Ezel / Agency Decisions / WEST 89-290-R

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

Energy Fuels Coal, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 89-290-R and WEST 89-449-A): Citation vacated

Decision type
ALJ decision
Dockets
WEST 89-290-R, WEST 89-449-A
Decided
March 13, 1990
Presiding judge
Michael A. Lasher, Jr.
Outcome
Citations vacated
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, not Commission precedent
This decision 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 binding on the Commission in other cases. 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 was involved in contest and civil penalty proceedings concerning enforcement documents at the Southfield Mine. For Citation No. 3077181, the Secretary determined that no violation had occurred and moved to vacate the citation. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved that motion and Energy Fuels' withdrawal of its contest. The citation was vacated, the contest docket was dismissed, and the related penalty docket remained open for the other citations.

Decision snapshot

  • Cited standard: No substantive safety standard was decided. The order cites Commission Procedural Rule 11, 29 C.F.R. § 2700.11.
  • Outcome: Citation No. 3077181 was vacated and Contest Docket No. WEST 89-290-R was dismissed; WEST 89-449-A remained pending.
  • Key point: A citation may be vacated when the Secretary determines that no violation occurred, while related penalty proceedings continue on other enforcement documents.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

CCASE:
ENERGY FUELS COAL V. SOL (MSHA)
DDATE:
19900313
TTEXT:

Page 2

~457
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (F.M.S.H.R.C.) Office of Administrative Law Judges

ENERGY FUELS COAL, INC.,
CONTEST PROCEEDING
CONTESTANT
Docket No. WEST 89-290-R
v. Citation No. 3077181;5/11/89

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

Docket No. WEST 89-449-A
A.C. No. 05-03455-03569
SECRETARY OF LABOR,
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Southfield Mine
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA)
PETITIONER
v.

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 involving some 18 enforcement documents (Citations and Orders) which were the subject of both Contest and Penalty proceedings. With respect to Citation No. 3077181 - one of the 4 enforcement documents involved in Penalty Docket WEST 89-449-A - the Secretary determined that no violation had occurred and moved to vacate such (T. 29). Such motion was approved on the record as was Energy Fuel's corollary motion to withdraw its contest in Docket No. WEST 89-290-R (T. 28-29). See Commission Procedural Rule 11 (29 C.F.R. 2700.11). Such bench ruling is here affirmed.

Page 3

~458
ORDER

Citation No. 3077181 is VACATED.

Contest Docket No. WEST 89-290-R is DISMISSED.

Penalty Docket No. WEST 89-449-A will remain on the Judge's docket pending resolution of the remaining Citations contained therein.

Michael A. Lasher, Jr.
Administrative Law Judge

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