                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

 EVALUATION OF RISKS AT MINES (§ 45.2-560)

A. For the purpose of allocating the resources of the Department to be used for
conducting additional inspections, the Department shall develop a procedural
policy of scheduling such inspections based on an assessment, to be made at
least annually, of the comparative risks at each underground coal mine and
surface coal mine. The Department shall prepare its procedural policy with the
assistance of working groups consisting of persons knowledgeable in mine safety
issues. The issuance of the procedural policy shall be exempt from Article 2
(&#xA7; 2.2-4006 et seq.) of the Administrative Process Act. Variables that
shall be included in the risk assessment measures include: (i) fatality and
serious accident rates at the mine; (ii) the rates of issuance of closure orders
and notices of violations of the mine safety laws of the Commonwealth, including
regulations adopted by the Department or the Board of Coal Mining Examiners, at
the mine; and (iii) the frequency rates for nonserious accidents or nonfatal
days lost.

B. The Chief shall schedule additional inspections at underground coal mines and
surface coal mines based on the rating assigned to a mine reflecting the
assessment of its risks compared to other such mines pursuant to the assessment
described in subsection A.

HISTORY: 1994, c. 28, § 45.1-161.82; 1997, c. 390; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.