Ezel / Agency Decisions / WEST 79-79-M

Magma Copper Company (ALJ decision, February 4, 1981)

Magma Copper Company (FMSHRC WEST 79-79-M and related dockets): Penalty total corrected

Decision type
ALJ decision
Dockets
WEST 79-79-M, WEST 79-158-M, WEST 79-351-M, WEST 79-382-M, DENV 79-485-PM
Decided
February 4, 1981
Presiding judge
John A. Carlson
Outcome
Modified
Precedential status
Final order, not precedent
Checked against source
2026-10-22
Cited standards
30 C.F.R. § 57.12-16
Official source
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)
PDF
View Official PDF

Apply this to your situation

This order from 1981 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 1981
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 correction order, not Commission precedent
This order corrects the judge's earlier decision and forms part of the final ALJ disposition under the 40-day rule in 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1). 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.
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)

Plain-English summary

Judge John A. Carlson issued a correction order for five consolidated Magma Copper civil penalty dockets. He added a finding that the company violated 30 C.F.R. § 57.12-16 under Citation No. 377071 and inserted a $50 penalty for that citation in WEST 79-79-M. He also corrected an entry for Citation No. 376969 in WEST 79-158-M to $225. The corrected total assessed penalty is $342 instead of $292. The agency detail page dates this release February 4, 1981, while the order itself is signed March 6, 1981; the release contains only the correction order, without the earlier decision's reasoning.

Decision snapshot

  • Cited standard: 30 C.F.R. § 57.12-16 is identified in the correction order.
  • Outcome: Earlier order corrected to include a $50 citation penalty and a $342 total assessed penalty.
  • Key point: The correction adds the omitted WEST 79-79-M penalty and changes the overall total from $292 to $342.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

CCASE:
SOL (MSHA) v. MAGMA COPPER
DDATE:
19810204
TTEXT:
~800
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission Office of Administrative Law Judges

SECRETARY OF LABOR,
CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDING
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA),
DOCKET NO. WEST 79-79-M
PETITIONER
A/O No. 02-00151-05009
v. DOCKET NO. WEST 79-158-M
A/O No. 02-00842-05007
MAGMA COPPER COMPANY,
DOCKET NO. WEST 79-351-M
RESPONDENT
A/O No. 02-01391-05004
DOCKET NO. WEST 79-382-M
A/O No. 02-00151-05011
DOCKET NO. DENV 79-485-PM
A/O 02-00151-05008

MINE: SAN MANUEL

ORDER OF CORRECTION

After issuing his decision in the above captioned cases, the undersigned Judge became aware of a clerical discrepancy between the body of the decision, and the conclusions and order. So that the conclusions and order conform to the body of the decision, the following corrections are made:

1) The first sentence on page fourteen (14) should read: "Respondent violated 30 C.F.R. 57.12-16 as alleged in Citation 377071."

2) On page fourteen (14), above the heading, "Docket Number WEST 79-351," is inserted a heading, "Docket number WEST 79-79-M." Under that heading an entry reading "Citation Number 377071: $50.00" is inserted.
The total for that docket number should also be $50.00.

3) On page fifteen (15), on the last line of the order, the total assessed penalty is corrected to be $342.00 instead of $292.00.
~801
Additionally, on page fourteen (14), the second line under the sub-heading "Docket Number WEST 79-158-M" is corrected to read "Citation Number 376969 $225.00."

John A. Carlson
Administrative Law Judge
Dated: March 6, 1981

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