Permits for firing more than 20 boreholes and for use of nonpermissible blasting units.

§ 75.1321 Permits for firing more than 20 boreholes and for use of nonpermissible blasting units. (a) Applications for permits for firing more than 20 boreholes in a round and for the use of nonpermissible blasting units shall be submitted in writing to the District Manager for the district in which the mine is located and shall contain the following information: (1) The name and address of the mine; (2) The active workings in the mine affected by the permit and the approximate number of boreholes to be fired; (3) The period of time during which the permit will apply; (4) The nature of the development or construction for which they will be used, e.g., overcasts, undercasts, track grading, roof brushing or boom holes; (5) A plan, proposed by the operator designed to protect miners in the mine from the hazards of methane and other explosive gases during each multiple shot, e.g., changes in the mine ventilation system, provisions for auxiliary ventilation and any other safeguards necessary to minimize such hazards; (6) A statement of the specific hazards anticipated by the operator in blasting for overcasts, undercasts, track grading, brushing of roof, boom holes or other unusual blasting situations such as coalbeds of abnormal thickness; and (7) The method to be employed to avoid the dangers anticipated during development or construction which will ensure the protection of life and the prevention of injuries to the miners exposed to such underground blasting. (b) The District Manager may permit the firing of more than 20 boreholes of permissible explosives in a round where he has determined that it is necessary to reduce the overall hazard to which miners are exposed during underground blasting. He may also permit the use of nonpermissible blasting units if he finds that a permissible blasting unit does not have adequate blasting capacity and that the use of such permissible units will create any of the following development or construction hazards: (1) Exposure to disturbed roof in an adjacent cavity while scaling and supporting the remaining roof prior to wiring a new series of boreholes; (2) Exposure to underburden boreholes where prior rounds have removed the burden adjacent to a remaining borehole; (3) Exposure to an unsupported roof while redrilling large fragmented roof rock following the loss of predrilled boreholes during earlier blasting operations; or (4) Any other hazard created by the use of permissible blasting units during underground development or construction. (c) Permits shall be issued on a mine-by-mine basis for periods of time to be specified by the District Manager. (d) Permits issued under this section shall specify and include as a condition of their use, any safeguards, in addition to those proposed by the operator, which the District Manager issuing such permit has determined will be required to ensure the welfare of the miners employed in the mine at the time of the blasting permitted. [35 FR 17890, Nov. 20, 1970, as amended at 60 FR 33723, June 29, 1995]