Federal Agency Decisions
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board, each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Donald J. Riffe, employed by Knox Creek Coal Corporation
Late penalty petition dismissed
The Secretary of Labor filed a civil-penalty petition against Donald J. Riffe, employed by Knox Creek Coal Corporation, 26 days after the deadline. The Solicitor asked permission to file late and explained that she misunderstood the office procedure for drafting a new petition in a section 110(c)…
Good Construction
Penalty case reopened after certified-mail problem
Good Construction asked to reopen a civil penalty case after it did not claim the certified mail containing the proposed assessment. The operator said its rural office was eight miles from the nearest post office and that a heavy snowstorm delayed its trip to collect the package. Judge Paul Merlin…
Limerock Industries, Incorporated
Late penalty petition dismissed
Limerock Industries contested fourteen citations and the related proposed penalties, but the Secretary did not file the penalty petition for this docket within the required 45-day period. The Secretary filed the petition more than five months late and attributed the delay to a clerical error. Chief…
Sproule Construction Company, Incorporated
Default order vacated and case assigned
Sproule Construction failed to respond to a show-cause order after it mistakenly believed that communications with MSHA had resolved the matter. Judge Paul Merlin found adequate cause for the failure, noting that the operator had appeared without counsel and was unfamiliar with Commission…
Bowen Industries Incorporated
Citation amended and penalty reduced to $188
Bowen Industries agreed to settle a citation issued after an employee used inadequate scaffolding while installing an iron beam at the Ivanhoe Concentrator. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement, amended the cited standard from the scaffolding-construction standard to the safe-access standard…
Drummond Company, Incorporated
Settlement approved and penalties modified
Drummond Company and the Secretary jointly asked the Judge to approve settlements involving coal and coal-dust accumulations and underground diesel-fuel storage at the Shoal Creek Mine. The proposed total penalty was reduced from $6,000 to $2,950, with the parties also seeking to change two…
Rayne Energy Incorporated
Penalty petition must be resubmitted by an attorney
Rayne Energy was the respondent in a civil penalty proceeding involving the Rayne No. 1 mine. The Secretary's penalty petition was signed by a paralegal specialist for the Philadelphia Regional Counsel rather than by an attorney in the Office of the Solicitor. Judge Paul Merlin ordered the petition…
Fort Worth Crushed Stone, Incorporated
Penalty petition must be resubmitted by an attorney
Fort Worth Crushed Stone was the respondent in a civil penalty proceeding involving the Cleburne Base. The Secretary's penalty petition was filed by a law clerk rather than an attorney in the Office of the Solicitor. Judge Paul Merlin ordered the petition to be resubmitted and signed by an attorney…
Phoenix Associates Land Syndicate
Penalty petitions ordered resubmitted by an attorney
Phoenix Associates Land Syndicate was the respondent in two civil penalty proceedings. Judge Paul Merlin refused to accept penalty petitions signed by a person whose status and position were not identified, because the filings were not signed by an attorney and the purported law clerk was not…
Rayne Energy Incorporated
Settlement disapproved and motion ordered resubmitted
The Secretary of Labor submitted a settlement motion in a civil penalty case against Rayne Energy Incorporated at the Rayne No. 1 mine. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin found that the motion was signed and filed by an individual who was not authorized to practice before the Commission in…
Bowen Industries Incorporated
Settlement disapproved and information ordered
Bowen Industries and the Secretary submitted a settlement motion concerning a scaffolding citation at the Ivanhoe Concentrator after the case had been stayed while the Secretary considered possible action against an individual. Judge Paul Merlin lifted the stay but disapproved the settlement…
Patterson Materials Corporation
Late penalty petition accepted
MSHA filed a civil penalty petition against Patterson Materials Corporation seven days late after the Solicitor confused this case with another docket involving the same operator. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin found that the short delay and the Solicitor's prompt discovery of the…
Jericol Mining Incorporated
Settlement disapproved pending penalty support
Jericol Mining and the Secretary proposed reducing penalties for two alleged violations at the Darby Mine from $5,700 to $2,298. One matter concerned a disconnected methane-monitor module on a continuous mining machine, and the other concerned loose ribs along a haulage roadway. Judge Paul Merlin…
Lesueur-Richmond Slate Corporation
Late penalty petition dismissed
Lesueur-Richmond Slate Corporation received a proposed civil penalty assessment and mailed its contest the next day. MSHA received the contest by certified mail on July 27, 1998, but later treated September 28 as the receipt date after its penalty office could not find the original filing. Judge…
Martin Marietta Aggregates
Train-safety violations affirmed, unwarrantable findings vacated
At Martin Marietta's Camak Quarry, employee Jut Anderson was struck and killed by a locomotive after railcars were pushed into a train while he cleaned railroad scales. The operator withdrew its contest of one citation and agreed to pay $267. Judge Paul Merlin affirmed the two litigated violations…
The Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company
Five-day-late penalty petition accepted
The Secretary filed a civil penalty petition against The Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company for the York Canyon Surface Mine. The petition was due 45 days after MSHA received the company's contest, but it was mailed five days late because of a computer database problem and a breakdown in…
J & J Sand and Gravel
Default vacated after timely answer was located
J & J Sand and Gravel was placed in default after it did not answer the Secretary's penalty petition in the Commission's file. The operator had actually sent an answer to the Commission, but the answer was received by the Solicitor instead, and the communication problem was not reported before a…
In Re: Contest of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Master docket dismissed
This master docket concerned contests involving respirable dust sample alteration citations. The Commission advised that MSHA had issued notices on November 5, 1998, stating that the citations had been vacated for all operators with cases pending under the master docket. Chief Administrative Law…
Pen Coal Corporation
Partial settlement approved, three violations sent for further support
Pen Coal Corporation faced six alleged violations involving coal dust accumulations and defects on coal-handling equipment at the Big Sandy River Dock. The parties proposed reducing the total penalties from $612 to $448 and removing the significant and substantial designations from all six…
Ambrose Brothers, Incorporated
Fatality-related settlement rejected pending information
Ambrose Brothers faced a citation after an unsecured concrete and steel barrier struck and fatally injured the company's former president during relocation of a portable crushing plant. The parties proposed reducing the penalty from $3,000 to $2,000, attributing the violation to employee misconduct…
Swenson Granite Company, LLC
Late penalty petition dismissed
Swenson Granite contested a proposed civil penalty after an order issued under the Mine Act. The Secretary received the contest on March 23, 1998, so the penalty petition was due within 45 days, but the Solicitor did not file it until June 1998. The Solicitor attributed the delay to vacation, other…
Brauntex Materials
Contests dismissed as untimely
Brauntex Materials contested three citations and orders issued at its mine, but the filings arrived more than 30 days after the relevant actions. Judge Paul Merlin held that termination dates do not restart the operator's deadline to contest a citation or order, because termination and modification…
Coal Miners Incorporated
Settlement rejected and supporting information ordered
Coal Miners Incorporated sought approval of a settlement reducing proposed penalties for four significant-and-substantial violations at the Eagle Valley Mine from $21,000 to $12,600. The violations involved coal and float-coal-dust accumulations, inadequate electrical examinations, and inadequate…
Brian Forbes, Employed by Hamilton Rock Products
Motion to reopen denied
Brian Forbes asked the Commission to reopen an individual civil penalty assessment under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. He said he lacked actual notice because MSHA's certified mail was sent to addresses where he did not personally receive it. Judge Paul Merlin found that MSHA repeatedly sent…
Georges Colliers Incorporated
Order to show cause for incomplete penalty petition
The Secretary of Labor filed a civil penalty petition against Georges Colliers Incorporated for the Pollyanna No. 8 Mine. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin found that the petition was incomplete because its exhibit did not include MSHA's assessment sheet identifying the contested…
Doyal Morgan, Wayne Larkins, and Steven Ramsey, employed by Asarco Incorporated
Doyal Morgan, Wayne Larkins, and Steven Ramsey (FMSHRC SE 98-1-M, SE 97-251-M, SE 97-252-M): Individual penalty cases dismissed
The Secretary of Labor proposed individual civil penalties against Doyal Morgan, Wayne Larkins, and Steven Ramsey, employees of Asarco Incorporated, after an accident at the Young Mine and a citation issued to the operator. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin found that MSHA took 22 months…
Harlan Cumberland Coal
Remand penalties assessed
Harlan Cumberland Coal was found to have violated Mine Act respirable-dust sampling requirements in five consolidated dockets. The Commission had affirmed the violations and remanded for findings on penalty factors including gravity, negligence, prior violations, size, and good-faith abatement. On…
Thunder Basin Coal Company
Remand assessment sets $13,350 in penalties
Thunder Basin Coal Company was cited for refusing to post two United Mine Workers officials as miners' representatives and for failing to abate the resulting citation. The ALJ found the underlying violation non-serious and assessed a $350 penalty, while finding high negligence and no good-faith…
Tresca Brothers Sand and Gravel, Inc.
Settlement approved after default order vacated
Tresca Brothers Sand and Gravel failed to respond to an earlier show-cause order, and the judge issued a default order directing payment of the proposed penalties. The judge later found that the operator had timely communicated that the matter had settled, so he vacated the default and reopened the…
Tresca Brothers Sand and Gravel, Inc.
Settlement approved after default vacated
Tresca Brothers Sand and Gravel failed to respond to an earlier show-cause order, and the judge issued a default order directing payment of the proposed penalties. The judge later found that the operator had timely communicated that the matter had settled, so he vacated the default and reopened the…
Broken Hill Mining Company
Default judgment affirmed across eight serious mine-safety orders
Broken Hill Mining operated Mine No. 3, and the operator did not appear at a scheduled hearing after receiving notice. The judge treated the operator’s absence as a default, affirmed eight orders involving electrical protection, cable splices, combustible accumulations, roof control, and…
H M I a.k.a. Heatherly Mining, Incorporated
Penalty proceedings dismissed
HMI, also called Heatherly Mining, asked to dismiss six civil penalty proceedings based on a settlement payment covering violations issued on or before June 30, 1996. The listed cases were not included in the settlement agreement's attached list, but the Secretary later identified them as pending…
Austin Powder Company
Citation and individual liability affirmed
At Lynn Sand & Stone Quarry, Austin Powder Company employees worked close to a 55-foot highwall without required safety belts and lines while preparing to dewater a drill hole. Judge Paul Merlin credited the inspectors' testimony and found a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 56.15005. The judge affirmed the…
Austin Powder Company
Highwall safety-belt violations affirmed
Austin Powder Company performed drilling and blasting work at the Lynn Sand and Stone Quarry, where employees worked within a few feet of a 55-foot highwall without safety belts or lines. Judge Paul Merlin credited the inspectors’ testimony over conflicting operator testimony and found a violation…
Lyon Sand & Gravel Co.
Late penalty petitions dismissed
The Secretary sought individual civil penalties against Raymond P. Ernst and Scott Bandkau for alleged Mine Act violations by their employer, Lyon Sand & Gravel. The Secretary filed the penalty petitions after the 45-day deadline and offered only general explanations about internal review and…
National Quarries
Settlement disapproved pending support
National Quarries faced four civil penalty violations arising from a fatal accident in which a miner was fatally injured after inadvertently drilling into a charged hole. The Secretary proposed reducing the combined penalties from $28,500 to $19,950, but Judge Paul Merlin found that the settlement…
R. J. Taggart Construction Company, Incorporated
Settlement disapproval order
R. J. Taggart Construction Company faced a citation after a miner being trained on a front-end loader rode unsecured outside the operator’s cab, fell when the loader backed over a rock, and was killed. Judge Paul Merlin denied the parties’ motion to approve a settlement reducing the proposed…
Vecellio & Grogan Incorporated
High-voltage violation affirmed with $6,000 penalty
Vecellio & Grogan operated White Rock Quarries, a limestone quarry. A foreman was electrocuted after a boom truck contacted an energized 13,200-volt overhead power line while the foreman held the boom chain and signaled the operator. Judge Paul Merlin found a violation of the 10-foot clearance and…
William W. Long, employed by APAC, Arkansas Incorporated, McClinton - Anchor Division
$600 settlement approved
William W. Long, an employee of APAC, Arkansas Incorporated's McClinton-Anchor Division, was assessed an individual civil penalty after a conveyor belt was not deenergized and locked out before employees removed a large rock and applied belt dressing to the head pulley. The violation resulted in an…
Cyprus Cumberland Resources
One withdrawal order affirmed and one vacated
Cyprus Cumberland Resources challenged two withdrawal orders issued after an MSHA inspector found extensive coal and coal-dust accumulations and alleged that a pre-shift examination failed to record hazardous conditions. Judge Paul Merlin affirmed the order concerning the accumulations under 30…
De Atley Company, Incorporated
Default vacated and settlement approved
De Atley Company faced a civil penalty proceeding involving one violation at Plant No. 4. After the operator explained that a settlement had been reached before a default order was issued, Judge Paul Merlin vacated the February 7, 1996 default. He approved the parties’ settlement, reducing the…
Roger Christensen and Jesse Martinez, employed by Georgia-Pacific Corporation
Late penalty petitions accepted
The Secretary filed section 110(c) civil penalty petitions against Roger Christensen and Jesse Martinez, employees of Georgia-Pacific at Gypsum Quarry No. 6. The petitions were filed 10 and 16 days late after a partial government shutdown delayed the Solicitor’s office. Chief Administrative Law…
Lehigh Portland Cement Company
Settlement approved for $3,500
Lehigh Portland Cement Company received two citations after two miners became ill near a kiln area where oil torches were being used and sulfur dioxide and oxygen readings were taken. One citation alleged inadequate surveys for dust, gas, mist, and fumes, and the other alleged that emergency…
General Road Trucking Corporation
Default penalty ordered
General Road Trucking Corporation failed to respond to a September 14, 1995 order to show cause and later failed to respond to a January 25, 1996 order seeking information and another explanation. The judge found the operator in default after the file showed that it had received both orders. The…
Jim Walter Resources, Incorporated
Safeguard contests dismissed
Jim Walter Resources contested two safeguards issued at its No. 4 Mine. The Secretary moved to dismiss because the Commission has statutory authority to review citations, orders, and proposed penalty assessments, but not safeguard notices themselves. Judge Merlin held that safeguards have the…
Samuel B. and Nancy Sanders, on behalf of Joseph Martin Sanders
Complaint dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Samuel and Nancy Sanders asked the Commission to review MSHA’s decision to vacate citations after their deceased son suffered fatal injuries at the Smokey Valley Common Operation. They also asked the Commission to verify a citation and address an alleged unsafe water-truck transmission. Judge Paul…
Western Massachusetts Blasting Corporation
Explosives-truck violations modified
Western Massachusetts Blasting Corporation was cited after explosives were loaded in a pickup with exposed steel surfaces and a steel shovel in the cargo bed, and after the parked truck's brake was not set and its wheels were not chocked. Judge Paul Merlin affirmed both violations but removed the…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Proceedings held pending appeal
This master docket involved more than 3,700 contests concerning alleged alteration of respirable-dust samples. After the Secretary petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for review of the Commission's November 29, 1995 decision, Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul…
Ames Construction Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Oliver J. Boutet filed a discrimination complaint against Ames Construction Company under section 105(c) of the Mine Act. The Commission requested additional information, but Boutet did not respond to the request or later orders to show cause. The orders were returned after attempted certified-mail…
R B Coal Company, Incorporated
Late hearing request allowed and case reopened
R B Coal Company missed the 30-day deadline to request a hearing on two Mine Act assessments totaling $2,700. The company's engineer explained that the request was misplaced while the small operator was handling many assessments and computerizing its records. Judge Paul Merlin found no prejudice to…
Roma Stone Corporation
Attorney-fee application dismissed
Roma Stone Corporation filed an application for attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. It later moved to withdraw and dismiss the application, and the Secretary did not object. Judge Paul Merlin granted the motion and dismissed the case.
Leo Journagan Construction Company
Operator ordered to answer penalty petition or show cause
The Secretary of Labor sought a civil penalty against Leo Journagan Construction Company for the Journagan Portable #12MC mine. The operator had not answered the penalty petition, despite an earlier order to show cause. Judge Paul Merlin ordered the operator to file an answer within 30 days or…
James Lee Hancock, employed by Pittsburgh & Midway Coal Company
Motion to dismiss denied and penalty filing accepted
James Lee Hancock, an employee of Pittsburgh and Midway Coal Company at the Cimmarron Mine, asked the judge to dismiss a personal civil-penalty case because the Secretary had taken too long to file the penalty petition. Judge Paul Merlin accepted the Secretary’s explanation for the filing delays…
Beco Construction Company
Settlement amount sent back for further discussion
Beco Construction Company was cited after it did not notify MSHA when Portable Crusher No. 2 was moved. The violation was designated non-significant and substantial, with high negligence, and carried an original proposed penalty of $1,000. The parties asked to reduce negligence to moderate and…
Fern Cove Incorporated
Default entered for $39,049 in penalties
The judge had issued show-cause orders in three civil penalty dockets involving Fern Cove Incorporated and Tanglewood Energy. The cases had been stayed while the Commission considered the operator's request to reopen 120 penalty cases, but the Commission denied that request. The operator did not…
Kiewit Mining Group Incorporated
Settlement approved after fatal electrical incident
Kiewit Mining Group was cited after electrical work was performed near energized equipment on a dragline. The citations concerned failure to deenergize electrical power and failure to lock out and tag the circuit. The conditions were associated with a fatality, and both violations were classified…
D. H. Blattner & Sons, Incorporated
Verbal-order contest dismissed
D. H. Blattner & Sons challenged an alleged verbal MSHA order requiring it to file a legal-identity notification or face shutdown. The judge explained that the Commission can review written citations and orders, but not an alleged verbal order. The judge dismissed the case and noted that the…
Ibold Incorporated
Late filing accepted
The Secretary of Labor asked the Commission to accept a civil penalty petition filed 16 days late. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin found adequate cause for the short delay and no showing of prejudice to Ibold Incorporated. He accepted the Conference and Litigation Representative's…
Lone Mountain Processing Incorporated
Late filing accepted
The Secretary of Labor asked the Commission to accept a civil penalty petition filed 16 days late. Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin found adequate cause for the short delay and no showing of prejudice to the operator. He accepted the Conference and Litigation Representative's appearance…
Meshach Coal Company
Dust-sampling settlement approved at $500
Meshach Coal Company failed to take a valid dust sample during a sampling cycle. The parties proposed reducing the penalty from $2,000 to $500 because the operator was experiencing financial difficulties and the mine was closed. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement and ordered payment of $500…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission and Board decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, the Environmental Appeals Board at EPA). These are citable as precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by the agency's Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official public release from the deciding agency, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.