The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently released changes to the conferencing system. The new structure centralizes authority under national supervisors rather than local District Managers.
MSHA has published a notice in the Federal Register stating that the effective date of the 2024 Silica Rule is indefinitely delayed for metal and nonmetal mines. Metal and nonmetal mines should continue to follow the existing standards in Part 56 and Part 57.
The notification provides:
In accordance with the court order, MSHA will
The average mining operator now spends over $20,000 per year on citations and penalties. In this must-attend cost-savings workshop, held from September 15 to 17, 2026, you’ll learn how to reduce or eliminate fines—and improve safety conditions. In an era of increasing citations, this workshop will prepare you for Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspections so you can avoid penalties.
On January 8, 2026, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) issued a communication encouraging electronic filing of the Quarterly Mine Employment and Coal Production Report (MSHA Form 7000-2). This transition to online submissions is part of MSHA’s broader effort to improve the efficiency of the reporting process.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced in a November 26, 2025, status report to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit (where the rule is currently being litigated), its plans to “engage in limited rulemaking to reconsider and seek comments on portions of the Silica Rule.” The Eighth Circuit required MSHA to provide an update on its rulemaking efforts by February 2, 2026.
This week the Senate confirmed the new leaders of OSHA and MSHA. David Keeling is the new Assistant Secretary of OSHA and Wayne Palmer is the new Assistant Secretary for MSHA.
Per a U.S. Department of Labor memo entitled “Plan for the Continuation of Limited Activities During a Lapse in Appropriations,” many employees of OSHA and MSHA are currently furloughed.
At the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), of the agency’s 1,590 employees, only 879 will not be furloughed. Of those 879 employees, 674
On September 19, 2025, the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission issued a decision, Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, that re-defined the interpretation of the “significant and substantial” (S&S) standard of Section 104(d) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act. The standard has undergone shifting interpretations over the decades. The Secretary did not request a review of the S&S test on appeal. However, the Commission’s decision revised the test to require only (1) a hazard to which the violation could contribute, and (2) that the violation significantly and substantially contributes to that hazard – making it substantially easier for the Secretary of Labor (and MSHA inspectors) to support and uphold S&S allegations.
The average mining operator now spends over $20,000 per year on citations and penalties. In this must-attend cost-savings workshop, learn how to reduce or eliminate fines—with the added benefit of improved safety conditions. In an era of increasing citations, this workshop will prepare you to handle Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspectors and challenge citations.
Register here to meet September 3–5, 2025, from 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time at Husch Blackwell’s Denver office at 1801 Wewatta Street, Suite 1000.
Over the last week, the Trump administration has put forward its nominees for Assistant Secretary for both the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Health and Safety Administration (MSHA).