On Friday (5/1), the WV Office of Miners Health Safety & Training filed a set of rules with the Secretary of State's Office Governing the Safety of Miners Employed in and around River Loadouts.
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Emergency "Barge" Rules Filed
The rules create a new certification of "riverman" and require all “rivermen” to have "riverman” task training before boarding a barge for the transport of coal. "Riverman" is defined as a person employed by an operator to engage in the loading and unloading of coal on a barge at a river loadout facility permitted by WVOMHST and moving such barge(s) within the facility. The rules additionally extend the relevant provisions of Chapter 22A to river loadout facilities and require all individuals on barges to wear life jackets.
These rules have been proposed in response to a fatality earlier this year and were submitted as “emergency rules” which must be approved by the Secretary of State before they can take effect.