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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 231 / Tuesday, December 1, 2020 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Mine
Accident, Injury, and Illness Report
and Quarterly Mine Employment and
Coal Production Report
Notice of availability; request
for comments.

ACTION:

The Department of Labor
(DOL) is submitting this Mining Safety
and Health Administration (MSHA)sponsored information collection
request (ICR) to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and approval in accordance with
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA). Public comments on the ICR are
invited.
DATES: The OMB will consider all
written comments that agency receives
on or before December 31, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting
‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open
for Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function.
Comments are invited on: (1) Whether
the collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the Department,
including whether the information will
have practical utility; (2) if the
information will be processed and used
in a timely manner; (3) the accuracy of
the agency’s estimates of the burden and
cost of the collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (4)
ways to enhance the quality, utility and
clarity of the information collection; and
(5) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including the use of
automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Anthony May by telephone at 202–693–
4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or
by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section
103(h) of the Federal Mine Safety and
Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act), 30 U.S.C.
813(h), authorizes MSHA to collect
information necessary to carry out its
duty in protecting the safety and health
of miners. Further, section 101(a) of the
Mine Act, 30 U.S.C. 811, authorizes the
Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to

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develop, promulgate, and revise as may
be appropriate, improved mandatory
health or safety standards for the
protection of life and prevention of
injuries in coal or other mines. The
reporting and recordkeeping provisions
in 30 CFR part 50 (Part 50), Notification,
Investigation, Reports and Records of
Accidents, Injuries and Illnesses,
Employment and Coal Production in
Mines, are essential elements in
MSHA’s statutory mandate to reduce
work-related injuries and illnesses
among the nation’s miners (30 U.S.C.
801). Section 50.10 requires mine
operators and independent contractors
to immediately notify MSHA in the
event of an accident. This immediate
notification is critical to MSHA’s timely
investigation and assessment of the
cause of the accident. Section 50.11
requires that the mine operator or
independent contractor investigate each
accident and occupational injury and
prepare a report. The mine operator or
independent contractor may not use
MSHA Form 7000–1 as the investigation
report, except if the operator or
contractor employs fewer than 20
miners and the injury is not related to
an accident. Section 50.20 requires mine
operators and independent contractors
to report each accident, injury, and
illness to MSHA on Form 7000–1 within
10 working days after an accident or
injury has occurred or an occupational
illness has been diagnosed. The use of
MSHA Form 7000–1 provides for
uniform information gathering across
the mining industry. Section 50.30
requires that all mine operators and
independent contractors working on
mine property report employment to
MSHA quarterly on Form 7000–2, and
that coal mine operators and
independent contractors also report coal
production. Accident, injury, and
illness data, when correlated with
employment and production data,
provide information that MSHA uses to
improve its safety and health
enforcement programs, focus its
education and training efforts, and
establish priorities for its technical
assistance activities in mine safety and
health. Maintaining a current database
allows MSHA to identify and direct
increased attention to those mines,
industry segments, and geographical
areas where hazardous trends are
developing. This could not be done
effectively using historical data. The
information collected under Part 50 is
the most comprehensive and reliable
occupational data available concerning
the mining industry. Section 103(d) of
the Mine Act mandates that each
accident be investigated by the operator

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to determine the cause and means of
preventing a recurrence. Operators must
keep records of such accidents and
investigations and make them available
to the Secretary or the Secretary’s
authorized representative and the
appropriate State agency. Section 103(h)
requires operators to keep any records
and make any reports that are
reasonably necessary for MSHA to
perform its duties under the Mine Act.
Section 103(j) requires operators to
notify MSHA of the occurrence of an
accident and to take appropriate
measures to preserve any evidence that
would assist in the investigation into
the causes of the accident. For
additional substantive information
about this ICR, see the related notice
published in the Federal Register on
September 14, 2020 (85 FR 56637).
This information collection is subject
to the PRA. A Federal agency generally
cannot conduct or sponsor a collection
of information, and the public is
generally not required to respond to an
information collection, unless the OMB
approves it and displays a currently
valid OMB Control Number. In addition,
notwithstanding any other provisions of
law, no person shall generally be subject
to penalty for failing to comply with a
collection of information that does not
display a valid OMB Control Number.
See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
DOL seeks PRA authorization for this
information collection for three (3)
years. OMB authorization for an ICR
cannot be for more than three (3) years
without renewal. The DOL notes that
information collection requirements
submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs
receive a month-to-month extension
while they undergo review.
Agency: DOL–MSHA.
Title of Collection: Mine Accident,
Injury, and Illness Report and Quarterly
Mine Employment and Coal Production
Report.
OMB Control Number: 1219–0007.
Affected Public: Businesses or other
for-profits institutions.
Total Estimated Number of
Respondents: 25,067.
Total Estimated Number of
Responses: 112,414.
Total Estimated Annual Time Burden:
131,631 hours.
Total Estimated Annual Other Costs
Burden: $2,946.
(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D))
Dated: November 23, 2020.
Anthony May,
Management and Program Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2020–26384 Filed 11–30–20; 8:45 am]
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