SEC Issues Final Rules Regarding Mine Safety Disclosure Requirements Under The Dodd-Frank Act

On December 21, 2011, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published its final rules implementing the mine safety disclosure requirements under Section 1503 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173, or "Dodd-Frank"). These rules impact public companies that are operators, or that have a subsidiary that is an operator, of a coal or any other mine subject to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (MSHA). By way of background, Section 1503 requires that these public companies disclose in their periodic reports certain information regarding specified health and safety violations, orders and citations, related assessments, legal actions, and mining-related fatalities. On balance, the SEC's final rules track the statutory language of Dodd-Frank. In a number of areas, the SEC rejected broader interpretations advocated by environmental and shareholder activists that would have significantly expanded Section