scope:

Purpose and scope.

The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (Commission), pursuant to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the ''Mine Act''), 30 U.S.C. 801 et seq., is an independent adjudicative agency that provides administrative trial and appellate review of legal disputes arising between the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and private parties, as well as certain disputes solely between private parties arising under the Mine Act. The purpose of the rules in this part is to establish procedures for implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, as amended by the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996, Public Law 104- 231, 110 Stat. 3048, the OPEN Government Act of 2007, Public Law 110-175, 121 Stat. 2524, and the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, Public Law 114-185, 130 Stat. 538; to provide guidance for those seeking to obtain information from the Commission; and to make all information subject to disclosure pursuant to this subchapter and FOIA, and not otherwise protected by law, readily available to the public. Additional guidance on obtaining information from the Commission can be found in the document entitled ''FOIA Guide,'' which is available for viewing and download on the Commission's website at https://www.fmshrc.gov/guides/foiaguide. Hard copies are also available upon written request to the Commission's FOIA Office. The rules in this part apply only to records or information of the Commission or in the Commission's custody. Nothing in this part shall be construed to entitle any person, as of right, to any service or to the disclosure of any record to which such person is not entitled under the FOIA. This part does not affect discovery in adversary proceedings before the Commission. Discovery is governed by the Commission's rules of procedure in 29 CFR part 2700.