Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated (ALJ decision, March 15, 2000)

Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated (FMSHRC SE 99-66, SE 99-6-R through SE 99-10-R): Settlement approved on remand for $165

Decision type

ALJ decision

Dockets

SE 99-66, SE 99-6-R, SE 99-7-R, SE 99-8-R, SE 99-9-R, SE 99-10-R

Decided

March 15, 2000

Presiding judge

Jerold Feldman

Outcome

Settled

Precedential status

Final order, not precedent

Checked against source

2026-08-11

Cited standards

30 U.S.C. § 801 30 U.S.C. § 802(h)(1) 30 U.S.C. § 820(i)

Official source

Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)

PDF

View Official PDF

Apply this to your situation

This order from 2000 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.

Final ALJ decision, not Commission precedent

This settlement order followed Commission review of an earlier ruling. No later Commission review of this order appears in the official index, so it became final under the 40-day rule in 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1). 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.

Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)

Plain-English summary

The Commission had determined that Jim Walter Resources' Central Supply Shop was subject to the Mine Act and remanded the matters for penalty assessment. On remand, the parties agreed that the company would pay $55 for each of three non-S&S citations. Judge Jerold Feldman approved the settlement and ordered payment of $165 within 45 days. The specified contest and civil penalty proceedings were to be dismissed after timely payment.

Decision snapshot

Cited statute: 30 U.S.C. § 802(h)(1)
Outcome: Settlement approved for $165, with the specified proceedings dismissed after timely payment.
Key point: A facility can fall within Mine Act jurisdiction even when it is a supply shop, and the remand order resolved the remaining penalties through settlement.

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
March 15, 2000

JIM WALTER RESOURCES,
: CONTEST PROCEEDINGS
INCORPORATED,
:
Contestant
: Docket No. SE 99-6-R
v. : Citation No. 7665505; 9/23/98
:
SECRETARY OF LABOR,
: Docket No. SE 99-7-R
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
: Citation No. 7665506; 9/23/98
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA),
:
Respondent
: Docket No. SE 99-8-R
: Citation No. 7665507; 9/23/98
:
: Docket No. SE 99-9-R
: Citation No. 7665508; 9/23/98
:
: Docket No. SE 99-10-R
: Citation No. 7665512; 9/24/98
:
: Central Supply Shop
: Mine ID 01-02515
:
SECRETARY OF LABOR,
: CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDING
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
:
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA),
: Docket No. SE 99-66
Petitioner
: A.C. No. 01-02515-03521
v. :
: Central Shop
JIM WALTER RESOURCES
:
INCORPORATED,
:
Respondent
:

DECISION APPROVING SETTLEMENT ON REMAND

Before: Judge Feldman

On January 31, 2000, the Commission remanded these matters for assessment of the appropriate civil penalties after the Commission determined the Central Supply Shop operated by Jim Walter Resources, Inc. (JWR) is subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U. S.C. § 801 et seq. (1994) (the Mine Act). 22 FMSHRC 21 (January 2000). Specifically, the Commission concluded JWR’s Central Supply Shop is a “coal or other mine” as contemplated by section 3(h)(1) of the Mine Act, 30 U. S.C. § 802(h)(1).

402

Page 2

In response to the Commission’s decision, on February 28, 2000, the Secretary filed a Motion to Approve Settlement wherein JWR agreed to pay the $55.00 civil penalty initially proposed by the Secretary for each of the three non-significant and substantial (non-S&S) citations pertaining to JWR’s Central Supply Shop.1 I have considered the representations in this case, 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 IT IS ORDERED that Jim Walter Resources, Inc., pay a civil penalty of $165.00 in satisfaction of the three citations in issue within 45 days of this order, and, upon receipt of timely payment, the contest proceedings in Docket Nos. SE 99-8-R, SE 99-9-R and SE 99-10- R, and the civil penalty proceeding in Docket No. SE 99-66, ARE DISMISSED.2

Jerold Feldman
Administrative Law Judge

Distribution:

Guy W. Hensley, Esq., Jim Walter Resources, Inc., P.O. Box 133, Brookwood, AL 35444 (Certified Mail)

William Lawson, Esq. Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor, Suite 150, 100 Centerview Drive, Chambers Building, Highpoint Office Center, Birmingham, AL 35216 (Certified Mail)

/mh

1
The citations are Citation Nos. 7665507, 7665508 and 7665512.
2
The Secretary initially proposed a total civil penalty of $440.00 for eight citations in Docket No. SE 99-66. The initial decision in Docket No. SE 99-66 imposed a civil penalty of $275.00 for five citations related to JWR’s Central Machine Shop. 21 FMSHRC 495 (May 1999) (ALJ) (corrected by Order issued June 7, 1999). The $275.00 civil penalty for these five citations, that included the two citations contested in Docket Nos. SE 99-6-R and SE 99-7-R, has been paid. The additional $165.00 civil penalty JWR now has agreed to pay for the remaining three citations in Docket No. SE 99-66 will result in payment of the total $440.00 civil penalty initially proposed by the Secretary.

403

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