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MSHA to reinstate 2017 workplace examination rules on metal, nonmetal mines

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MSHA to reinstate 2017 workplace examination rules on metal, nonmetal mines

The Mine Safety and Health Administration is reinstating rules pertaining to standards for workplace examinations more than 2.5 years after they were first published.

The MSHA amended its standards for workplace examinations in metal and nonmetal mines under the Obama administration in 2017. That final rule required an examination of the workplace to be conducted at least once per shift before miners began working in the area, and for operators to tell miners if there were any conditions that might threaten their safety or health, according to a notice that will be published in the Federal Register on Sept. 30. Management was also required to record all conditions that could be detrimental to miners' well-being.

The Trump administration tried to change those requirements to allow examinations to occur before or as the miners began their shift and require the coal producer to only record descriptions of adverse conditions that were not corrected promptly. Unions, including the United Mine Workers of America, petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review the rule, and in June, the court vacated the Trump administration's amendments and reinstated the final 2017 rule.

In August, an appellate court also denied MSHA's petition for a panel rehearing of the case.

The rule is effective immediately, but MSHA will use the first 90 days to fully implement it by holding stakeholder meetings and providing compliance as well as technical assistance to make sure coal miners and producers understand the requirements.

The agency determined that the final 2017 rule will result in $34.5 million in annual costs for the metals and nonmetals mining industry, according to the notice.