                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

 REGULATIONS GOVERNING CONDITIONS AND PRACTICES AT SURFACE COAL MINES (§
45.2-901)

A. The Chief may, after consultation with the Virginia Coal Mine Safety Board
and in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (§
2.2-4000 et seq.), adopt regulations necessary to ensure safe and healthy
working conditions in surface coal mines in the Commonwealth. Such regulations
governing surface coal mines shall relate to:

   1. Safety and health standards for the protection of the life, health, and
   property of, and the prevention of injuries to, persons involved in or likely
   to be affected by any surface coal mining. Such regulations shall include
   standards for the control of dust concentration levels; the installation,
   maintenance, and use of electrical devices, equipment, cables, and wires; fire
   protection; the use and storage of explosives; hoistings; drilling; loading
   and haulage areas; the training of surface miners; the preparation of
   responses to emergencies; examinations of conditions at a surface mine site;
   and reporting requirements;

   2. The storage or disposal of any matter or material that is (i) extracted or
   disturbed as the result of a surface coal mining operation or (ii) used in the
   surface coal mining operation or for the refinement or preparation of the
   material that is extracted from the surface coal mining operation, so that
   such matter or material does not threaten the health, safety, or property of
   miners or the general public; and

   3. The operation, inspection, operating condition, and movement of drilling
   equipment and machines to protect the health, safety, and property of miners
   and the general public.

B. The Chief shall adopt no regulation establishing a requirement for the
operation of, or for conditions at, a surface coal mine that is inconsistent
with any requirement established by the Act.

HISTORY: Code 1950, §§ 45-8, 45-84; 1954, c. 191; 1966, c. 594, § 45.1-104;
1972, c. 784; 1974, c. 323; 1975, c. 520; 1978, c. 120; 1982, c. 118; 1990, c.
963; 1994, c. 28, § 45.1-161.254; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.