Secretary of Labor v. C & H Gravel Company (Commission decision, October 20, 2016)

Plain-English summary

C & H Gravel Company asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had already become a final order. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission granted the motion and remanded the case to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings. It directed the Secretary to file a penalty petition within 45 days under Commission Rule 28. The order does not explain why the operator missed the original contest deadline or address the underlying citation, and it expressly says the grant is not precedent for other reopening motions.

Decision snapshot

• Governing provision: 29 C.F.R. § 2700.28
• Outcome: The final penalty assessment was reopened and the case was remanded for further proceedings.
• Key point: This unopposed reopening was expressly limited to this case and does not establish how the Commission will decide other motions.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND
HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

1331 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW, SUITE 520N

WASHINGTON, DC 20004-1710

SECRETARY
OF LABOR,                             :                                     

MINE
SAFETY AND HEALTH                    :                                                         

ADMINISTRATION
(MSHA)                       :       

:

:        Docket No. LAKE 2015-554-M

v.                                              
 :        A.C. No. 11-02873-376723      

:                   

C
& H GRAVEL COMPANY                          :

BEFORE: 
Jordan, Chairman; Young, Cohen, and Althen, Commissioners

ORDER

BY THE
COMMISSION:

This
matter arises under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C.   
§ 801 et seq. (2012) (“Mine Act”). The Commission has received a motion from the operator seeking to reopen a penalty assessment which had become a final order of the Commission pursuant to section 105(a) of the Mine Act, 30 U.S.C. § 813(a). The Secretary states that he does not oppose the motion.

Having
reviewed movant’s unopposed motion to reopen, we reopen this matter and remand it to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings pursuant to the Mine Act and the Commission’s Procedural Rules, 29 C.F.R. Part 2700. Consistent with Rule 28, the Secretary shall file a petition for assessment of penalty within 45 days of the date of this order. See 29 C.F.R. § 2700.28.

The
granting of this motion is not precedential for the consideration of any other motion before the Commission.

/s/ Mary Lu
Jordan

Mary Lu Jordan, Chairman

/s/ Michael G.
Young

Michael G.
Young, Commissioner

/s/ Robert F.
Cohen, Jr.

Robert F. Cohen,
Jr., Commissioner

/s/ William I.
Althen

William I.
Althen, Commissioner

Distribution:

Charles
Heuerman, President

C
& H Gravel Company

14046
N 1600 th Street

Teutopolis,
IL 62467

W.
Christian Schumann, Esq.

Office
of the Solicitor

U.S.
Department of Labor

201
12th Street South, Suite 401

Arlington,
VA 22202-5450

Chief
Administrative Law Judge Robert J. Lesnick

Federal
Mine Safety & Health Review Commission

1331
Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Suite 520N

Washington,
DC 20004-1710

Melanie
Garris

Office
of Civil Penalty Compliance

Mine
Safety and Health Administration

U.S.
Department of Labor

201
12th Street South, Suite 401

Arlington,
VA 22202-5450