PoliticalRepoPoliticalRepo

United States · Bill · HR

H.R. 2768 (110th)

S-MINER Act

referredUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

19 June 2007

Last action

—

Status

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Sponsors

—

Subjects

Discovery layer

Source updated

23 March 2026

Official sourceDownload fileView documentsShare

Summary

Supplemental Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2007 or the S-MINER Act - Amends the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act) to require: (1) emergency response plans to incorporate new technology; (2) the Secretary of Labor to require the installation of rescue chambers in underground coal mines; and (3) accident response plans to provide for the maintenance of refuges. Amends the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 to repeal provisions concerning standards relating to the sealing of abandoned areas in mines and sets forth provisions concerning: (1) regulating mine seals; (2) regulating the survivability of mine ventilation controls; (3) directing the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to determine whether changes in rock dust requirements are needed; (4) publishing regulations on flame resistance requirements for conveyor belts in use in mines; (5) prohibiting belt haulage entries from being used to ventilate active working places; (6) requiring mine operators to implement communication programs at their facilities and to install atmospheric monitoring systems; (7) requiring miners who may be working alone to be equipped with multi-gas detectors; (8) requiring mine operators to use administrative action to protect miners from lightning; (9) requiring the Secretary to establish a self-contained self-rescuers inspection program and an advisory committee on regulations applicable to underground metal and nonmetal mines; and (10) requiring the NIOSH to give priority in its research to technologies that could help miners in an emergency. Supplements the Secretary's enforcement authority, including establishing a Master Inspector program to provide incentives for employees to serve as mine safety and health inspectors. Establishes, within the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Labor, the position of Miner Ombudsman, whose duties shall include ensuring that the rights of miners are upheld. Provides for a fine for a pattern of violations of health or safety standards. Requires the Secretary to establish: (1) an advisory committee to make recommendations on whether the Mine Act should provide for federal licensing of mines and mine personnel; and (2) a central communications emergency call center within the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Requires: (1) a mine operator to notify the Secretary of specified types of accidents and to take measures to prevent the destruction of evidence; and (2) regulations concerning mine rescue teams to provide for uniform credentials and coordination with local emergency response personnel. Directs the Secretary to: (1) require mine operators to have an ambulance within a specified area; (2) review and revise the training and availability requirements for medical emergency technicians; and (3) contract with the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board to conduct an independent investigation of an accident upon the request of miners' representatives or families. Sets forth concentration and exposure limits and sampling and respiratory equipment requirements regarding respirable dust and respirable silica dust in the mine atmosphere.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

No timeline events have been ingested for this record yet.

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

10 official files

Referred in Senate (text)

View fileDownload file

Sponsors

No sponsors or actors listed by the source.

Related records

No cross-record relationships stored yet.

Sources

PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.