Ezel / Agency Decisions / PENN 89-75

Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company (ALJ decision, March 1, 1990)

Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 89-75): Stay lifted and $78 penalty due

Decision type
ALJ decision
Docket
PENN 89-75
Decided
March 1, 1990
Presiding judge
William Fauver
Outcome
Procedural
Precedential status
Final order, not precedent
Checked against source
2026-08-16
Cited standards
30 U.S.C. § 801 30 U.S.C. § 820(a)
Official source
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)
PDF
View Official PDF

Apply this to your situation

This order from 1990 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 1990
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, not Commission precedent
This order became final under the 40-day rule in 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) because no later Commission review appears in the official index. It binds 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.
Transcribed from a scanned original: FMSHRC released this decision as an image-only file. The full text below is a machine transcription, proofread against the scan. Check the official release before quoting exact language.
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)

Plain-English summary

The Secretary sought a civil penalty for a citation that was also being litigated in a related contest proceeding. The penalty case was stayed while the contest decision was reviewed by the Commission. After the Commission affirmed the citation and the $78 penalty in the contest case, Judge William Fauver lifted the stay and ordered Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal to pay the $78 penalty within 30 days.

Decision snapshot

  • Governing provision: 30 U.S.C. § 820(a)
  • Outcome: The stay was lifted, and the operator was ordered to pay the previously assessed $78 penalty within 30 days.
  • Key point: A related penalty proceeding can resume after the Commission resolves the underlying citation contest.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

Page 2

~397
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (F.M.S.H.R.C.) Office of Administrative Law Judges

SECRETARY OF LABOR,
CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDING
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA),
Docket No. PENN 89-75
PETITIONER
A.C. No. 36-02404-03744

v. Greenwich Collieries No. 2

ROCHESTER & PITTSBURGH COAL COMPANY,
RESPONDENT

DECISION

Appearances: Linda M. Henry, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor, Philadelphia, PA, for the Petitioner;
Joseph A. Yuhas, Esq., Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal Company, Ebensburg, PA, for the
Respondent.

Before: Judge Fauver

The Secretary seeks a civil penalty for an alleged violation under 110(a) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.

The same citation was involved in Docket NO. PENN 88-194-R, a contest proceeding, in which the parties stipulated that this civil penalty case be adjudicated along with the notice of contest. After the hearing, the contest case was decided, affirming the citation and assessing a civil penalty of $78. The civil penalty case was STAYED pending review by the Commission of the contest decision.

The Commission decided the contest case on February 21, 1990, affirming the judge's decision.

~398
ORDER

WHEREFORE IT IS ORDERED that:

1. The STAY in this case is LIFTED.
2. Respondent shall pay the assessed civil penalty of $78 within 30 days of this Decision.

William Fauver
Administrative Law Judge

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