Building on the West Virginia Legislature's action earlier in the year, the Mine Improvement and Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006 called for a communication or control center to monitor communication and tracking/locating systems whenever one or more miners are underground. The control center operator must be a certified underground miner, who is knowledgeable about the mine's layout, communication network, warning systems, escape-ways, and emergency response plans (ERPs). The mines need to report accidents to the appropriate agencies within 15 minutes of the occurrence.
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