JUNE 2006

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On Wednesday, June 7, Congress finalized and sent to the President the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act. Among its major provisions, the MINER Act requires that:

• Mine operators install wireless two-way communication equipment for locating trapped miners by 2009.

• Mine operators equip each miner with an electronic tracking device by 2009.

• MSHA set minimum fines for some safety violations and raise the maximum for others. The maximum civil penalty for flagrant safety violations would rise from $60,000 to $220,000. It also imposes minimum fines of $2,000 for unwarrantable failure violations and $4,000 for unwarrantable orders.

• Mine operators must provide two-hour emergency supplies of air to each miner.

• Mine operators must store extra breathing devices in the mines.

• Mine operators must notify authorities within 15 minutes of an accident.

• Rescue teams be located within an hour's drive.

• A mine safety research division be established inside NIOSH.

The MINER Act of 2006, which had passed the Senate unanimously, passed the House of Representatives on a 381-37 vote and, according to a White House spokesman, President Bush supports the bill.

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