Ohio Code 1514.47 – Certified mine forepersons; 30 CFR part 56 examinations
(A)(1) The operator of a surface mining operation shall employ a certified mine foreperson to be in charge of the conditions and practices at the mine and to be responsible for conducting examinations of the surface mining operation under 30 C.F.R. part 56, as amended.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 1514.47
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
- Certified mine foreperson: means the person whom the operator of a surface mining operation places in charge of the conditions and practices at the mine, who is responsible for conducting workplace examinations under 30 C. See Ohio Code 1514.01
- in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures; this provision does not affect any law relating to signatures. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Operator: means any person engaged in surface mining who removes minerals, or minerals and incidental coal, from the earth by surface mining or who removes overburden for the purpose of determining the location, quality, or quantity of a mineral deposit. See Ohio Code 1514.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Surface mining: means all or any part of a process followed in the production of minerals from the earth or from the surface of the land by surface excavation methods, such as open pit mining, dredging, placering, or quarrying, and includes the removal of overburden for the purpose of determining the location, quantity, or quality of mineral deposits, and the incidental removal of coal at a rate less than one-sixth the total weight of minerals and coal removed during the year, but does not include: test or exploration boring; mining operations carried out beneath the surface by means of shafts, tunnels, or similar mine openings; the extraction of minerals, other than coal, by a landowner for the landowner's own noncommercial use where such material is extracted and used in an unprocessed form on the same tract of land; the extraction of minerals, other than coal, from borrow pits for highway construction purposes, provided that the extraction is performed under a bond, a contract, and specifications that substantially provide for and require reclamation practices consistent with the requirements of this chapter; the removal of minerals incidental to construction work, provided that the owner or person having control of the land upon which the construction occurs, the contractor, or the construction firm possesses a valid building permit; the removal of minerals to a depth of not more than five feet, measured from the highest original surface elevation of the area to be excavated, where not more than one acre of land is excavated during twelve successive calendar months; routine dredging of a watercourse for purely navigational or flood control purposes during which materials are removed for noncommercial purposes, including activities conducted by or on behalf of a conservancy district, organized under Chapter 6101. See Ohio Code 1514.01
- surface mining operation: means all of the premises, facilities, and equipment used in the process of removing minerals, or minerals and incidental coal, by surface mining from a mining area in the creation of which mining area overburden or minerals, or minerals and incidental coal, are disturbed or removed, such surface mining area being located upon a single tract of land or upon two or more contiguous tracts of land. See Ohio Code 1514.01
(2) Examinations of surface mining operations for the purposes of 30 C.F.R. part 56, as amended, shall be conducted by one of the following:
(i) A certified mine foreperson;
(ii) A person who is qualified to conduct such examinations as provided in division (D) of this section;
(iii) A person designated by the certified mine foreperson as a competent person.
(3) For purposes of this section, a competent person is a person who has been trained in accordance with 30 C.F.R. part 46 and been determined by a certified mine foreperson to have demonstrated the ability, training, knowledge, or experience necessary to perform the duty to which the person is assigned. A person is not a competent person if the chief of the division of mineral resources management demonstrates, with good cause, that the person does not have the ability, training, knowledge, or experience necessary to perform that duty.
(4) The operator of a surface mining operation shall maintain records demonstrating that a competent person designated by a certified mine foreperson has the ability, training, knowledge, or experience to perform the duty to which the person is assigned as well as records of the competent person’s training in accordance with 30 C.F.R. part 46. The operator shall make the records available to the chief upon request.
(B) The chief shall conduct examinations for the position of certified mine foreperson in accordance with rules. In order to be eligible for examination as a certified mine foreperson, an applicant shall file with the chief an affidavit establishing the applicant’s qualifications to take the examination. The chief shall grade examinations and issue certificates.
(C)(1) A certificate issued under this section shall not expire unless the certificate holder has not been employed in a surface mining operation for five consecutive years. If the certificate holder has not been employed in a surface mining operation for five consecutive years, the certificate holder may retake the mine foreperson examination or may petition the chief to accept past employment history in lieu of fulfilling the employment requirement established in this division. The chief shall grant or deny the petition by issuance of an order. If the chief grants the petition, the chief shall reissue the certificate.
(2) If a certificate issued under this section is suspended, the certificate shall not be renewed until the suspension period expires and the person whose certificate is suspended successfully completes all actions required by the chief. If an applicant’s license, certificate, or similar authority that is issued by another state to perform specified mining duties is suspended or revoked by that state, the applicant shall be ineligible for examination for or renewal of a certificate in this state during that period of suspension or revocation. A certificate that has been revoked shall not be renewed.
(3) If a person who has been certified by the chief under this section purposely violates this chapter, the chief may suspend or revoke the certificate after an investigation and hearing conducted in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code are completed.
(4) If a person holds a certificate issued under this section that has not expired prior to the effective date of this amendment, the chief, upon request, shall reissue to that person a certificate that does not expire as provided in division (C)(1) of this section.
(5) If a person holds a certificate issued under this section that expired on or after April 7, 2012, and has not been issued a new certificate prior to the effective date of this amendment, the chief, upon request, shall issue to that person a certificate that does not expire as provided in division (C)(1) of this section, provided that the person is in compliance with all other applicable requirements established in this chapter and rules adopted under it.
(D) In lieu of employing a certified mine foreperson, the operator of a surface mining operation may submit to the chief a detailed training plan under which persons who qualify under the plan may conduct and document examinations at the surface mining operation for purposes of 30 C.F.R. part 56, as amended. The chief shall review the plan and determine if the plan complies with the requirements established in rules. The chief shall approve or deny the plan and notify in writing the operator who submitted the plan of the chief’s decision.
Last updated February 22, 2023 at 2:39 PM