Manalapan Mining Company, Inc. (ALJ decision, December 8, 1993)

Plain-English summary

Manalapan Mining Company faced civil penalty proceedings across four dockets involving Mine Nos. 1, 6, and 7. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved a settlement that reduced the proposed penalties from $14,612 to $12,100. The company was ordered to pay the settlement amount within 30 days, and the cases were resolved through the approved agreement.

Decision snapshot

• Governing provisions: 30 U.S.C. § 815(d) and 30 U.S.C. § 820(i)
• Outcome: The settlement was approved and Manalapan Mining Company was ordered to pay $12,100.
• Key point: The judge accepted a multi-docket civil penalty settlement after considering the parties' submissions, record testimony, and statutory penalty criteria.

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 93-666 Petitioner : A. C. No. 15-16318-03578
v. :
: Mine No. 6
MANALAPAN MINING COMPANY, :
INC.,
: Docket No. KENT 93-670
Respondent : A. C. No. 15-05423-03731 :
: Docket No. KENT 93-671
: A. C. No. 15-05423-03735
:
: Mine No. 1
:
: Docket No. KENT 93-705
: A. C. No. 15-16733-03543
:
: Mine No. 7

DECISION APPROVING SETTLEMENT

Appearances: Joseph B. Luckett, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U. S. Department of Labor, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Secretary;
Richard D. Cohelia, Safety Director, Manalapan, Mining Company, Inc., Evarts, Kentucky, for Respondent.

Before: Judge Maurer

These cases are before me upon a petition for assessment of civil penalties under section 105(d) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the Act). An evidentiary hearing in these matters was held on November 4, 1993, in London, Kentucky. At the conclusion of that hearing, the parties filed a motion to approve a settlement agreement and to dismiss these cases.

Page 3

~2500
The citations, initial assessments, and the proposed settlement amounts are as follows:

      CITATION/              PROPOSED         PROPOSED
      ORDER NO.              ASSESSMENT       SETTLEMENT

KENT 93-666

      4239039                $    793         $    520
      4239040                     690              690
      4239181                     690              690
      4239182                     690              100

KENT 93-670

      3000222                     431              200
      3000224                     506              506
      3164702                     431              200
      3146703                     431              431
      3164704                     431              431
      3164708                     690              690
      3164709                     690              690
      3164710                     431              428
      3164712                     431              431
      3164713                     431              431
      3164714                     431              431
      3164718                     431              431

KENT 93-671

      3164648                     903              900
      3164650                     903              900
      4239362                     309              100
      4239363                     903              900

KENT 93-705

      9885266                     793              500
      9885275                    2173             1500

TOTAL $14,612 $12,100

I have considered the representations and documentation submitted in these cases, as well as the testimony contained in the record of proceedings and I conclude that the proffered settlement is appropriate under the criteria set forth in section 110(i) of the Act.

Page 4

~2501
WHEREFORE, the motion for approval of settlement is GRANTED, and it is ORDERED that respondent pay a penalty of $12,100 within 30 days of this order.
Roy J. Maurer
Administrative Law Judge

Distribution:

Joseph B. Luckett, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U. S. Department of Labor, 2002 Richard Jones Road, Suite B-201, Nashville, TN 37215 (Certified Mail)

Richard D. Cohelia, Safety Director, Manalapan Mining Company, Inc., Rt. 1, Box 374, Evarts, KY 40828 (Certified Mail)

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