THE BYRD-ROCKEFELLER MINE SAFETY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

For clients and friends of Jackson Kelly PLLC
Volume 6, Number 19
©2010 Jackson Kelly PLLC

The financial reform bill (the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,” Pub L. 111-203) that the President signed into law on July 21, 2010, contains new reporting requirements for publicly traded mining companies. The late Senator Robert C. Byrd joined with Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV in creating an amendment to the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 that was included in the recently-passed financial reform bill. The mine safety amendment requires that publicly-traded companies that are operators of a coal or other mine (or that have a subsidiary that is an operator of a coal or other mine) include various mine safety violations in their 10-K and 10-Q reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Information that must be filed with the SEC includes: 

• The total number of violations of mandatory health or safety standards that could significantly and substantially contribute to the cause and effect of a coal or other mine safety or health hazard under section 104 of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the “Mine Act”) for which the operator received a citation from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”).
• The total number of orders issued under section 104(b) of the Mine Act.
• The total number of citations and orders for unwarrantable failure of the mine operator to comply with mandatory health or safety standards issued under section 104(d) of the Mine Act.
• The total number of violations assessed as flagrant under section 110(b)(2) of the Mine Act.
• The total number of imminent danger orders issued under section 107(a) of the Mine Act.
• The total dollar value of proposed assessments from MSHA.
• The total number of mining-related fatalities.
• A list of the mines that have received written notice from MSHA of a pattern of violations notice or written notice of the potential to have a pattern of violations.
• Any pending legal action before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission involving a coal or other mine.

Beginning from the date of enactment, the new law also requires each operator to file a current report with the SEC on Form 8-K disclosing the receipt of each imminent danger order issued under section 107(a) of the Mine Act and any written notice from MSHA of a pattern of violations or the potential of a pattern of violations issued to any operator (and its subsidiaries) of a coal or other mine. The new law also provides for SEC penalties for failure to properly disclose any of the above-listed information. 

The effective date of this amendment is August 20, 2010.

Please contact any of Jackson Kelly PLLC’s Safety and Health attorneys if you have any questions regarding this reporting requirement.


OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH PRACTICE GROUP
Denver, Colorado

Responsible Attorney
Karen L. Johnston
(303) 390-0008
kjohnston@jacksonkelly.com 

For more information, contact: 

Laura E. Beverage (303) 390-0003	Karen L. Johnston (303) 390-0003
R. Henry Moore (412) 434-8801	Michael T. Cimino (304) 340-1000

The Jackson Kelly PLLC Occupational Safety and Health News Alert is for informational purposes only and not for the purposes of offering legal advice or a legal opinion on any matter. No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any statement in the Jackson Kelly PLLC Occupational Safety and Health News Alert without seeking advice from qualified legal counsel on the particular facts and circumstances involved.

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KAREN L. JOHNSTON IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENTS OF THIS ALERT.