Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 094-1041
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Public Act 094-1041


 

Public Act 1041 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 094-1041
 
SB0929 Enrolled LRB094 04554 LJB 34583 b

    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Coal Mining Act is amended by changing
Sections 11.01, 19.11, 22.18, and 38.3 and the heading of
Article 29 and by adding Sections 1.19, 1.20, 1.21, 1.22, 1.23,
1.24, 10.08, 11.07, 11.08, 11.09, 11.10, 11.11, 13.16, 13.17,
13.18, 29.05, 29.06, 29.07, 38.4, and 38.5 as follows:
 
    (225 ILCS 705/1.19 new)
    Sec. 1.19. "Lifeline cord" means a fire-retardant, nylon
line of at least one quarter inch thickness, with cone-shaped
directional indicators incorporated into it, that is
permanently installed in an escape way and gives a clear
indication of the direction out of a mine.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/1.20 new)
    Sec. 1.20. "Self-contained self-rescue (SCSR) device"
means a breathing apparatus that contains a minimum of one hour
of oxygen for one person and is approved by the Mine Safety and
Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor and the
Mining Board.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/1.21 new)
    Sec. 1.21. "Surface supervisor of an underground mine"
means a certified supervisor at a mine whose duties do not
include the extraction of coal, but do include other activities
resulting in the preparation of coal, supervision of
construction or demolition of mine buildings, earth moving, gob
moving projects, or other surface projects involving the
supervision of people and machinery.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/1.22 new)
    Sec. 1.22. "Tag-line" means a nylon line of at least one
quarter inch thickness that has mechanical clips or other
suitable connecting devices incorporated therein that are
spaced between 3 feet and 5 feet apart that allow a group of
persons underground to attach themselves together.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/1.23 new)
    Sec. 1.23. "Rescue chamber" means a chamber within a mine
that is properly constructed to protect against potential
hazards in case of an emergency and is properly equipped with
first aid materials, an oxygen-generating device capable of
providing a minimum of 48 hours of oxygen for at least 10
people, and proper accommodations for persons underground
awaiting rescue, as determined by the Mining Board.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/1.24 new)
    Sec. 1.24. "Cache" means a storage facility within a mine
that is properly constructed to store SCSR devices in case of
an emergency for use by persons underground in emergency
situations, as determined by the Mining Board.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/10.08 new)
    Sec. 10.08. Use of telecommunications center. In order to
ensure a quick and efficient means of effectively disseminating
duties and responsibilities to those agencies involved in
mining emergency response, the Department shall use the
telecommunications center maintained by the Illinois Emergency
Management Agency to notify agents of the Department and other
State, federal, and local agencies in the event of an emergency
in or about any coal mine. The Illinois Emergency Management
Agency, in conjunction with the Mining Board, shall establish
procedures concerning the manner in which the Illinois
Emergency Management Agency shall record pertinent information
regarding a mining emergency, determine the urgency of a call,
and forward information to the Department.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/11.01)  (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 1101)
    Sec. 11.01. Mine rescue stations. For the purpose of
providing prompt and efficient means of fighting fires and of
saving lives and property jeopardized by fires, explosions or
other accidents in coal mines in Illinois, there shall be
constructed, equipped and maintained at public expense 4 four
mine rescue stations, certified by the Mine Safety and Health
Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, to serve the
coal fields of the State. Notwithstanding any other law of this
State, the primary responsibility for the control and
maintenance of the mine rescue stations shall be vested with
the Department. Each station shall be equipped with a mobile
mine rescue unit. The Department may establish, equip and
maintain three additional substations for preservation of
health and safety if the conditions warrant. Temporary
certification may be issued by the Mining Board for a maximum
of 6 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the 94th General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 87-895.)
 
    (225 ILCS 705/11.07 new)
    Sec. 11.07. Rescue teams. Rescue teams shall be based out
of each mine rescue station to serve the Illinois coal industry
as either a primary or secondary responder. Every operator in
the State must provide employees to serve on a rescue team and
must compensate these employees who are serving as rescue team
members at their regular rate of pay.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/11.08 new)
    Sec. 11.08. Self-contained self-rescuer (SCSR) devices;
caches; strobe lights; luminescent signs.
    (a) An operator must require each person underground to
carry a SCSR device on his or her person or, alternatively, a
SCSR device must be kept within 25 feet of the person
underground or may be kept more than 25 feet from the person
underground if done according to a plan approved by the Mining
Board.
    (b) An operator must provide for each person who is
underground at least one SCSR device, in addition to the device
required under subsection (a), that provides protection for a
period of one hour or longer, to cover all persons in the mine.
This additional SCSR device must be kept within 25 feet of the
person underground or may be kept more than 25 feet from the
person underground if done according to a plan approved by the
Mining Board.
    (c) If a mantrip or mobile equipment is used to enter or
exit the mine, additional SCSR devices, each of which must
provide protection for a period of one hour or longer, must be
available for all persons who use such transportation from
portal to portal.
    (d) If the SCSR devices required under subsections (a),
(b), and (c) are not adequate to provide enough oxygen for all
persons to safely evacuate the mine under mine emergency
conditions, the mine operator must provide additional SCSR
devices in the primary and alternate escapeways to ensure safe
evacuation for all persons underground through both primary and
alternate escapeways. The Mining Board must determine the time
needed for safe evacuation under emergency conditions from each
of those locations at 1,000 foot intervals. The mine operator
must submit a SCSR storage plan to the Mining Board for
approval. The mine operator must include in the SCSR storage
plan the location, quantity, and type of additional SCSR
devices, each of which must provide protection for a period of
one hour or longer, that are stored in the primary and
alternate escapeways. The SCSR storage plan must also show how
each storage location in the primary and alternate escapeways
was determined. The Mining Board must require the mine operator
to demonstrate that the location, quantity, and type of the
additional SCSRs provide protection to all persons to safely
evacuate the mine. The SCSR storage plan must be kept current
by the mine operator and made available for inspection by an
authorized representative of the Mining Board and by the
miners' representative.
    (e) All SCSR devices required under this Section shall be
stored in caches that are conspicuous and readily accessible by
each person in the mine.
    (f) An operator must require luminescent direction signs
leading to each cache and rescue chamber to be posted in a
mine, and a luminescent sign with the words "SELF-CONTAINED
SELF-RESCUER" or "SELF-CONTAINED SELF-RESCUERS" must be
conspicuously posted at each cache and rescue chamber.
    (g) Intrinsically safe, battery-powered strobe lights must
be affixed to each cache and rescue chamber and must be capable
of automatic activation in the event of an emergency.
    (h) The Mining Board must adopt and impose a plan for the
daily inspection of SCSR devices required under subsections
(a), (b), and (c) of this Section in order to ensure that the
devices perform their designated functions each working day.
Additional SCSR devices required under subsection (d) must be
inspected every 90 days to ensure that the devices perform
their designated functions, in addition to meeting all federal
Mine Safety and Health Administration requirements.
    (i) Any person who, without the authorization of the
operator or the Mining Board, knowingly removes or attempts to
remove any self-contained self-rescue device or
battery-powered strobe light approved by the Department from a
mine or mine site with the intent to permanently deprive the
operator of the device or light or who knowingly tampers with
or attempts to tamper with the device or light is guilty of a
Class 4 felony.
    (j) Beginning January 31, 2007, in addition to the SCSR
devices required under subsections (a), (b), and (c), an
operator must provide a minimum of 30 SCSR devices in each
cache located within a mine, in addition to federal Mine Safety
and Health Administration requirements. Caches must be located
no more than 4,000 feet apart throughout a mine.
    (k) An operator must submit for approval a plan addressing
the requirements of subsection (j) of this Section to the
Mining Board within 3 months after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/11.09 new)
    Sec. 11.09. Rescue chambers.
    (a) Rescue chambers approved by the Mining Board must be
provided at suitable locations throughout a mine.
    (b) Beginning January 31, 2007, rescue chambers approved by
the Mining Board must be provided and located within 3,000 feet
of each working section of a mine.
    (c) An operator must submit a plan for approval concerning
the construction and maintenance of rescue chambers required
under this Section to the Mining Board within 3 months after
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General
Assembly.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/11.10 new)
    Sec. 11.10. Materials for barricade. Each working section
of a mine must have an emergency sled or wagon located no more
than 1,000 feet from the working faces of the mine with the
following materials and amounts in constant supply:
        (1) 8 timbers of suitable length or roof jacks of equal
    capability;
        (2) 200 linear feet of brattice cloth of adequate
    height to the coal seam;
        (3) 2 hand saws;
        (4) 20 1 x 6 brattice boards at least 12 feet long
    each;
        (5) 10 pounds of 10d nails;
        (6) 10 pounds of 16d nails;
        (7) 10 pounds of spads;
        (8) 25 cap boards;
        (9) 20 header boards;
        (10) 2 axes;
        (11) 2 claw hammers;
        (12) one sledge hammer;
        (13) one shovel;
        (14) 10 bags of wood fiber plaster or 5 bags of cement
    or the equivalent;
        (15) 4 sets of rubber gloves; and
        (16) 5 gallons of sealed, distilled drinking water.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/11.11 new)
    Sec. 11.11. Rulemaking. The Mining Board shall adopt all
rules necessary for the administration of this Article.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/13.16 new)
    Sec. 13.16. Tag-lines. Tag-lines must be provided in every
working section of a mine and on any vehicle capable of hauling
4 or more people within the mine.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/13.17 new)
    Sec. 13.17. Methane extraction.
    (a) In this Section:
        "Blowout preventer" means an emergency shut-off valve
    installed on the wellhead during the drilling or testing of
    a well that incorporates hydraulic pipe rams capable of
    closing the space around the drillpipe against very high
    pressure.
        "Conductor pipe" means a short string of
    large-diameter casing used to keep the top of the wellbore
    open and to provide a means of conveying the up-flowing
    drilling fluid from the wellbore to the mud pit.
        "Gas detector" means a mechanical, electrical, or
    chemical device that automatically identifies and records
    or registers the levels of various gases.
    (b) Methane extraction from sealed areas of active mines or
abandoned mines that are attached to active working mines must
include a conductor pipe cemented in place, a blowout
preventer, and a gas detector.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/13.18 new)
    Sec. 13.18. Non-production related bore holes exempt.
Non-production related bore holes that are drilled or operated
by an operator and are intended for the safety or maintenance
of a mine are exempt from this Act.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/19.11)  (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 1911)
    Sec. 19.11. Travelable passageways; obstructions;
ventilation of escape ways. There shall be at least two
travelable passageways, to be designated as escape ways, from
each working section to the surface whether the mine openings
are shafts, slopes, or drifts. At least one of these
passageways must be equipped with a lifeline cord. Escape ways
They shall be kept in safe condition for travel and reasonably
free from standing water and other obstructions. One of the
designated escape ways may be the haulage road. One of the
escape ways shall be ventilated with intake air. At mines now
operating with only one free passageway to the surface,
immediate action shall be taken to provide a second passageway.
The return air passageway to the surface must be marked with
reflectors or other appropriate signage, as approved by the
Department.
(Source: Laws 1953, p. 701.)
 
    (225 ILCS 705/22.18)  (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 2218)
    Sec. 22.18. Vehicle for transporting workforce and injured
persons. A vehicle suitable for transporting all persons
underground working on a unit and injured persons shall be
maintained in on each underground working section where workers
are working for use in case of accident.
(Source: P.A. 79-460.)
 
    (225 ILCS 705/Art. 29 heading)
ARTICLE 29. TELEPHONE AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

 
    (225 ILCS 705/29.05 new)
    Sec. 29.05. Wireless emergency communication devices. A
wireless emergency communication device approved by the Mining
Board must be worn by each person underground. The operator
shall provide these devices. The wireless emergency
communication device must, at a minimum, be capable of
receiving emergency communications from the surface at any
location throughout the mine. Each operator must provide for
the training of each underground employee in the use of the
device and, annually, provide a refresher training course for
all underground employees. The operator must install in or
around the mine any and all equipment necessary to transmit
emergency communications from the surface to each wireless
emergency communication device at any location throughout the
mine.
    An operator must submit for approval a plan concerning the
implementation of the wireless emergency communication devices
required under this Section to the Mining Board within 3 months
after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th
General Assembly.
    Any person who, without the authorization of the operator
or the Mining Board, knowingly removes or attempts to remove
any wireless emergency communication device or related
equipment approved by the Mining Board from the mine or mine
site with the intent to permanently deprive the operator of the
device or equipment or who knowingly tampers with or attempts
to tamper with the device or equipment is guilty of a Class 4
felony.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/29.06 new)
    Sec. 29.06. Wireless tracking devices. A wireless tracking
device approved by the Mining Board must be worn by each person
underground. The operator shall provide these devices. The
tracking device must be capable of providing real-time
monitoring of the physical location of each person underground
in the event of an accident or other emergency. No person may
discharge or discriminate against any underground employee
based on information gathered by a wireless tracking device
during non-emergency monitoring. Each operator must provide
for the training of each underground employee in the use of the
device and provide refresher training courses for all
underground employees during each calendar year. The operator
must install in or around the mine all equipment necessary to
provide real-time emergency monitoring of the physical
location of each person underground.
    An operator must submit for approval a plan concerning the
implementation of the wireless tracking devices required under
this Section to the Mining Board within 3 months after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General
Assembly.
    Any person who, without the authorization of the operator
or the Mining Board, knowingly removes or attempts to remove
any wireless tracking device or related equipment approved by
the Mining Board from a mine or mine site with the intent to
permanently deprive the operator of the device or equipment or
who knowingly tampers with or attempts to tamper with the
device or equipment is guilty of a Class 4 felony.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/29.07 new)
    Sec. 29.07. Mine Technology Task Force; provision of rescue
chambers and wireless devices.
    (a) The Director shall establish a Mine Technology Task
Force composed of representatives of an organization
representing mine employees, coal operators, academia, and the
communications industry. Each group shall submit the name of
its representative to the Director. The task force shall review
and make recommendations to the Mining Board regarding the best
available mine safety technologies, including, but not limited
to, rescue chambers, wireless communications equipment, and
wireless tracking devices for use in underground mines. The
task force shall submit its initial findings to the Mining
Board within 3 months after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.
    (b) Rescue chambers, wireless emergency communications
devices, and wireless tracking devices must be provided in each
underground mine within 90 days after the equipment is approved
by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. To the
extent that any of these devices have already been approved by
the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, the operator
shall provide the equipment in each underground mine within 90
days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
94th General Assembly.
    (c) A temporary waiver of the requirements of subsection
(b) of this Section of up to 90 days may be issued by the Mining
Board if (i) the mine operator submits to the Mining Board a
receipt of the product order and (ii) the manufacturer has
certified that the product will be delivered within 90 days of
the product order.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/38.3)  (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 3803)
    Sec. 38.3. Surface mine supervisor Supervisors. On or after
September 1, 1977, it shall be unlawful for any operator of a
surface coal mine to employ, in a supervisory capacity listed
below any person who does not hold a certificate of competency
issued by the Mining Board.
    Those persons assigned to supervise:
    (a) Overburden stripping
    (b) Drilling and shooting
    (c) The pit coal loading operation
    (d) Reclamation work at the mine.
    Each applicant must have a minimum of 2 years of surface
mining experience and pass an examination, administered by the
Mining Board, based on Illinois State Mining Law as it pertains
to his responsibilities. Temporary certification will be
provided by the Mining Board for persons with at least 2 years
surface mining experience up to the time of the next
examination or up to a maximum of 6 months.
(Source: P.A. 79-460; 79-1505.)
 
    (225 ILCS 705/38.4 new)
    Sec. 38.4. General surface supervisor of an underground
mine. On or after July 1, 2006, it shall be unlawful for an
operator of an underground coal mine surface facility or a coal
preparation plant or a contractor engaged in the construction,
demolition, or dismantling of an underground coal mine surface
facility or a coal preparation plant to employ, in a
supervisory capacity, any person who does not hold a
certificate of competency issued by the Mining Board to oversee
any of the following activities:
        (1) Coal preparation and storage.
        (2) Mine equipment storage and repair.
        (3) Mobile equipment operation.
        (4) Site construction, demolition, or dismantling
    operations.
    Each applicant for a certificate as a general surface
supervisor of an underground mine must have a minimum of 2
years of work experience at a coal mine surface facility or
coal preparation plant. In addition to the work experience
requirement set forth in this Section, a contractor engaged in
the construction, demolition, or dismantling of surface
structures must successfully complete an examination
concerning the Department's health and safety regulations as
these regulations pertain to the contractor's
responsibilities, which shall be administered by the Mining
Board. Temporary certification may be issued by the Mining
Board for persons with at least 2 years of the required work
experience and shall be valid until the time of the next
examination or for a maximum of 6 months, whichever is shorter.
 
    (225 ILCS 705/38.5 new)
    Sec. 38.5. Independent contractor supervisor. On or after
July 1, 2006, it shall be unlawful for an operator of an
underground coal mine surface facility or a surface coal mine
facility to employ an independent contractor who does not have
an independent contractor supervisor certificate issued by the
Mining Board to oversee and supervise the work for which the
services of an independent contractor have been obtained,
including, but not limited to, work in the area of
construction, demolition, repair or maintenance, or major
renovations of existing facilities or other heavy or extensive
work planned for an extended period of time.
    Each applicant for an independent contractor supervisor
certificate must provide proof of at least 2 years of
experience in independent contract work at surface mines or at
the surface of underground mines and successfully complete an
examination based on the mining laws of this State as these
laws pertain to the applicant's responsibilities, which shall
be administered by the Mining Board. Temporary certification
may be issued by the Mining Board for persons with at least 2
years of the required work experience and shall be valid until
the time of the next examination or for a maximum of 6 months,
whichever is shorter.
    Independent contractors employed to engage in routine
maintenance work within a facility, including, but not limited
to, plumbing repair, roof repair, and carpentry work, are not
required to possess an independent contractor supervisor
certificate to engage in such routine maintenance work within a
facility.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 7/24/2006