30 U.S.C. § 878 — Definitions

Page 177 TITLE 30—MINERAL LANDS AND MINING § 878 appropriate to protect the safety of miners working or passing through such tunnels from cave-ins and other hazards. Such permits shall require, in accordance with a plan to be ap- proved by the Secretary, that a safety zone be established beneath and adjacent to such body of water. No plan shall be approved unless there is a minimum of cover to be determined by the Secretary, based on test holes drilled by the op- erator in a manner to be prescribed by the Sec- retary. No such permit shall be required in the case of any new working section of a mine which is located under any water resource reservoir being constructed by a Federal agency on De- cember 30, 1969, the operator of which is required by such agency to operate in a manner that ade- quately protects the safety of miners working in such section from cave-ins and other hazards. (s) Drinking water An adequate supply of potable water shall be provided for drinking purposes in the active workings of the mine, and such water shall be carried, stored, and otherwise protected in sani- tary containers. (t) Standards for prevention of explosions from nonmethane gases and for testing for accu- mulations Within one year after the operative date of this subchapter, the Secretary shall propose standards for preventing explosions from explo- sive gases other than methane and for testing for accumulations of such gases. (Pub. L. 91–173, title III, § 317, Dec. 30, 1969, 83 Stat. 787; Pub. L. 96–88, title V, § 509(b), Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 695.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT For the operative date of this subchapter, referred to in subsecs. (e), (f)(4), (g), (h), (k), (m), (r), and (t), see section 509 of Pub. L. 91–173, set out as an Effective Date note under section 801 of this title. This chapter, referred to in subsec. (i), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 91–173, Dec. 30, 1969, 83 Stat. 742, known as the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 801 of this title and Tables. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME ‘‘Secretary of Health and Human Services’’ sub- stituted for ‘‘Secretary of Health, Education, and Wel- fare’’ in subsec. (m) pursuant to section 509(b) of Pub. L. 96–88 which is classified to section 3508(b) of Title 20, Education. EFFECTIVE DATE Section operative 90 days after Dec. 30, 1969, except to the extent an earlier date is specifically provided for in Pub. L. 91–173, see section 509 of Pub. L. 91–173, set out as a note under section 801 of this title. § 878. Definitions For the purpose of this subchapter and sub- chapter II of this chapter, the term— (a) ‘‘certified’’ or ‘‘registered’’ as applied to any person means a person certified or reg- istered by the State in which the coal mine is located to perform duties prescribed by such subchapters, except that, in a State where no program of certification or registration is pro- vided or where the program does not meet at least minimum Federal standards established by the Secretary, such certification or reg- istration shall be by the Secretary; (b) ‘‘qualified person’’ means, as the context requires, (1) an individual deemed qualified by the Secretary and designated by the operator to make tests and examinations required by this chapter; and (2) an individual deemed, in accordance with minimum requirements to be estab- lished by the Secretary, qualified by train- ing, education, and experience, to perform electrical work, to maintain electrical equipment, and to conduct examinations and tests of all electrical equipment; (c) ‘‘permissible’’ as applied to— (1) equipment used in the operation of a coal mine, means equipment, other than per- missible electric face equipment, to which an approval plate, label, or other device is attached as authorized by the Secretary and which meets specifications which are pre- scribed by the Secretary for the construc- tion and maintenance of such equipment and are designed to assure that such equipment will not cause a mine explosion or a mine fire, (2) explosives, shot firing units, or blasting devices used in such mine, means explosives, shot firing units, or blasting devices which meet specifications which are prescribed by the Secretary, and (3) the manner of use of equipment or ex- plosives, shot firing units, and blasting de- vices, means the manner of use prescribed by the Secretary; (d) ‘‘rock dust’’ means pulverized limestone, dolomite, gypsum, anhydrite, shale, adobe, or other inert material, preferably light colored, 100 per centum of which will pass through a sieve having twenty meshes per linear inch and 70 per centum or more of which will pass through a sieve having two hundred meshes per linear inch; the particles of which when wetted and dried will not cohere to form a cake which will not be dispersed into separate particles by a light blast of air; and which does not contain more than 5 per centum of com- bustible matter or more than a total of 4 per centum of free and combined silica (SiO2), or, where the Secretary finds that such silica con- centrations are not available, which does not contain more than 5 per centum of free and combined silica; (e) ‘‘anthracite’’ means coals with a volatile ratio equal to 0.12 or less; (f) ‘‘volatile ratio’’ means volatile matter content divided by the volatile matter plus the fixed carbon; (g)(1) ‘‘working face’’ means any place in a coal mine in which work of extracting coal from its natural deposit in the earth is per- formed during the mining cycle, (2) ‘‘working place’’ means the area of a coal mine inby the last open crosscut, Page 178 TITLE 30—MINERAL LANDS AND MINING § 901 (3) ‘‘working section’’ means all areas of the coal mine from the loading point of the sec- tion to and including the working faces, (4) ‘‘active workings’’ means any place in a coal mine where miners are normally required to work or travel; (h) ‘‘abandoned areas’’ means sections, pan- els, and other areas that are not ventilated and examined in the manner required for working places under section 863 of this title; (i) ‘‘permissible’’ as applied to electric face equipment means all electrically operated equipment taken into or used inby the last open crosscut of an entry or a room of any coal mine the electrical parts of which, includ- ing, but not limited to, associated electrical equipment, components, and accessories, are designed, constructed, and installed, in ac- cordance with the specifications of the Sec- retary, to assure that such equipment will not cause a mine explosion or mine fire, and the other features of which are designed and con- structed, in accordance with the specifications of the Secretary, to prevent, to the greatest extent possible, other accidents in the use of such equipment; and the regulations of the Secretary or the Director of the United States Bureau of Mines in effect on the operative date of this subchapter relating to the require- ments for investigation, testing, approval, cer- tification, and acceptance of such equipment as permissible shall continue in effect until modified or superseded by the Secretary, ex- cept that the Secretary shall provide proce- dures, including, where feasible, testing, ap- proval, certification, and acceptance in the field by an authorized representative of the Secretary, to facilitate compliance by an oper- ator with the requirements of section 865(a) of this title within the periods prescribed there- in; (j) ‘‘low voltage’’ means up to and including 660 volts; ‘‘medium voltage’’ means voltages from 661 to 1,000 volts; and ‘‘high voltage’’ means more than 1,000 volts; (k) Repealed. Pub. L. 95–164, title II, § 202(b), Nov. 9, 1977, 91 Stat. 1317. (l) ‘‘coal mine’’ includes areas of adjoining mines connected underground. (Pub. L. 91–173, title III, § 318, Dec. 30, 1969, 83 Stat. 791; Pub. L. 95–164, title II, § 202(b), Nov. 9, 1977, 91 Stat. 1317; Pub. L. 102–285, § 10(b), May 18, 1992, 106 Stat. 172.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in par. (b)(1), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 91–173, Dec. 30, 1969, 83 Stat. 742, known as the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 801 of this title and Tables. For the operative date of this subchapter, referred to in par. (i), see section 509 of Pub. L. 91–173, set out as an Effective Date note under section 801 of this title. AMENDMENTS 1977—Par. (k). Pub. L. 95–164 struck out par. (k) which defined ‘‘respirable dust’’ as dust particles 5 microns or less in size. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME ‘‘United States Bureau of Mines’’ substituted for ‘‘Bureau of Mines’’ in par. (i) pursuant to section 10(b) of Pub. L. 102–285, set out as a note under section 1 of this title. For provisions relating to closure and trans- fer of functions of the United States Bureau of Mines, see Transfer of Functions note set out under section 1 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1977 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 95–164 effective Nov. 9, 1977, see section 307 of Pub. L. 95–164, set out as a note under section 801 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Section operative 90 days after Dec. 30, 1969, except to the extent an earlier date is specifically provided for in Pub. L. 91–173, see section 509 of Pub. L. 91–173, set out as a note under section 801 of this title. SUBCHAPTER IV—BLACK LUNG BENEFITS PART A—GENERAL PROVISIONS § 901. Congressional findings and declaration of purpose; short title (a) Congress finds and declares that there are a significant number of coal miners living today who are totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis arising out of employment in one or more of the Nation’s coal mines; that there are a number of survivors of coal miners whose deaths were due to this disease; and that few States provide ben- efits for death or disability due to this disease to coal miners or their surviving dependents. It is, therefore, the purpose of this subchapter to provide benefits, in cooperation with the States, to coal miners who are totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis and to the surviving dependents of miners whose death was due to such disease; and to ensure that in the future adequate bene- fits are provided to coal miners and their de- pendents in the event of their death or total dis- ability due to pneumoconiosis. (b) This subchapter may be cited as the ‘‘Black Lung Benefits Act’’. (Pub. L. 91–173, title IV, § 401, Dec. 30, 1969, 83 Stat. 792; Pub. L. 92–303, §§ 3(a), 4(b)(2), May 19, 1972, 86 Stat. 153, 154; Pub. L. 95–239, § 16, Mar. 1, 1978, 92 Stat. 105; Pub. L. 97–119, title II, § 203(a)(4), Dec. 29, 1981, 95 Stat. 1644.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1981—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–119 struck out ‘‘or who were totally disabled by this disease at the time of their deaths’’ after ‘‘due to this disease’’ and ‘‘due to such disease’’. 1978—Pub. L. 95–239 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b). 1972—Pub. L. 92–303, § 3(a), inserted ‘‘or who were to- tally disabled by this disease at the time of their deaths’’ after ‘‘disease’’ the first and third times it ap- peared and struck out ‘‘underground’’ before ‘‘coal mines’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1981 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 97–119, title II, § 206(a), Dec. 29, 1981, 95 Stat. 1645, provided that: ‘‘Except as otherwise provided, the