805 KAR 3:030. Ground control

      Section 1. Ground Control. (1) Practices and standards acceptable to the commissioner for the safe control of surface mine walls, including the overall slope of the mine wall, shall be established and followed by the operator. Such standards shall be consistent with sound engineering, the nature of the ground and the seam mined, and the ensuring of safe working conditions according to the degree of slope. Mining methods shall be selected which will provide wall stability, including benching, if necessary, to obtain a safe overall slope.

      (2) All loose and hazardous material shall be stripped for safe distance from the edge of the highwall.

      (3) The width and height of benches shall be governed by the type of equipment to be used and the operation to be performed.

      (4) Safe means of scaling walls shall be provided. Loose material or trees on exposed wall areas shall be removed before any other work is performed in the exposed wall area.

      (5) Men shall not work under dangerous walls. Hazardous overhanging walls shall be taken down immediately and other unsafe ground conditions shall be corrected promptly, or the areas shall be barricaded or posted.

      (6) When removing rock by hand, men shall approach loose rock and areas on walls to be scaled from above and shall scale from a safe location.

      (7) The supervisor or a competent person designated by him shall examine working areas and faces of walls for unsafe conditions at least at the beginning of each shift, during the shift while men are working, and after blasting. Any unsafe condition found shall be corrected before any further work is performed at the immediate area or face at which the unsafe condition exists.

      (8) Men shall examine their working places before starting work and frequently thereafter and any unsafe condition shall be reported immediately to the supervisor before any other work is performed.

      (9) Large boulders requiring secondary blasting shall be in a safe location before they are drilled or broken.

      (10) Men shall not be permitted to work between equipment and the mine wall where the equipment may hinder escape from falls or slides of the walls unless special safety precautions are taken in advance. (SMS-2; 1 Ky.R. 848; eff. 5-14-75.)

Notation

      RELATES TO: KRS 351.070

      STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 351.070

      NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: This administrative regulation is to establish safety standards governing ground control in the operation of the Commonwealth's surface type coal and clay mines which include strip and auger mining operations.