MSHA Can Improve How Violations Are Issued, Terminated, Modified, and Vacated

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health: Update system controls to improve compliance of MSHA violations with the Mine Act and MSHA guidance in the following instances: a. Verify only authorized violation types used; b. Include all required phrases automatically in the “Condition or Practice” entry when the inspector selects 103(a) citations, 104(g)(1) orders, 104(e)(1)/104(e)(2) orders, or 107(a) orders; c. Ensure 104(d) orders and 104(g)(1) orders cite eligible CFR sections; d. Verify the correlations between the CFR or Mine Act sections of 104(b) orders and the original violation; e. Verify 104(d)(1) orders, 104(d)(2) orders, 104(e)(1) orders, and 104(e)(2) orders reference the correct “initial action” by including additional crucial attributes in the system controls, such as issue date, event number, and event start date; f. Verify orders have the “Area or Equipment” entry populated when initially issuing the violation; g. Apply system controls to modifications done directly in MCAS, such as modifications due to court decisions or settlements; h. Identify modifications needed to other violations when vacating or modifying a violation; i. Verify the reasonableness of the due dates and provide warnings to inspectors when due dates appear longer than necessary; and j. Provide a warning message to inspectors when trying to issue a safeguard at a mine that would lead to multiple safeguards citing the same regulation issued for a single mine.

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health: Develop a metric to measure performance and an internal control to verify timely uploading of violations from the inspector’s laptop/tablet into MCAS.

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health: Work with the Solicitor’s Office and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission to implement a process to ensure violations listed in settlement agreements or court decisions still comply with the Mine Act and Mathies test.