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Petition - Docket No. 2003-008-C

Petition for Modification


In the matter of 
KenAmerican Resources, Inc.
Paradise No. 9 Mine
I.D. No. 15-17741
Docket No. M-2003-008-C
30 CFR 75.519-1(b) 

PROPOSED DECISION AND ORDER


On January 27, 2003, a petition was filed seeking a modification of the application of 30 CFR 75.519-1(b) to Petitioner's Paradise No. 9 Mine, located in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. The Petitioner alleges that compliance with the standard will expose miners to hazardous conditions and that the alternative method 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 recommendation, this Proposed Decision and Order 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 75.519-1(b). 

On the basis of the petition and the findings of MSHA's investigation, KenAmerican Resources, Inc. is granted a modification of the application of 30 CFR 75.519-1(b) to its Paradise No. 9 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 KenAmerican Resources, Inc.'s Petition for Modification of the application of 30 CFR 75.519-1(b) in the Paradise No. 9 Mine is hereby: 

GRANTED, for the distance of the disconnecting switch from the bottom of the shaft or borehole, conditioned upon compliance with the following terms and conditions: 

1. The disconnecting switch shall be located in the main travelway in the 2nd crosscut from slope bottom. 

2. The disconnecting switch shall be located no more than 800 feet from the bottom of the borehole. 

3. Visible signs shall be posted in will supported areas near the original location of the switch, within 500 feet of the bottom of the borehole, to indicate the new location of the switch. 

4. Visible signs shall be installed at the new location identifying the switch. 

5. The mine electrical map shall be revised to identify the location of the disconnecting switch. 

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