Fact and Conclusion of Law
The alternative method proposed by the
Petitioner (as amended by the recommendations of MSHA) will at all times
guarantee no less than the same measure of protection afforded the miners under
30 CFR 75.900.
MSHA determined that the proposed alternative
method applies only to stationary belt drive power centers, stationary water
pump power centers, and longwall hydraulic pump power centers and has limited
the modification to those applications.
In addition, MSHA has determined that future power centers and dedicated
electrical installation, may be safely designed and constructed to produce
higher low or medium output voltages by using the same basic modification. That eventuality is also addressed by the
PDO by requiring that these new design installations be inspected by MSHA prior
to being placed into service (see Paragraphs 1 and 14 of the terms and
conditions).
On the basis of the petition and the findings
of MSHA's investigation, The American Coal Company is granted a modification of
the application of 30 CFR 75.900 to its Galatia Mine.
ORDER
Wherefore, pursuant to the authority
delegated by the Secretary of Labor to the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety
and Health, and pursuant to Section 101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and
Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C., sec. 811(c), it is ordered that The American
Coal Company's Petition for Modification of the application of 30 CFR 75.900 in
the Galatia Mine is hereby:
GRANTED, conditioned
upon compliance with the following terms and conditions:
1.
This PDO shall apply only to the
requirement for short-circuit protection for three-phase, low- and
medium-voltage circuits supplying stationary belt drive installations, longwall
hydraulic pump installations, and stationary water pump installations at the
Galatia Mine. At the present time the mine uses longwall power centers with 995
volt out put to power 250 HP A.C. hydraulic pump motors and stationary belt
drive and stationary water pump power centers which out put 480 volts to power
250 HP A.C. belt drive motors and small pump motors. In the future, higher out put voltages, up to 995 volts may be
required for water pumping and belt drive applications. Those higher out put voltage installations,
if designed and installed to the requirements of this PDO, shall also be
covered by modification.
2. The nominal voltage of the stationary belt conveyor drive(s), longwall hydraulic pump
installations, and stationary water pump installation(s) shall not exceed
995-volts.
3. The nominal control voltage of the belt conveyor drive(s), longwall hydraulic pump
installations,
and stationary water pump installation(s) shall not exceed
120-volts.
1.
Properly sized fuses or circuit
breakers shall be used to provide short-circuit protection for the three-phase,
480-volt, but not greater than 995-volt power circuits that supply power to the
stationary belt drive installations, longwall hydraulic pump installations, and
stationary water pump installations.
One circuit breaker may be used to protect two or more branch circuits
if the circuit breaker is adjusted to afford overcurrent protection for the
smallest conductor. The design of each
installation must ensure coordination of the circuit breaker or properly sized
fuses and the motor circuit line starter contactor(s) so that the circuit
breaker or properly sized fuses open first when a short-circuit condition
occurs.
2.
The 480-volt, but not greater
than 995-volt, three-phase power circuits that supply power through properly
sized fuses to the stationary belt drives, hydraulic pumps, and water pumps
shall be equipped with phase loss relay(s) that are connected in a manner to
cause the affected motor circuit line starter contacts to open and not re-close
when any fuse fails. If the circuits
are not provided with phase loss relays one undervoltage device installed in
the main secondary circuit at the source transformer may be used to provide
undervoltage protection for each circuit that receives power from that
transformer.
3.
The 480-volt but not greater than
995-volt, three-phase power circuits that supply power through properly sized
fuses or circuit breakers to the stationary belt drives, hydraulic pumps, and
water pumps shall be equipped with grounded-phase relay(s) that are connected
in a manner to cause the affected motor circuit line starter contacts to open
and not re-close when a when grounded-phase condition occurs on any phase.
7.
The voltage rating of the motor
line starter contactor(s) shall be equal to or exceed the Roots-Means-Square
(RMS) voltage of the power system. The
continuous current rating of the line starter power contactor(s) shall be equal
to or exceed the full load current of the equipment connected to the line
starter.
8. The
instantaneous magnetic trip and motor overload
settings for each circuit breaker or fuses that provide protection for
the stationary belt motors, hydraulic pumps and water pump motor circuit(s)
shall be set in accordance with the 1999 National Electrical
Code.
9. The
circuit breakers shall be located so that the breakers can be operated without
exposing miners to energized electric components or wiring.
10. Ground-fault
or short-circuit conditions on stationary belt drives, hydraulic pumps and
water pump installation circuits shall preclude remote closing of the motor
line starter contactor(s). A qualified
person (who meets the requirements of 30 CFR 75.153) must determine and correct
the cause for either the ground-fault or short-circuit condition before the
circuit breaker is manually reset or a fuse is manually replaced.
11. The three-phase power circuit(s) from the power center(s) to the stationary belt
drives, hydraulic pumps and water pump installations shall be provided with
ground-fault protection set at not more than 40 percent of the ground-fault
current limited by the neutral grounding resistor. A time delay may be permitted in the power
center ground-fault protection circuit for coordination with the ground-fault
protection devices installed to open the line starter motor contactors. The time delay for the ground-fault
protection at the power center shall be set at the lowest practical value
that permits reliable coordination; however, in no case shall the time delay
exceed 0.25 seconds.
12.
The alternative method shall not
apply to trailing cables.
13.
The Petitioner's alternative
method shall not be implemented until all personnel who perform maintenance
on the alternative circuits have received training in proper safety and
maintenance procedures. A record of
this training shall be maintained and made available to authorized MSHA representatives
and to other interested parties.
14. The
modified equipment designs, higher voltage out put stationary conveyor belt
drive or stationary water pump power centers, shall not be put into service
until after MSHA has inspected the equipment and determined that the
electrical installation(s) constructed to the new design is in compliance with all the above terms and conditions and all
applicable requirements of 30 CFR, Part 75.
15. Within
60 days after this Proposed Decision and Order becomes final, the Petitioner
shall submit proposed revision(s) for its approved 30 CFR Part 48 training
plan to the Coal Mine Safety and Health District Manager. These proposed revisions shall include
initial and refresher training regarding the conditions stated in the Proposed
Decision and Order.
Any party to this
action desiring a hearing on this matter must file in accordance with 30 CFR
44.14, within 30 days. The request for
hearing must be filed with the Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health,
1100 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington,Virginia 22209-3939.
If a hearing is
requested, the request shall contain a concise summary of position on the
issues of fact or law desired to be raised by the party requesting the hearing,
including specific objections to the proposed decision. A party other than Petitioner who has
requested a hearing shall also comment upon all issues of fact or law presented
in the petition, and any party to this action requesting a hearing may indicate
a desired hearing site. If no request
for a hearing is filed within 30 days after service thereof, the Decision and
Order will become final and must be posted by the operator on the mine bulletin
board at the mine.
_____________________________
John F. Langton
Acting Deputy Administrator
for
Coal Mine Safety and Health
