MSHA Finalizes Five Changes to Mine Safety Regulations
The changes address electrical equipment, diesel particulate matter and other requirements for underground mining operations.
- By Stasia DeMarco
- Nov 10, 2026
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced five final rules Nov. 10 that remove or revise regulatory requirements affecting underground coal mines and metal and nonmetal mining operations.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the changes eliminate outdated provisions, duplicative requirements and rules governing equipment or mining practices that are no longer used. The agency said the revisions will not reduce existing protections for miners.
The five final rules address several areas of mine safety and health:
- Permissible lamps: Removes duplicative requirements governing electric cap lamps and other electric lamps used in underground coal mines.
- Diesel particulate matter: Eliminates outdated requirements related to personal exposure limits for diesel particulate matter in underground metal and nonmetal mines.
- Foam generator systems: Removes requirements for installing foam generator systems that are no longer applicable to underground coal mines.
- Electrical face equipment: Eliminates requirements based on whether coal seams are located above the water table, reflecting the consistent treatment of underground coal mines regardless of their location relative to the water table.
- Final mining of pillars: Removes requirements associated with final pillar mining using a single mine opening, a practice the agency said is no longer used.
The changes are part of a broader effort by MSHA to update its regulatory framework by removing provisions the agency considers obsolete or unnecessary.
Earlier in 2026, MSHA finalized four additional regulatory changes involving flame safety lamps, diesel particulate matter emissions in underground coal mines, conveyor belts and blacksmith shops.
The five new final rules are scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Nov. 12 and will take effect 30 days after publication.
MSHA maintains that the revisions will simplify compliance requirements while preserving existing mine safety and health protections.
About the Author
Stasia DeMarco is the content editor of Occupational Health & Safety.