Petitions for Modification of Application of Existing Mandatory Safety Standard, 16546-16547 [2019-07934]
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16546
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 76 / Friday, April 19, 2019 / Notices
Molly E. Conway,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment
and Training.
I. Background
[FR Doc. 2019–07729 Filed 4–18–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–FN–P
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Mine Safety and Health Administration
Petitions for Modification of
Application of Existing Mandatory
Safety Standard
Mine Safety and Health
Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
This notice is a summary of
petition for modification submitted to
the Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA) by the parties
listed below.
DATES: All comments on the petition
must be received by MSHA’s Office of
Standards, Regulations, and Variances
on or before May 20, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit your
comments, identified by ‘‘docket
number’’ on the subject line, by any of
the following methods:
1. Email: zzMSHA-comments@
dol.gov. Include the docket number of
the petition in the subject line of the
message.
2. Facsimile: 202–693–9441.
3. Regular Mail or Hand Delivery:
MSHA, Office of Standards,
Regulations, and Variances, 201 12th
Street South, Suite 4E401, Arlington,
Virginia 22202–5452, Attention: Sheila
McConnell, Director, Office of
Standards, Regulations, and Variances.
Persons delivering documents are
required to check in at the receptionist’s
desk in Suite 4E401. Individuals may
inspect a copy of the petitions and
comments during normal business
hours at the address listed above.
MSHA will consider only comments
postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service or
proof of delivery from another delivery
service such as UPS or Federal Express
on or before the deadline for comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Barbara Barron, Office of Standards,
Regulations, and Variances at 202–693–
9447 (voice), barron.barbara@dol.gov
(email), or 202–693–9441 (fax). [These
are not toll-free numbers.]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section
101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and
Health Act of 1977 and Title 30 of the
Code of Federal Regulations Part 44
govern the application, processing, and
disposition of petitions for modification.
khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:23 Apr 18, 2019
Jkt 247001
Section 101(c) of the Federal Mine
Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine
Act) allows the mine operator or
representative of miners to file a
petition to modify the application of any
mandatory safety standard to a coal or
other mine if the Secretary of Labor
(Secretary) determines that:
1. An alternative method of achieving
the result of such standard exists which
will at all times guarantee no less than
the same measure of protection afforded
the miners of such mine by such
standard; or
2. That the application of such
standard to such mine will result in a
diminution of safety to the miners in
such mine.
In addition, the regulations at 30 CFR
44.10 and 44.11 establish the
requirements and procedures for filing
petitions for modification.
II. Petition for Modification
Docket Number: M–2019–001–M.
Petitioner: Genesis Alkali, LLC, 1801
Wewatta St., Suite 1000, Denver,
Colorado 80202.
Mine: Genesis Alkali @WESTVACO,
MSHA I.D. No. 48–00152, located in
Sweetwater County, Wyoming.
Regulation Affected: 30 CFR 57.22305
(Approved equipment (III mines)).
Modification Request: Petitioner seeks
to allow for the installation of one or
more submersible pumps at Westvaco
mine. The first pump would be installed
at Westvaco’s Extraction Well #5
(EW#5).
The petitioner states that:
(1) Westvaco is an underground trona
mine. Since 1988, underground tailings
disposal and secondary resource
recovery have been part of the mining
operation. Sections of mine workings
have been abandoned and flooded with
water/tailings. There is no access to
these areas by miners due to the
topography of the mine. As the tailings
dewater in the mine, the water becomes
a solution that recovers trona left by the
room and pillar mining techniques
employed in these abandoned areas.
(2) Petitioner plans to install
submersible pumps through wells from
the surface to access this impounded
trona-bearing liquor. The pumps will be
strategically placed in the
topographically lowest developments to
ensure a flooded condition. Westvaco
currently has monitor wells near these
areas which indicate the areas are
flooded with water completely. As
further assurance of flooded conditions,
the wells will be drilled through the
mine floor to countersink the pumps an
additional depth to ensure the pumps’
PO 00000
Frm 00092
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
intakes and motors remain below the
mine floor. The pump motors, by
design, are positioned below the pump
intake to prevent the pump from drying
the hole out. Specifically, the pump
system’s design ensures that the
electrical components will be
submerged, preventing their exposure to
the mine’s ambient air.
(3) The proposed pump system at
Westvaco will be installed from the
surface. The pump system(s) will be
lowered underground via EW#5, into
the northwest area of Westvaco that is
permanently abandoned and has been
inactive for more than twenty years.
EW#5 is approximately 10,200 feet away
from the nearest hoist and travelway.
The distance between EW#5 and the
areas of Westvaco where miners will be
working and traveling is at least 15,000
feet, if not more.
(4) After the bore mining and longwall
operations in the northwest corner of
Westvaco had finished, petitioner
intentionally flooded that area in the
mid 1980s. By flooding that area,
petitioner can engage in liquid/solution
mining to recover trona from the gob.
The topography of the mine area allows
water levels in the flooded area to be
deep enough to ‘‘top out’’ against the
roof, effectively filling the entire region
of the abandoned mine area. Along with
this water barrier, petitioner installed
barricades (stoppings) on the flooded
area’s perimeter. The barricades are
comprised of 6″ x 8″ x 24″ wood blocks,
installed rib-to-rib and floor-to-roof.
Petitioner uses foam sealant around the
edges of each barricade. Therefore, there
are two physical designs—the wooden
blocks and the impoundment—to
prevent miners from accidentally or
intentionally accessing the permanently
abandoned area from the active longwall
and bore miner operations.
(5) The submersible pump systems
will be installed from the surface into
the permanently abandoned, flooded
areas. Westvaco miners will not be
involved in the extraction of the trona
solution because they cannot access the
area due to the water levels and the
barricades.
(6) The permanently abandoned area
at Westvaco is not ventilated; therefore,
the air current(s) at Westvaco do not
flow through the area. In addition, there
are several factors that would inhibit
any accumulated methane that was in
the abandoned area from entering the
fresh air current at Westvaco.
These factors are:
—The impounded area is unventilated,
meaning the airflow in that location
will fluctuate as a function of
temperature and pressures of the
E:\FR\FM\19APN1.SGM
19APN1
khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 76 / Friday, April 19, 2019 / Notices
ambient air. This unventilated area
borders the return air-courses of the
active mine. Any gases that emit from
the abandoned area will be carried to
an exhaust vent shaft and removed
from the mine—never reaching any
active work areas or areas not already
maintained to function in a gassy
environment.
—Westvaco’s active workings receive
forced air from the surface. This
mechanical ventilation creates a
positive pressure environment that
impedes the air in the impounded
area from migrating through the
barricades.
—The abandoned area is flooded,
creating a liquid barrier between the
submersible pump components and
the ambient air.
(7) The physical design of the
submersible pump system places the
intake nozzle above the pump system’s
electrical components. The system’s low
water level shutoff sensor is a
permissible component, and is
positioned 15 feet above the pump’s
intake nozzle. The result of this design
ensures that the electrical components
will always be submerged, preventing
their exposure to the ambient air.
Because the non-permissible
components will always be submerged,
liquid barrier ensures that nonpermissible equipment is not used in
areas where methane may enter the air
current.
(8) The pump system(s) will be in
locations that are inaccessible by miners
and the pumps operate autonomously,
with remote control possible from the
surface.
(9) Petitioner proposes to install
autonomous equipment into a
permanently abandoned area to support
its milling activities on the surface. The
petitioner states that if it is forced to
undertake an alternative extraction
method for the trona solution, the nonautonomous solution will likely require
miners to be involved in the extraction
which is less safe than an autonomous
operation that only requires miners on
the surface. The use of automated,
submersible pump systems allows
petitioner to avoid exposing miners to
hazards associated with underground
mining.
(10) The submersible pumps and
technological upgrades that petitioner
intends to install to perform liquid
mining in underground impounded
areas where no miners are present will
provide a greater measure of safety than
would be provided by having miners
working in these areas who would then
be exposed to the potential hazards of
underground mining. Moreover, the use
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:23 Apr 18, 2019
Jkt 247001
of automated, submersible pumps to
transport a liquid trona solution to the
surface for refining will not result in a
diminution of safety compared to
traditional underground mining
activities.
The modification requested in this
petition provides the same or greater
degree of protection to persons
underground as would be afforded by
other methods of compliance and avoids
reducing safety by the use of other
methods.
Sheila McConnell,
Director, Office of Standards, Regulations,
and Variances.
[FR Doc. 2019–07934 Filed 4–18–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4520–43–P
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Notice of Availability of Draft
Comprehensive Environmental
Evaluation (CEE) for Continuation and
Modernization of McMurdo Station
Area Activities in Antarctica
National Science Foundation.
Notice of Availability.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The National Science
Foundation (NSF) has made available
for public review and comment the
Draft Comprehensive Environmental
Evaluation (CEE) for Continuation and
Modernization of McMurdo Station
Area Activities, pursuant to the
Antarctic Conservation Act, as
amended, its implementing regulations,
and in accordance with the Protocol on
Environmental Protection to the
Antarctic Treaty. The proposed activity
would implement modernization
projects at McMurdo Station while
continuing United States Antarctic
Program (USAP) science and operations
at McMurdo Station and locations
supported by the Station. NSF invites
interested members of the public to
provide written comments on this Draft
CEE. Substantive comments will be
addressed in a Final CEE.
DATES: NSF will accept comment on this
permit application until July 11, 2019.
The draft CEE may be viewed by
interested parties at https://
www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/antarct/treaty/
modernization_cee.jsp.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be addressed to Dr. Polly A. Penhale,
Senior Advisor, Environment, Office of
Polar Programs, National Science
Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue,
Alexandria, Virginia 22314 or
CEE.comments@nsf.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
further information regarding the CEE
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00093
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
16547
process, please contact Dr. Polly A.
Penhale, at the above address, 703–292–
8030, or CEE.comments@nsf.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Notice
of Availability of the CEE to modernize
McMurdo Station and continue
McMurdo area science and operational
activities was also published in the
Federal Register (Vol 84, No.71/Friday,
April 12, 2019, Page 14936) and is
available through the Environmental
Protection Agency’s Environmental
Impact Statement Database at https://
cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-II/
public/action/eis/details?eisId=269627.
Additional information on the
proposed actions and purpose and need
are provided in the Notice of Intent to
prepare a CEE published in the Federal
Register (Vol. 81, No. 164/Wednesday,
August 24, 2016, Pages 57940–57941).
Erika N. Davis,
Program Specialist, Office of Polar Programs.
[FR Doc. 2019–07903 Filed 4–18–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2019–0097]
Information Collection: Nuclear Energy
Innovation and Modernization Act
Local Community Advisory Board
Questionnaire
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Proposed information
collection; request for comment.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) invites public
comment on this proposed collection of
information. The information collection
is entitled, ‘‘Nuclear Energy Innovation
and Modernization Act Local
Community Advisory Board
Questionnaire.’’
SUMMARY:
Submit comments by June 18,
2019. Comments received after this date
will be considered if it is practical to do
so, but the Commission is able to ensure
consideration only for comments
received on or before this date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2019–0097. Address
questions about docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges;
telephone: 301–287–917; email:
Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For technical
questions, contact the individual listed
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this document.
DATES:
E:\FR\FM\19APN1.SGM
19APN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 76 (Friday, April 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16546-16547]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07934]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Mine Safety and Health Administration
Petitions for Modification of Application of Existing Mandatory
Safety Standard
AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice is a summary of petition for modification
submitted to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) by the
parties listed below.
DATES: All comments on the petition must be received by MSHA's Office
of Standards, Regulations, and Variances on or before May 20, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments, identified by ``docket
number'' on the subject line, by any of the following methods:
1. Email: [email protected]. Include the docket number of the
petition in the subject line of the message.
2. Facsimile: 202-693-9441.
3. Regular Mail or Hand Delivery: MSHA, Office of Standards,
Regulations, and Variances, 201 12th Street South, Suite 4E401,
Arlington, Virginia 22202-5452, Attention: Sheila McConnell, Director,
Office of Standards, Regulations, and Variances. Persons delivering
documents are required to check in at the receptionist's desk in Suite
4E401. Individuals may inspect a copy of the petitions and comments
during normal business hours at the address listed above.
MSHA will consider only comments postmarked by the U.S. Postal
Service or proof of delivery from another delivery service such as UPS
or Federal Express on or before the deadline for comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Barron, Office of Standards,
Regulations, and Variances at 202-693-9447 (voice),
[email protected] (email), or 202-693-9441 (fax). [These are not
toll-free numbers.]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety
and Health Act of 1977 and Title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations
Part 44 govern the application, processing, and disposition of
petitions for modification.
I. Background
Section 101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977
(Mine Act) allows the mine operator or representative of miners to file
a petition to modify the application of any mandatory safety standard
to a coal or other mine if the Secretary of Labor (Secretary)
determines that:
1. An alternative method of achieving the result of such standard
exists which will at all times guarantee no less than the same measure
of protection afforded the miners of such mine by such standard; or
2. That the application of such standard to such mine will result
in a diminution of safety to the miners in such mine.
In addition, the regulations at 30 CFR 44.10 and 44.11 establish
the requirements and procedures for filing petitions for modification.
II. Petition for Modification
Docket Number: M-2019-001-M.
Petitioner: Genesis Alkali, LLC, 1801 Wewatta St., Suite 1000,
Denver, Colorado 80202.
Mine: Genesis Alkali @WESTVACO, MSHA I.D. No. 48-00152, located in
Sweetwater County, Wyoming.
Regulation Affected: 30 CFR 57.22305 (Approved equipment (III
mines)).
Modification Request: Petitioner seeks to allow for the
installation of one or more submersible pumps at Westvaco mine. The
first pump would be installed at Westvaco's Extraction Well #5 (EW#5).
The petitioner states that:
(1) Westvaco is an underground trona mine. Since 1988, underground
tailings disposal and secondary resource recovery have been part of the
mining operation. Sections of mine workings have been abandoned and
flooded with water/tailings. There is no access to these areas by
miners due to the topography of the mine. As the tailings dewater in
the mine, the water becomes a solution that recovers trona left by the
room and pillar mining techniques employed in these abandoned areas.
(2) Petitioner plans to install submersible pumps through wells
from the surface to access this impounded trona-bearing liquor. The
pumps will be strategically placed in the topographically lowest
developments to ensure a flooded condition. Westvaco currently has
monitor wells near these areas which indicate the areas are flooded
with water completely. As further assurance of flooded conditions, the
wells will be drilled through the mine floor to countersink the pumps
an additional depth to ensure the pumps' intakes and motors remain
below the mine floor. The pump motors, by design, are positioned below
the pump intake to prevent the pump from drying the hole out.
Specifically, the pump system's design ensures that the electrical
components will be submerged, preventing their exposure to the mine's
ambient air.
(3) The proposed pump system at Westvaco will be installed from the
surface. The pump system(s) will be lowered underground via EW#5, into
the northwest area of Westvaco that is permanently abandoned and has
been inactive for more than twenty years. EW#5 is approximately 10,200
feet away from the nearest hoist and travelway. The distance between
EW#5 and the areas of Westvaco where miners will be working and
traveling is at least 15,000 feet, if not more.
(4) After the bore mining and longwall operations in the northwest
corner of Westvaco had finished, petitioner intentionally flooded that
area in the mid 1980s. By flooding that area, petitioner can engage in
liquid/solution mining to recover trona from the gob. The topography of
the mine area allows water levels in the flooded area to be deep enough
to ``top out'' against the roof, effectively filling the entire region
of the abandoned mine area. Along with this water barrier, petitioner
installed barricades (stoppings) on the flooded area's perimeter. The
barricades are comprised of 6'' x 8'' x 24'' wood blocks, installed
rib-to-rib and floor-to-roof. Petitioner uses foam sealant around the
edges of each barricade. Therefore, there are two physical designs--the
wooden blocks and the impoundment--to prevent miners from accidentally
or intentionally accessing the permanently abandoned area from the
active longwall and bore miner operations.
(5) The submersible pump systems will be installed from the surface
into the permanently abandoned, flooded areas. Westvaco miners will not
be involved in the extraction of the trona solution because they cannot
access the area due to the water levels and the barricades.
(6) The permanently abandoned area at Westvaco is not ventilated;
therefore, the air current(s) at Westvaco do not flow through the area.
In addition, there are several factors that would inhibit any
accumulated methane that was in the abandoned area from entering the
fresh air current at Westvaco.
These factors are:
--The impounded area is unventilated, meaning the airflow in that
location will fluctuate as a function of temperature and pressures of
the
[[Page 16547]]
ambient air. This unventilated area borders the return air-courses of
the active mine. Any gases that emit from the abandoned area will be
carried to an exhaust vent shaft and removed from the mine--never
reaching any active work areas or areas not already maintained to
function in a gassy environment.
--Westvaco's active workings receive forced air from the surface. This
mechanical ventilation creates a positive pressure environment that
impedes the air in the impounded area from migrating through the
barricades.
--The abandoned area is flooded, creating a liquid barrier between the
submersible pump components and the ambient air.
(7) The physical design of the submersible pump system places the
intake nozzle above the pump system's electrical components. The
system's low water level shutoff sensor is a permissible component, and
is positioned 15 feet above the pump's intake nozzle. The result of
this design ensures that the electrical components will always be
submerged, preventing their exposure to the ambient air. Because the
non-permissible components will always be submerged, liquid barrier
ensures that non-permissible equipment is not used in areas where
methane may enter the air current.
(8) The pump system(s) will be in locations that are inaccessible
by miners and the pumps operate autonomously, with remote control
possible from the surface.
(9) Petitioner proposes to install autonomous equipment into a
permanently abandoned area to support its milling activities on the
surface. The petitioner states that if it is forced to undertake an
alternative extraction method for the trona solution, the non-
autonomous solution will likely require miners to be involved in the
extraction which is less safe than an autonomous operation that only
requires miners on the surface. The use of automated, submersible pump
systems allows petitioner to avoid exposing miners to hazards
associated with underground mining.
(10) The submersible pumps and technological upgrades that
petitioner intends to install to perform liquid mining in underground
impounded areas where no miners are present will provide a greater
measure of safety than would be provided by having miners working in
these areas who would then be exposed to the potential hazards of
underground mining. Moreover, the use of automated, submersible pumps
to transport a liquid trona solution to the surface for refining will
not result in a diminution of safety compared to traditional
underground mining activities.
The modification requested in this petition provides the same or
greater degree of protection to persons underground as would be
afforded by other methods of compliance and avoids reducing safety by
the use of other methods.
Sheila McConnell,
Director, Office of Standards, Regulations, and Variances.
[FR Doc. 2019-07934 Filed 4-18-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4520-43-P