Recently, the General Office of the Ministry of Emergency Management ("MEM") and the General Office of the National Coal Mine Safety Administration ("NCMSA") have jointly issued the Detailed Rules for Prevention and Control of Coal and Gas Bursts (Draft for Comment) (the "Draft for Comment") to seek opinions from the entities concerned by February 27, 2019.
As a revision of the previous Detailed Rules for Prevention and Control of Coal and Gas Bursts, the Draft for Comment adds to Article 4 a new requirement that "coal mines experiencing bursts shall establish an early warning mechanism to prevent potential bursts and give grade-based early warnings"; introduces a new article as Article 9, reading "coal mine enterprises and scientific research institutes are encouraged to carry out research into, test, and promote the application of, new technologies and equipment that are helpful to preventing and controlling coal and gas bursts"; and removes certain requirements, reading "new work planes and mining areas must pass the special anti-burst acceptance inspections organized by the coal mine safety regulator of the local people's government according to its administrative authority, before being put into operation for production activities; otherwise, they cannot be used for any production activities", set forth in the original Article 14. Also, the Draft for Comment removes the original Article 56 and the original Chapter VI "Punishment Provisions".