§ 45.2-573. Prosecution of violations
A. It is the duty of every attorney for the Commonwealth to whom the Director or his authorized representative has reported any violation of the Act or on his own initiative to cause proceedings to be prosecuted in such case. B. If the attorney for the Commonwealth declines to cause proceedings to be prosecuted in […]
§ 45.2-569. Closure orders
A. The Director, the Chief, or a mine inspector shall issue a closure order requiring any mine or section thereof cleared of all persons, or equipment removed from use, and refusing further entry into the mine by all persons except those necessary to correct or eliminate a hazardous condition, when (i) a violation of the […]
§ 45.2-570. Tolling of time for abating violations
The period of time specified in a notice of violation for the abatement of the violation shall not begin to run until (i) the final decision of the Department is issued, if an administrative appeal of its issuance is pursued, or (ii) the final order of the circuit court is rendered, if an appeal of […]
§ 45.2-567. Inspection reports
A. Upon completing a mine inspection, a mine inspector shall complete a report regarding such inspection. The inspection report shall show the date of inspection, the condition in which the mine is found, a statement regarding any violations of the Act discovered during the inspection, the progress made in the improvement of the mine as […]
§ 45.2-568. Notices of violations
A. If the Director, the Chief, or a mine inspector has reasonable cause to believe that a violation of the Act has occurred, he shall with reasonable promptness issue a notice of violation to the person responsible for the violation. Each notice of violation shall be in writing, shall describe with particularity the nature of […]
§ 45.2-564. Denial of entry
No person shall deny the Chief, the Director, or any mine inspector entry upon or through (i) a mine for the purpose of conducting an inspection or (ii) any office at the site where maps or records relating to the mine are located, in accordance with the Act. Code 1950, § 45-17; 1954, c. 191; […]
§ 45.2-565. Duties of operator
A. The operator or his agent of each mine shall furnish the Chief and any mine inspector proper facilities for entering such mine and making examinations or obtaining information and shall furnish any data or information not of a confidential nature requested by such inspector or the Chief. B. The operator of an underground coal […]
§ 45.2-566. Duties of inspectors
A. During a complete inspection of a mine, other than an inactive mine, the mine inspector shall inspect, where applicable, the surface plant; all active workings; all active travel ways; entrances to inaccessible worked-out areas; accessible worked-out areas; at least one entry of each intake and return airway in its entirety; escapeways and other places […]
§ 45.2-563. Scheduling of mine inspections
A. The Chief and the Director shall schedule the inspections of mines under this article, to the extent deemed reasonable and prudent, in order to reduce their chronological proximity to inspections conducted by MSHA. B. The Chief, the Director, and each mine inspector, to the extent deemed reasonable and prudent, shall schedule mine inspections to […]
§ 45.2-560. Evaluation of risks at mines
A. For the purpose of allocating the resources of the Department to be used for conducting additional inspections, the Department shall develop a procedural policy of scheduling such inspections based on an assessment, to be made at least annually, of the comparative risks at each underground coal mine and surface coal mine. The Department shall […]