Consolidation Coal Company (ALJ decision, March 19, 1992)

Plain-English summary

Consolidation Coal Company was involved in a civil penalty proceeding concerning the Humphrey No. 7 Mine. The parties proposed a settlement reducing the penalty from $1,295 to $1,191. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act criteria and approved it. The company was ordered to pay $1,191 within 30 days.

Decision snapshot

• Cited standards: The order cites Sections 105(d) and 110(i) of the Mine Act, codified at 30 U.S.C. § 815(d) and 30 U.S.C. § 820(i).
• Outcome: The settlement was approved and the penalty was reduced to $1,191.
• Key point: The ALJ approved the proposed penalty settlement after considering the submitted evidence, representations, and documentation.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

CCASE:
MSHA V. CONSOLIDATION COAL
DDATE:
19920319
TTEXT:

Page 2

~495

SECRETARY OF LABOR,
: CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDING
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH :
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA), : Docket No. WEVA 91-1601 Petitioner : A.C. No. 46-01453-03961
v. :
: Humphrey No. 7 Mine
CONSOLIDATION COAL COMPANY, :
Respondent :

DECISION APPROVING SETTLEMENT

Appearances: Caryl L. Casden, Esq., U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, Arlington, Virginia, for Petitioner;
Walter J. Scheller III, Esq., Consolidation Coal Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for
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 hearings and following hearings Petitioner filed motions to approve settlement agreements and to dismiss the case. A reduction in penalty from $1,295 to $1,191 has been proposed. I have considered the evidence, representations and documentation submitted 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 Respondent pay a penalty of $1,191 within 30 days of this order.

Gary Melick
Administrative Law Judge