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MSHA proposes higher penalties

 The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has published a proposed rule to raise civil penalties for violations of the Mine Safety and Health Act. The agency also announced six public hearings to solicit comments on the proposal.

     The proposed rule incorporates the provision in the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act (MINER) of 2006 that imposes a maximum penalty of $220,000 for flagrant violations. The rule includes a minimum penalty of $2,000 for unwarrantable failure violations, and $4,000 for repeated similar violations. It also establishes a penalty of $5,000 to $60,000 for operators who fail to notify MSHA within 15 minutes of a death, injury, or entrapment with reasonable risk of death at a mine.

     Under the rule, MSHA proposes to eliminate the current $60 single penalty assessment for non-serious violations that are corrected in a timely manner. There would also be higher penalties for mine operators who have a history of repeated violations of the same standard, and MSHA would retain authority to issue special assessments to increase penalties for certain violations.