Manalapan Mining Company (ALJ decision, September 27, 1994)

Plain-English summary

Manalapan Mining Company and the Secretary proposed a settlement covering six dockets and multiple citations. The settlement reduced the total proposed assessments from $29,585 to $15,945, with some citations modified to delete S&S findings and some penalties already paid. The ALJ approved the settlement under the statutory penalty criteria and ordered payment of the remaining $13,788 within 30 days.

Decision snapshot

• Cited standard(s): The order cites 30 U.S.C. § 820(i), but does not identify specific safety standards.
• Outcome: The settlement was approved. The settlement total was $15,945, including $2,157 already paid, with $13,788 remaining due.
• Key point: The ALJ accepted the negotiated disposition after considering the parties' representations and documentation under the statutory penalty criteria.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

CCASE:
SOL (MSHA) V. MANALAPAN MINING
DDATE:
19940927
TTEXT:

Page 2

~1964

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 94-136 Petitioner : A. C. No. 15-16733-03555
v. :
: Docket No. KENT 94-146
MANALAPAN MINING COMPANY, : A. C. No. 15-16733-03556 Respondent :
: Mine No. 7
:
: Docket No. KENT 94-145
: A. C. No. 15-16318-03586
:
: Docket No. KENT 94-415
: A. C. No. 15-16318-03588
:
: Docket No. KENT 94-439
: A. C. No. 15-16318-03589
:
: Mine No. 6
:
: Docket No. KENT 94-338
: A. C. No. 15-05423-03746
:
: Mine No. 1

DECISION APPROVING SETTLEMENT

Appearances: Joseph B. Luckett, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U. S. Department of Labor, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Secretary;
Susan C. Lawson, Esq., Buttermore, Turner, Lawson & Boggs, P.S.C., Harlan, Kentucky, for Respondent.

Before: Judge Maurer

These cases are before me upon a petition for assessment of civil penalty under section 105(d) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the Act). An evidentiary hearing in these matters was convened on July 26, 1994, in London, Kentucky. At that hearing, the parties filed a motion to approve a settlement agreement and to dismiss these cases.

Page 3

~1965
The citations, initial assessments, and the proposed settlement amounts are as follows:

PROPOSED PROPOSED
CITATION NO. ASSESSMENT SETTLEMENT

KENT 94-338

       4248498                $    903         $    903
       4242272                     903               50*

KENT 94-145

       9885316                    2384             1962
       4257751                     690              690
       4257752                     690               50*
       4257755                     690               50*
       4257756                     690               50*
       4257757                     690               50*
       4257758                     690               50*
       4039786                     267               50
       4039787                     288               50
       4039789                     690               50*
       4039790                     690               50*
       4039791                     793               50*

KENT 94-415

       2793770                     267               50

KENT 94-136

       4248460                     309              309**
       4248461                     309              309**
       4248463                     506              506**
       4248464                     362              362**
       4248465                     362              362**
       4248466                     309              309**

KENT 94-146

       4248425                    1100             1100
       4040098                    5800             3480
       4248496                     903              903

KENT 94-439

       3836067                    8300             4150

TOTAL $29,585 $15,945

• Citation modified to delete "S&S" special findings.
  ** Civil penalties already paid by respondent.

Page 4

~1966
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 respondent having paid $2157 of the penalty, it is ORDERED that it pay the remaining sum of $13,788 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

Richard D. Cohelia, Safety Director, Manalapan Mining Company, Inc., P. O. Box 311, Brookside, KY 40801-0311

Susan C. Lawson, Esq., Buttermore, Turner, Lawson & Boggs, P.S.C., 111 South First Street, P. O. Box 935, Harlan, KY 40831- 0935

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