(1) A mine ventilation plan and any revision of an existing mine ventilation plan shall be suitable to the ventilation conditions and mining system of each mine. The mine ventilation plan and any revisions to the mine ventilation plan approved by the United States Mine Safety and Health Administration shall be submitted to the director or his or her authorized representative and incorporated into the license. All mine ventilation plans shall be set forth in printed form. The mine ventilation plan shall require the air quality throughout the mine to contain at least nineteen and one- half percent (19.5%) oxygen and not more than one-half of one percent (0.5%) of carbon dioxide, and the volume and velocity of the air current shall be sufficient to dilute, render harmless, and carry away flammable, explosive, noxious, and harmful gases and dust, smoke, and fumes. A copy of the mine ventilation plan and any revisions to that plan shall be available to the miners and their representatives.
(2) The ventilation of all underground coal mines shall be produced by means of mechanically operated fans located outside the mine in fireproof housing and offset at least fifteen (15) feet to one (1) side or above the opening, protected by explosion doors or weak walls and arranged so that ventilating current may be reversed if necessary. The fan shall be installed so as to prevent recirculation of mine air. The main fan shall be operated from a power circuit independent from the mine circuit. If inside auxiliary fans are required to ventilate working places the commissioner must first approve the installation.
(3) The licensee, superintendent, or foreman of every coal mine worked by shaft, slope, or drift shall provide and maintain for every mine two (2) separate and distinct escapeways, one (1) of which is vented by the intake air. However, if a mine was originally licensed prior to January 1, 1990, the commissioner may approve an alternate ventilation plan. Each active working section shall be ventilated by a separate split of intake air. In all mines the quantity of air passing through the last open crosscut between the intake and return in any pair or sets of entries shall be not less than nine thousand (9,000) cubic feet of air per minute and as much more as is necessary to dilute and render harmless and carry away flammable and harmful gases. All working faces from which coal is being cut, mined, or loaded in a working section between the intake and return airway entries shall be ventilated with a minimum quantity of three thousand (3,000) cubic feet of air per minute and as much more as is necessary to dilute and render harmless and carry away flammable and harmful gases. The quantity of air reaching the last crosscut in pillar sections may be less than nine thousand (9,000) cubic feet of air per minute if at least nine thousand (9,000) cubic feet of air per minute is being delivered to the intake of the pillar line. The air current shall under any conditions have a sufficient volume and velocity to reduce and carry away smoke from blasting and any flammable or harmful gases.
(4) All mines shall maintain at least nine thousand (9,000) cubic feet of air per minute at the points mentioned in subsection (3) of this section. The commissioner shall have the authority to require additional air in any mine when he deems it necessary
for the safety of the employees.
(5) When the air from a split has passed through and has ventilated all the working places in an air split of a mine it shall then be designated as return air. Return-air courses shall not be designated as primary escapeways.
(6) As working places advance, breakthroughs for air shall be made not more than ninety (90) feet apart, except that where longwall or modern systems of mining are used the commissioner or his authorized representative may approve a greater distance between breakthroughs or the method of ventilating such longwall or modern systems of mining. If any breakthroughs between intake and return airways are not required for the passage of air or the travel of equipment, they shall be closed with stoppings. All permanent stoppings shall be substantially built with suitable incombustible or fire resistant material subject to the approval of the mine inspector so as to keep the working places well ventilated. All brattice cloth and ventilation tubing shall be flame resistant. Doors on the main haulways shall be avoided where practicable, and overcasts, built of concrete or other suitable material and of ample strength, shall be adopted. Where doors are used they shall be built in a substantial manner, and shall be hung so as to close automatically when unobstructed.
(7) In a mine where methane can be found to an extent of one percent (1%) or more on the return of any one (1) split, the mine safety specialist, with the approval of the commissioner, may require the mine to be ventilated by the exhaust system, requiring the haulage roads and all feed wires to be located on the intake air and the electrical system to be so arranged that no wires carrying electrical current shall be on return air. A period of not more than ninety (90) days from date of notification shall be allowed to make the changes required.
(8) The ventilation plan shall require all fans utilized in the ventilation plan to be in continuous operation unless the fan must be turned off for repairs or maintenance, during which time all persons must be withdrawn from the mine. After the mine fan is restarted following the completion of repairs or maintenance, it must be in operation for a sufficient period to ensure air quality and the equalization of the mine atmosphere. Within fifteen (15) minutes after a fan has been unintentionally stopped, all miners must begin withdrawing from the mine. If the fan is restarted before the miners reach the surface, the miners shall remain at the point of their retreat, and the area inby shall be preshifted prior to the miners returning to the section.
Effective: June 24, 2015
History: Amended 2015 Ky. Acts ch. 87, sec. 29, effective June 24, 2015. — Amended
2007 Ky. Acts ch. 94, sec. 12, effective June 26, 2007.. — Amended 2006 Ky. Acts ch. 185, sec. 14, effective July 12, 2006. — Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 355, sec. 9, effective July 15, 2002. — Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 308, sec. 22, effective April
9, 1996. — Amended 1976 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 8, sec. 20. — Amended
1976 Ky. Acts ch. 174, sec. 5. — Amended 1972 Ky. Acts ch. 303, sec. 2. — Amended 1952 Ky. Acts ch. 162, sec. 15, effective March 5, 1952. — Recodified
1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 2739-
19.
Legislative Research Commission Note (4/9/96). The action taken with respect to this statute by 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 308 was to have become effective April 8, 1996, under Section 51 of that Act. The Act, however, did not become effective until April 9,
1996, when the Governor’s signed copy of the Act was filed with the Secretary of
State.