- (a) MSHA may elect to waive the regular assessment under § 100.3 if it determines that conditions warrant a special assessment.
- (b) When MSHA determines that a special assessment is appropriate, the proposed penalty will be based on the six criteria set forth in § 100.3(a). All findings shall be in narrative form.
- (c) Any operator who fails to correct a violation for which a citation has been issued under Section 104(a) of the Mine Act within the period permitted for its correction may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $9,820 for each day during which such failure or violation continues.
- (d) Any miner who willfully violates the mandatory safety standards relating to smoking or the carrying of smoking materials, matches, or lighters shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $414 for each occurrence of such violation.
- (e) Violations that are deemed to be flagrant under section 110(b)(2) of the Mine Act may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $332,376. For purposes of this section, a flagrant violation means “a reckless or repeated failure to make reasonable efforts to eliminate a known violation of a mandatory health or safety standard that substantially and proximately caused, or reasonably could have been expected to cause, death or serious bodily injury.”
[72 FR 13635, Mar. 22, 2007, as amended at 73 FR 7210, Feb. 7, 2008; 74 FR 68919, Dec. 29, 2009; 77 FR 76408, Dec. 28, 2012; 81 FR 43456, July 1, 2016; 82 FR 5383, Jan. 18, 2017; 83 FR 14, Jan. 2, 2018; 84 FR 220, Jan. 23, 2019; 85 FR 2299, Jan. 15, 2020; 86 FR 2970, Jan. 14, 2021; 87 FR 2336, Jan. 14, 2022; 88 FR 2218, Jan. 13, 2023; 89 FR 1818, Jan. 11, 2024; 90 FR 1862, Jan. 10, 2025]