Peabody Coal Company (ALJ decision, June 10, 1991)

Plain-English summary

MSHA brought two civil penalty proceedings against Peabody Coal Company involving the Martwick Underground and Camp No. 2 Mines. The parties proposed a settlement that removed the significant-and-substantial finding from Citation No. 3416556 and reduced the penalty from $545 to $378. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria, approved it, and ordered Peabody to pay $378 within 30 days.

Decision snapshot

• Cited standards: None identified in the order.
• Outcome: The settlement was approved, the proposed penalty was reduced to $378, and the S&S finding was deleted from Citation No. 3416556.
• Key point: The judge approved the negotiated resolution after reviewing the parties' representations and supporting documentation.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission Office of Administrative Law Judges
2 Skyline, 10th Floor
5203 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, Virginia 22041

SECRETARY OF LABOR,
CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDINGS
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA),
Docket No. KENT 91-101
PETITIONER
A. C. No. 15-14074-03573
v.
PEABODY COAL COMPANY,
Martwick Underground
RESPONDENT
Docket No. KENT 91-131
A.C. No. 15-02705-03701

Camp No. 2 Mine

DECISION APPROVING SETTLEMENT

Appearances: W. F. Taylor, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U.S.
Department of Labor, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Petitioner;
David R. Joest, Esq., Midwest Division Counsel, Peabody Coal Company, Henderson, Kentucky, for the Respondent.

Before: Judge Melick

These cases are before me upon petitions for assessment of civil penalty under section 105(d) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the Act). At hearings, Petitioner filed a motion to approve a settlement agreement and to dismiss these cases. A modification of Citation No. 3416556 to delete the "significant and substantial" findings and a reduction in penalty from $545 to $378 was proposed. I have considered the representations and documentation submitted in these cases, and I conclude that the proffered settlement is appropriate under the criteria set forth in section 110(i) of the Act.

WHEREFORE, the motion for approval of settlement is GRANTED, and it is ORDERED that Respondent pay a penalty of $378 within 30 days of this order.

Gary Melick
Administrative Law Judge