Ezel / Agency Decisions / WEST 89-273-R

Energy Fuels Coal, Inc. (ALJ decision, March 13, 1990)

Energy Fuels Coal, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 89-273-R and WEST 89-434): Citation vacated in partial settlement

Decision type
ALJ decision
Dockets
WEST 89-273-R, WEST 89-434
Decided
March 13, 1990
Presiding judge
Michael A. Lasher, Jr.
Outcome
Mixed result
Precedential status
Final order, not precedent
Checked against source
2026-08-16
Cited standards
29 C.F.R. § 2700.11
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 approving a partial settlement, not Commission precedent
This decision vacated one citation, dismissed the related contest, and left the remaining civil penalty proceeding pending. It 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.
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)

Plain-English summary

Energy Fuels Coal and the Secretary reached partial settlement agreements covering enforcement documents in a contest proceeding and a related civil penalty proceeding. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved the agreement for Citation No. 2875322, vacated that citation, and dismissed the contest docket. The related penalty docket remained open for the other citations and orders involved in the case.

Decision snapshot

  • Governing provision: 29 C.F.R. § 2700.11
  • Outcome: Citation No. 2875322 was vacated, the WEST 89-273-R contest was dismissed, and the WEST 89-434 penalty docket remained pending.
  • Key point: A partial settlement may resolve one enforcement document while leaving the related penalty proceeding open for the remaining documents.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

CCASE:
ENERGY FUELS COAL V. MSHA,
MSHA V. ENERGY FUELS COAL
DDATE:
19900313
TTEXT:

Page 2

~453

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY & HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION DENVER, COLORADO
March 13, 1990

ENERGY FUELS COAL, INC., CONTEST PROCEEDING Contestant
Docket No. WEST 89-273-R
v. Citation No. 2875322;4/13/89

SECRETARY OF LABOR,
Southfield Mine
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH Mine I.D. 05-03455 ADMINISTRATION (MSHA), Respondent

SECRETARY OF LABOR,
CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDING
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA)
Docket No. WEST 89-434
Petitioner A.C. No. 05-03455-03571

v. Southfield Mine

ENERGY FUELS COAL, INC.,
Respondent

DECISION APPROVING PARTIAL SETTLEMENT

Appearances: Phillip D. Barber, Esq., Welborn, Dufford, Brown & Tooley, Denver, Colorado, for Contestant/Respondent;
Margaret A. Miller, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor, Denver, Colorado, for Petitioner/Respondent.

Before: Judge Lasher

At the prehearing conference held on-the-record in Denver, Colorado, on February 14, 1990, the parties reached various settlement agreements revolving some 18 enforcement documents (Citations and Orders) which were the subject of both Contest and Penalty proceedings. With respect to Citation No. 2875322 - one of the 20 enforcement documents involved in Penalty Docket WEST 89-434 - the Secretary, on the basis of proof of violation, moved to vacate such (T. 27). Such motion was approved as was Energy Fuel's corollary motion to withdraw its contest in Docket No. WEST 89-273-R (T. 27-28). See Commission Rule 11 (29 C.F.R. 2700.11). Such bench ruling is here affirmed.

Page 3

~454
ORDER

1. Citation No. 2875322 is VACATED.

2. Contest Docket No. WEST 89-273-R is DISMISSED.

3. Penalty Docket No. WEST 89-434 will remain on the Judge's docket pending resolution of the remaining Citations contained therein.

Michael A. Lasher, Jr.
Administrative Law Judge

Distribution:

Phillip D. Barber, Esq., Welborn, Dufford, Brown & Tooley, 1700 Broadway, Suite 1700, Denver, CO 80290-1199 (Certified Mail)

Margaret A. Miller, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor, 1585 Federal Building, 1961 Stout Street, Denver, CO (Certified Mail)

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