Jim Walter Resources, Inc.

Plain-English summary

Jim Walter Resources, Inc. moved to settle a civil penalty proceeding. The settlement proposed vacating Citation No. 3182463 and reducing the penalties for the remaining violations from $19,500 to $10,500. Judge Gary Melick approved the settlement under the Mine Act's penalty criteria and ordered the company to pay $10,500 within 30 days.

Decision snapshot

• Cited standard(s): 30 U.S.C. § 815(d); 30 U.S.C. § 820(i)
• Outcome: One citation was vacated, the remaining penalties were reduced to $10,500, and the settlement was approved.
• Key point: The judge approved a negotiated penalty reduction after considering 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, SUITE 1000
                                5203 LEESBURG PIKE
                          FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA 22041

                                         August 25, 1995

SECRETARY OF LABOR, : CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDING
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH :
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA), :
Petitioner : Docket No. SE 95-143
: A.C. No. 01-01322-03990
v. :
: No. 5 Mine
JIM WALTER RESOURCES, INC., :
Respondent :

                                             DECISION

Appearances: William Lawson, Esq., Office of the Solicitor,
U.S. Department of Labor, Birmingham, Alabama,
for the Petitioner;
R. Stanley Morrow, Esq., Birmingham, Alabama,
for the Respondent.

Before: Judge Melick

     This case is 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). At hearing Petitioner filed a motion to approve a
settlement agreement and to dismiss the case. Vacation of Citation
No. 3182463 and a reduction in penalty for the remaining violations
from $19,500 to $10,500 were proposed. I have considered the
representations and documentation submitted in this case, including
the representations on the record at hearing, and I conclude that the
proffered settlement is acceptable 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 $10,500 within 30 days
of this order.

                                               Gary Melick
                                               Administrative Law Judge

Distribution:

William Lawson, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Dept. of Labor,
Highpoint Office Center, Suite 150, 100 Centerview Drive,
Birmingham, AL 35216

R. Stanley Morrow, Esq., Jim Walter Resources, Inc., P.O. Box 133,
Birmingham, AL 35444

/jf