MSHA Inspections

MSHA’s Final Rule for Respirable Crystalline Silica: What is Required and How Long Do Operators Have to Comply?

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By Nick Scala and Hema Steele

On April 16, 2024, the Mine Safety & Health Administration (“MSHA”) released its final rule for Respirable Crystalline Silica (“RCS”) for preliminary viewing, and it was published in the Federal Register on April 18, 2024. While an update to MSHA’s silica regulations has been in the works for most of the 21st century, getting from this proposed rule to the final form moved very quickly from a rulemaking perspective. With the rule, MSHA seeks to protect mine workers from occupational exposure to RCS, including quartz, cristobalite, and/or tridymite.

The rule imposes stringent new requirements on operators, including a reduced Permissible Exposure Limit of 50 µg/m³, mandatory sampling, regular written evaluations of operations (even when there are no changes to the process, equipment, or mined mineral), the adoption of respiratory protection programs, and medical surveillance programs for Metal/Nonmetal mines.

The rule will become effective on June 17, 2024. MSHA had originally proposed that mine operators begin compliance 120 days after the rule’s effective date, but to balance miners’ safety and health with mine operators’ preparations in implementing the new requirements, MSHA has set the following new deadlines by which mine operators must comply:

    • Coal mine operators: April 14, 2025
    • Metal/Nonmetal operators: April 8, 2026

The extended compliance period will allow operators to learn the new regulation’s subparts, evaluate its application to their mine(s), develop the necessary programs, and acquire sampling materials or coordinate with third parties to conduct sampling. The roughly two-year compliance period for MNM matches the General Industry compliance grace period from when OSHA finalized its updated silica regulation in 2016. MSHA granted more time to MNM mine operators citing that MNM mines do not have the same robust existing sampling requirements as have been in place in the Coal industry for years, and additional time would be needed or the MNM operations to develop and implement compliant programs, while also giving sampling and medical surveillance infrastructure time to expand for the new demands. .

Here are some key takeaways from the proposed rule: Continue reading →

MSHA Releases Final Rule: Safety Program for Surface Mobile Equipment

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By: Nicholas W. Scala

The Mine Safety & Health Administration (“MSHA”) has finally published its final rule on Safety Programs for Surface Mobile Equipment. This final rule has been a long time coming. MSHA originally published a Request for Information and held seven stakeholder meetings in 2018. In 2021, MSHA published a notice of proposed rulemaking, which we covered in detail more than two years ago. 

Following the close of the initial comment period in late 2021, MSHA reopened the rulemaking for another 30-day comment period, ending in February 2022. Almost a full two years later, MSHA published its final rule on December 20, 2023, and it became effective January 19, 2024. 

However, the effective date is not the same as the compliance date. In the final rule, MSHA wrote in a deferred compliance date, giving operators a grace period to get into compliance with the new standards before the agency and its inspectors enforce the provisions during inspections. That compliance date is July 17, 2024. 

This means that all operators and contractors operating surface mobile equipment at surface mines, or the surface areas of underground mines, will need to have compliant programs in place by July 17, 2024. This also means that MSHA cannot enforce the provisions of the final rule before that date.

Despite years of MSHA review since the proposed rule was published, the final rule largely looks the same, with a few small changes, which we will review here.   Continue reading →

Preparing for MSHA Serious Incident Investigations [Webinar Recording]

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On Tuesday, April 18, 2023, Nick Scala presented a webinar regarding Preparing for MSHA Serious Incident and Fatality Investigations.

While mine operators and mining contractors are likely used to MSHA conducting on-site safety and health inspections, when a serious incident occurs, the MSHA investigation takes a different approach. Seasoned mine operations are often caught off-guard by the depth of the investigation after a serious incident and are at times taken aback by the tone of the investigation – usually conducted by unfamiliar MSHA personnel from other areas in the district and management and non-management employee interviews will be central to the investigation. MSHA is also likely to issue a 103(K) Order, essentially shutting down the area or equipment subject to the incident, and the Order can stay in place for months, leaving the operator in a loss position.

This webinar reviewed MSHA’s approach to a serious incident or fatal incident investigations. Participants learned strategies to manage MSHA’s investigation for the company while conducting the operator’s investigation into the incident. The webinar also covered miner and mine management rights throughout MSHA’s investigation.

Participants in this webinar learned the following: Continue reading →

MSHA Basics: The Mine Act and MSHA Inspection Powers [Webinar Recording]

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On Thursday, March 23, 2023, Nicholas W. Scala presented a webinar regarding MSHA Basics: The Mine Act and MSHA Inspection Powers.

The Federal Mine Safety & Health Act of 1977 (“The Mine Act”) created the agency that we know today as MSHA and codified its authority and powers that govern America’s mining industry to date. Unlike the OSH Act, the Mine Act mandated MSHA conduct inspections each year – two per year at active surface operations and four per year at an underground mine. However, required inspections are not the limit of MSHA’s authority to conduct investigations, and are not the limit of the investigations it is required to complete.

This webinar reviewed the Mine Act and MSHA’s authority to conduct inspections at the country’s mine sites, MSHA’s powers beyond regular safety and health inspection, and provided best practices for preparing your operation for MSHA’s inevitable visit.

Participants in this webinar learned the following: Continue reading →