October 15, 2001
PROPOSED DECISION AND ORDER ) In The Matter Of
)
ON ) New Tech Oil Company
)
PETITION FOR MODIFICATION ) Docket No. M-2001-001-M
BACKGROUND
On January 2, 2001, New Tech Oil Company (New Tech) filed a petition for modification of 30 CFR § 57.11050 (Escapeways and refuges), at the North Tisdale Shaft #1 Mine, (I.D. No. 48-01147), located in Johnson County, Wyoming. The mine is an underground petroleum operation.
Standard 57.11050, Escapeways and refuges, provides:
(a) Every mine shall have two or more separate, properly maintained escapeways to the
surface from the lowest levels which are so positioned that damage to one shall not lessen
the effectiveness of the others. A method of refuge shall be provided while a second
opening to the surface is being developed. A second escapeway is recommended, but not
required, during the exploration or development of an ore body.
New Tech alleged that the alternative method outlined in the petition would at all times guarantee no less than the same measure of protection for miners as afforded by the standard.
The 54 shaft is concrete lined, 14 feet in diameter and 220 feet deep. At the bottom of the shaft is a room approximately 60 feet in length, 20 feet in width and 15 feet high. Access to the underground is by way of a gas-operated hoist. A second means of access exists in the 54 shaft by way of a man-way ladder.
MSHA has determined that drilling another shaft to be used as a second escapeway would not be practicable. The second shaft would be approximately only 15 feet from the 54 shaft and would, by necessity, be positioned so that damage to one shaft would likely lessen the effectiveness of the other shaft. For example, during a mine emergency such as a mine fire both shafts would likely be filled with smoke. Similarly, if one shaft were to collapse, it would likely prevent access to the other shaft. On March 21-22, 2001, MSHA investigators conducted an investigation relevant to the merits of the petition and filed a report of their findings and recommendations with the Administrator for Metal and Nonmetal Mine Safety and Health. The Chief, Mine Waste and Geotechnical Engineering Division, submitted recommendations and concerns regarding the development of the second shaft which would be used as an additional escapeway. 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.
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
MSHA agrees that the alternative method proposed by the Petitioner, with the conditions listed below, would guarantee no less than the same measure of protection afforded by 30 CFR § 57.11050(a). The use of the 54 shaft as the sole means of escape with safety precautions would be as safe as developing an additional opening in close proximity to the first shaft.
ORDER
Wherefore, pursuant to the authority delegated by the Secretary of Labor to the Administrator for Metal and Nonmetal, and pursuant to Section 101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. §811(c), it is ordered that a modification of 30 CFR § 57.11050 based upon an alternative method of escape at the New Tech Oil Company’s North Tisdale Shaft #1 Mine, is hereby:
Granted, conditioned upon compliance with the following:
1. The number of miners allowed underground in the mine will be limited to three at one time.
2. The refuge chamber must be reestablished and comply with the requirements of 30 CFR § 57.11052.
3. New Tech shall make available for each miner underground a Self-Contained Self-Rescuer (SCSR) device which is adequate to protect each miner for one hour or longer. These SCSR’s shall be approved by MSHA and NIOSH under 42 CFR part 84. The SCSR’s shall be located in the refuge chamber, or carried or worn at all times by each miner when underground.
4. Each miner shall be trained quarterly in the use of the SCSR devices.
5. The extent of the underground excavation shall not be increased beyond the present dimensions.
This granted petition for modification is subject to review by the Administrator for Metal and Nonmetal and may be revised if a change in circumstances occurs, or findings which originally supported the terms or conditions of this granted modification are no longer valid.
/s/ Earnest C. Teaster, Jr.
____________________________________________
Earnest C. Teaster, Jr.
Administrator for
Metal and Nonmetal Mine Safety and Health