The Mine Safety and Health Administration today released a rule aimed at making it easier for regulators to tag a mine for increased safety scrutiny.

The rule -- which has been under Office of Management and Budget review for several months -- revises criteria for putting a mine under Pattern of Violation notice, letting regulators skip putting a work site under "potential" POV scrutiny first.

"Getting this done during my tenure has been one of my top priorities," outgoing Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said during a conference call.

The new rule also eliminates a standard limiting consideration for POV scrutiny to final agency actions. MSHA made that move to make sure mine operators couldn't use the appeals process to avoid getting on the list.

"MSHA should not be prevented from taking action to protect the life of miners," MSHA chief Joe Main said. The new rule, he added, "provides for a more open and transparent process."

The rule, which takes effect in two months, keeps an existing requirement for MSHA to review mines for POV status at least once a year. The agency predicts that three will make the list every year based on the new guidelines.

The rule is the third released by MSHA in response to the 2010 Upper Big Branch explosion, which killed 29 miners in West Virginia. The blast had already created pressure for the agency to enhance its oversight, placing two mines under POV review for the first time ever, three decades after the law created the system.

POV reform was also part of mine-safety reform bills that failed to get votes in either the House or Senate during the 112th Congress. Whether the current Congress takes another look at the bills, Main said, "is an open question."

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the House Education and Workforce Committee, say they plan to reintroduce mine-safety legislation this year.

Recalling the Upper Big Branch aftermath, Rockefeller said today, "I said then that I would work to reform and strengthen these rules so that mine operators who are repeat offenders stop shirking their responsibilities and start running mines that are fit for people to work in -- and I'm keeping up that fight."

MSHA kept provisions that industry leaders said violated due process rights -- most notably, that a mine can be put under POV scrutiny even if violations are under appeal.

"Because any unsafe conditions must be remedied under current regulations, no miner is put in harm's way if a citation is appealed," the National Mining Association said. "As such, the loss of due process rights serves no safety objective."

NMA also said that while the agency scrapped only a small number of citations after appeal, about half, based on recent numbers, were reduced to less severe violations.

"Under the final rule, even if citations that serve as the basis for a mine being placed on POV are later determined to have been issued in error, the mine remains in POV status and the efficiency of mining operations is significantly impacted," he trade group said.

Workforce panel Chairman Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) released a statement saying, "I am pleased MSHA continues to use its authority to develop policies intended to strengthen mine safety protections."

He added, "The rule issued today raises a number of questions, including the use of nonfinal orders in the pattern of violations process. I will review the regulation carefully."

Last summer, OMB assembled administration officials and labor and industry advocates to discuss the issue. MSHA said it's addressing due process concerns by letting mining companies submit corrective action programs and request meetings with regulators to discuss discrepancies. The agency has also touted an online monitoring tool.

Also today, West Virginia U.S. District Judge Irene Berger sentenced former Upper Big Branch mine superintendent Gary May for conspiracy to prevent MSHA enforcement at the mine leading up to the explosion. He has been cooperating with U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin's investigation.

This week, West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) touted the state's recent mine safety law. Last month, he appointed Eugene White, a former miner, to direct the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training, where he was deputy chief.