Ezel / Agency Decisions / KENT 83-201

Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Bear Creek Mining Company (ALJ decision, September 20, 1983)

Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Bear Creek Mining Company (FMSHRC KENT 83-201): $363 in penalties assessed by default

Decision type
ALJ decision
Dockets
KENT 83-201, KENT 83-202
Decided
September 20, 1983
Presiding judge
Gary Melick
Outcome
Citations affirmed
Precedential status
Final order, not precedent
Checked against source
2026-10-21
Cited standards
29 C.F.R. § 2700.5(c)
Official source
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)
PDF
View Official PDF

Apply this to your situation

This order from 1983 bound only the parties to this case; it isn't precedent. Ask about your situation and see what the current MSHA standards and Commission precedent say, with citations.

Currency note: this decision dates from 1983
The MSHA standards may have been amended, penalty amounts have been adjusted, and later Commission or court decisions may have changed the analysis since then. Treat this page as historical context, not current compliance advice. Verify the current standard before relying on any specific rule, threshold, or penalty mentioned here.
Final ALJ decision under the Mine Act's 40-day rule
This administrative law judge decision became a final decision of the Commission because no Commissioner directed review within 40 days, under 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1). It is binding on the parties but is not Commission precedent. The full text below is from the official FMSHRC release.
About this page: The plain-English summary and decision snapshot below were written by Ezel based on the official FMSHRC release. The full text is the agency's own release.
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)

Plain-English summary

Bear Creek Mining Company contested proposed civil penalties in two cases involving its Mine No. 1 and Mine No. 2. A hearing notice sent to the address it supplied was returned as undeliverable, and further efforts to find a company representative failed. Judge Gary Melick found that Bear Creek had failed to provide the address update required by Commission rules and had waived its hearing request. He entered default decisions granting the Secretary's requested penalties, totaling $363 across three citations.

Decision snapshot

  • Governing rule: 29 C.F.R. § 2700.5(c), requiring prompt notice of an address or business telephone number change.
  • Outcome: Default decisions assessed $195 in KENT 83-202 and $168 in KENT 83-201, for $363 total, payable within 30 days.
  • Key point: Failure to provide a current address prevented service of the hearing notice and resulted in default.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

CCASE:
SOL (MSHA) V. BEAR CREEK MINING
DDATE:
19830920
TTEXT:
~1595

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission Office of Administrative Law Judges

SECRETARY OF LABOR,
CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDINGS
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA),
Docket No. KENT 83-201
PETITIONER
A.C. No. 15-12515-03502

v. Mine No. 2

BEAR CREEK MINING COMPANY,
Docket No. KENT 83-202
RESPONDENT
A.C. No. 15-12339-03505

Mine No. 1

DEFAULT DECISIONS

Before: Judge Melick

A Notice of Hearing was issued on August 22, 1983, for hearings to commence in these cases on September 22, 1983, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Said Notice was returned from the address provided by Respondent marked, presumably by the U.S. Postal Service, "Moved, left no address". Additional efforts were made to locate a representative for Respondent but without success.

Commission Rule 5(c), 29 CFR 2700.5(c), requires that the parties "promptly" give written notice of any change of address or business telephone number. It is apparent that Respondent has failed to comply with the requirements of said rule, thereby making it impossible to serve notice upon it and to grant its request for hearing. Issuance of a show cause order would obviously be futile under the circumstances. I accordingly find that Respondent has waived its right to a hearing in these cases and I hereby issue decisions by default granting the Secretary's requests for civil penalties.

ORDER

The Bear Creek Mining Company is Ordered to pay the following civil penalties within 30 days of the date of this decision:
~1596
Docket No. Citation/Order No. Amount

    KENT 83-202           2054104              $195
    KENT 83-201           2054101                84

2054102
84
$363

Gary Melick
Assistant Chief Administrative Law Judge

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