MSHA HANDBOOK SERIES - PH13-V-1 - Mine Safety and Health ...

COAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
GENERAL INSPECTION PROCEDURES HANDBOOK CHAPTER 2
supervisor is to inform the District Manager of the issuance. District Managers, in
consultation with the Technical Compliance and Investigation Office (TCIO) and the
Office of the Solicitor, as appropriate, will evaluate each advance notice violation to
determine whether the circumstances and evidence warrant an investigation under
Section 110(e) and/or injunctive action under Section 108(a)(1) of the Mine Act.
When preparing to conduct an inspection, MSHA enforcement personnel should take
precautions not to disclose their intentions to conduct an inspection in a specific
location. Examples of such precautions include reviewing examination books for
several areas of the mine, rather than only the specific area that they intend to inspect
that day, and making a general request for transportation, rather than requesting
transportation to travel to a specific location. (Additional guidance is available in
Volume I of MSHA’s Program Policy Manual.)
F. Inspector Compliance with the Tracking Requirements of an Emergency Response
Plan (ERP). Normally, the inspector should comply with the mine operator’s
tracking system. The District Manager (or his designee) may make the determination
that: (1) electronic tracking of an MSHA inspector could provide advance notice of an
inspection; and (2) important inspection objectives could be undermined if the MSHA
inspector was tracked. In those cases, the District Manager/designee may allow the
inspector to perform the portion of the inspection where the advance notice concern
exists without the inspection party being tracked by the mine operator. In these
situations, the inspector must provide the intended travel routes to an MSHA
supervisor or to another MSHA representative who will be available at all times in
the event of a mine emergency while the inspection party is underground. If the
intended travel route changes, the MSHA inspector must notify the supervisor or the
other MSHA representative.
Documentation Required: The inspector shall document in the notes the reason(s) why
tracking devices were not worn. The notes should also reflect who was notified of the intended
travel routes and any changes to these routes. No documentation is required for this section if
there is no problem with the tracking system.
G. Denial of Entry, Assault, or Harassment of Inspectors. In the event an inspector is
refused entry to a mine, or is threatened or harassed while making an inspection, the
inspector should promptly notify his/her immediate supervisor and give the
supervisor all the available information. The supervisor shall also alert his/her
Manager of any circumstances that have the potential to place an inspector in harm’s
way. (Refer to Section 103(a) of the PPM, Volume I, for further guidance.) Under
Section 111 of Title 18 of the U. S. Code, it is a Federal crime to forcibly assault,
intimidate, or impede MSHA employees performing investigative, inspection, law
enforcement or other official duties. (Refer to PPM Volume I, section I.103-1 for
further guidance.)
Release 1 (February 2013) 2-8