Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Mine Mapping and Records of Opening, Closing, and Reopening of Mines

ACTION:

Notice of availability; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES:

The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives on or before November 15, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) if the information will be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (4) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (5) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Crystal Rennie by telephone at 202-693-0456 or by email at DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This information collection protects miners by assuring that up-to-date, accurate mine maps contain the information needed to clarify the best alternatives for action during an emergency operation. Also, coal mine operators routinely use maps to create safe and effective development plans.

Mine maps are schematic depictions of critical mine infrastructure, such as water, power, transportation, ventilation, and communication systems. Using accurate, up-to-date maps during a disaster, mine emergency personnel can locate refuges for miners and identify sites of explosion potential; they can know where stationary equipment was placed, where ground was secured, and where they can best begin a rescue operation. During a disaster, maps can be crucial to the safety of the emergency personnel who must enter a mine to begin a search for survivors. Mine maps may describe the current status of an operating mine or provide crucial information about a long-closed mine that is being reopened.

Coal mine operators use map information to develop safe and effective plans and to help determine hazards before beginning work in areas, such as abandoned underground mines or the worked-out and inaccessible areas of an active underground or surface mine. Abandoned mines or inaccessible areas of active mines may have water inundation potentials and explosive levels of methane or lethal gases. If an operator, unaware of the hazards, were to mine into such an area, miners could be killed or seriously injured. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on July 21, 2021 (86 FR 38504).

This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not required to respond to an information collection, unless the OMB approves it and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.

DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.

Agency: DOL-MSHA.

Title of Collection: Mine Mapping and Records of Opening, Closing, and Reopening of Mines.

OMB Control Number: 1219-0120.

Affected Public: Private Sector: Businesses or other for-profits.

Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 580.

Total Estimated Number of Responses: 1,191.

Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 6,274 hours.

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $3,204,898.

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).