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.
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.