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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Ramblin Coal Company, Inc.
Multiple mine-safety violations affirmed with $1,812 in penalties
Ramblin Coal Company operated Mine No. 8, a small coal mine employing about 20 people. Judge William Fauver found violations involving rock dust, electrical equipment, mine-road guarding, cutting-machine guarding, battery chargers, permissible equipment, compressed-gas cylinders, examination…
Kem Coal Company
Damages ordered after discriminatory-discharge finding
An earlier decision found Kem Coal Company liable for discriminating against Charles T. Smith in violation of section 105(c) of the Mine Act. The parties stipulated that back pay and interest through April 30, 1992, totaled $46,157.12, and that attorney fees and costs totaled $6,247.50. Judge…
BethEnergy Mines, Inc.
Safeguard notice affirmed, conveyor citations vacated
BethEnergy's Mine No. 60 had a safeguard notice requiring at least 24 inches of clear travelway on both sides of belt conveyors. Judge William Fauver held that the safeguard was valid because it was based on the inspector's observations of narrow and obstructed travelways, but he found that the…
S and H Mining, Incorporated
Electrical orders affirmed with $800 penalties
S and H Mining operated an underground coal mine in Tennessee. Judge William Fauver found that a damaged cable-coupler lock and an improperly shielded high-voltage cable splice created serious electrical hazards and involved unwarrantable failure. He affirmed Orders 3174055 and 3174056 under the…
Kem Coal Company
Discriminatory discharge finding reaffirmed on remand
The Commission remanded Charles T. Smith's discrimination case for additional credibility findings and analysis of whether his discharge was connected to protected safety activity. Judge William Fauver credited Smith's account, found that a supervisor gave management a distorted account of the…
Mettiki Coal Corporation
Proceedings dismissed on unopposed motion
Mettiki Coal Corporation was involved in a contest proceeding and a related civil penalty proceeding. Judge William Fauver granted the Secretary's unopposed motion to dismiss and dismissed both proceedings. The short order does not state the underlying citation outcome or a penalty amount.
Essroc Corporation
Monetary relief ordered after discrimination finding
Essroc Corporation operated a cement grinding plant where Clifford Meek had been denied employment after engaging in protected safety-related activity. An earlier decision found discrimination, and this order resolved the remaining question of monetary relief. Judge William Fauver ordered Essroc to…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement motion denied over proposed S&S reductions
Consolidation Coal Company faced citations at its Dilworth Mine for an obstructed travelway and missing insulating mats near electrical control boxes. The parties proposed reducing several significant-and-substantial designations, but Judge William Fauver found that the proposal did not show the…
Tunnelton Mining Company
Settlement motion denied
Tunnelton Mining Company sought approval of a settlement for a citation alleging that a roof-bolter trailing cable was not effectively insulated and did not exclude moisture. The proposed settlement would have reduced the alleged violation from significant and substantial to non-significant and…
Shick, employed by Muncie Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Knowing brake violation affirmed with $400 penalty
Robert Shick was the mine superintendent at an open-pit sand and gravel mine. MSHA found that a front-end loader had defective service brakes but was still used to load customer trucks and travel on inclined haulage roads. Judge William Fauver found that Shick knowingly authorized and ordered the…
Essroc Corporation
Discrimination proceeding kept open for monetary relief
Clifford Meek brought a Mine Act discrimination proceeding against Essroc Corporation. An earlier decision found that Essroc discriminated against him by refusing to employ him because of his protected activities, but left monetary relief for a later decision. Judge William Fauver formally denied…
Shamrock Coal Company, Inc.
Discrimination relief ordered
Shamrock Coal was previously found to have discharged Lonnie Ross and Charles Gilbert because they made safety complaints. Judge William Fauver set the monetary relief for both miners, including back pay, interest, medical costs, retirement-account tax penalties, tax withholdings, litigation costs…
David L. Stritzel
Stay lifted and discrimination case dismissed
David L. Stritzel brought a Mine Act discrimination proceeding against the Secretary of Labor, MSHA, and two individuals. The case had been stayed while the Court of Appeals considered Wagner v. Secretary of Labor. After that court affirmed the Commission's ruling that MSHA and its employees acting…
T & T Fuels Incorporated
Settlement partly approved, S&S reduction denied
T & T Fuels proposed a settlement covering four citations, including a request to reduce one citation from significant and substantial to non-S&S, lower the negligence allegation, and reduce the penalty to $63. Judge William Fauver denied the requested S&S reduction because the motion did not show…
Secretary of Labor v. S & H Mining, Incorporated
Imminent-danger order vacated, citation affirmed
S & H Mining operated an underground coal mine where high-voltage power lines were measured at heights below 15 feet above ground. The judge found that the condition created a substantial possibility of serious injury because the area was accessible to the public and electrical examiners, but the…
Clifford Meek v. Essroc Corporation
Discrimination found, employment ordered
Clifford Meek alleged that Essroc Corporation refused to employ him at a cement grinding plant because he had raised safety concerns with an MSHA inspector. The judge found that Essroc was a successor to the prior operator and that the prior management officials who recommended against hiring Meek…
El Dorado Chemical Company
Settlement approval denied for truck steering citation
El Dorado Chemical Company faced a civil penalty proceeding over a truck used to haul explosives. MSHA alleged that the truck's steering section was loose, creating a risk that the bolts could break and the driver could lose steering control. The Secretary proposed reducing the alleged…
Carroll Frank Bluemel, Employed by South Texas Aggregates, Incorporated
Individual penalty assessed for knowingly authorizing hazardous equipment use
Carroll Frank Bluemel was the mine superintendent at South Texas Aggregates' Helotes Mine. After a front-end loader fire injured an operator, Bluemel later authorized use of another loader even though he knew or had reason to know that its hydraulic system and emergency engine shutoff remained…
Coal Mac Incorporated
Settlement partly approved with S&S findings retained
Coal Mac operated the Coal Mac No. 17 and No. 7 Surface mines. The parties sought to reduce several significant-and-substantial designations and civil penalties across citations involving mobile equipment, storage, explosives, brakes, guards, and other safety conditions. Judge William Fauver…
Hickory Coal Company
Final order sets $600 penalty in three installments
A prior decision found that Hickory Coal violated section 103(a) of the Mine Act, and the case remained open for civil-penalty assessment. Judge William Fauver noted that the Department of Justice had obtained a default judgment for unpaid penalties and that the company was discussing a payment…
Toler Creek Energy, Inc.
Settlement partly approved and merger requests denied
Toler Creek Energy asked the judge to approve a settlement covering citations and orders at its No. 1 and No. 2 Mines. Judge William Fauver approved reduced penalties for six citations and orders, totaling $4,850, and required payment within 30 days. He denied requests to merge several other…
Shamrock Coal Company, Inc.
Discriminatory discharges found
Shamrock Coal operated an underground coal mine where Lonnie Ross and Charles Gilbert worked on a maintenance crew. They complained about doing electrical work without certified mine electricians, the pressure created by a 10-hour work schedule, and the failure to replace a crew member on vacation…
Manalapan Mining Company, Inc.
Ventilation citation vacated after airflow testing
Manalapan Mining Company operated an underground coal mine. MSHA alleged that ventilation air for a working section was passing through a gob area and cited 30 C.F.R. § 75.312. The judge found that the air movement observed in front of nine curtains was caused by a swirling effect from a…
Mettiki Coal Company
Proceedings concluded after penalty settlement
Mettiki Coal Company contested two citations issued at the Mettiki General Prep Plant. The order states that a penalty settlement for both citations was approved on July 12, 1991, in Docket No. YORK 89-42. Because the settlement resolved the two proceedings, the judge ordered that all proceedings…
Green River Coal Company, Inc.
Methane and coal-dust findings mixed
Green River Coal operated an underground coal mine with three consolidated dockets. The judge found that methane in a return-air split violated the requirement to reduce methane below one percent and that the operator’s failure to act on a recorded methane reading was unwarrantable. The judge also…
R B Coal Company, Inc.
Water-pressure order affirmed, $1,000 penalty assessed
R B Coal operated an underground coal mine in Kentucky. The judge found that the mine violated its approved ventilation, methane, and dust control plan because a continuous miner could not maintain the required 75 psi water pressure. The judge also found that the violation was highly negligent…
Beechgrove Processing Co.
Four coal preparation plant citations affirmed
Beechgrove Processing operated a coal preparation plant with about 17 employees. MSHA cited dangerous float coal dust, grease and hay accumulations, a discharged fire extinguisher, and an improperly guarded belt and pulley. Judge William Fauver found each condition violated its cited standard and…
Mettiki Coal Company
Settlement approved with $800 penalty
Mettiki Coal Company faced a civil penalty proceeding involving its Mettiki General Preparation Plant. The Secretary of Labor asked the judge to approve a settlement and dismiss the case. Judge William Fauver found the settlement consistent with the Mine Act's penalty criteria, approved it, and…
Hickory Coal Company
Inspection-access citation and withdrawal order affirmed
Hickory Coal operated the Slope No. 1 underground mine in Pennsylvania. The owner denied federal mine inspectors access to the mine during an inspection and continued to deny entry when they returned, leading to a citation and a withdrawal order under the Mine Act. Judge William Fauver found the…
Ramblin Coal Company, Inc.
Settlements approved, citation vacated, proceedings stayed
These consolidated proceedings involved three Ramblin Coal dockets at the No. 5 and No. 8 Mines. Judge William Fauver approved a $105 settlement in KENT 90-428 and approved three settlements totaling $223 in KENT 90-429. He granted the Secretary's motion to vacate Citation No. 3367869 in KENT…
Edwin E. Espey, Jr., Employed by Espey Silica Sand Company
Individual penalty imposed for knowingly permitting unsafe access
MSHA found unguarded floor openings and a broken support beam at the Espey Pit and Plant, an open pit silica sand operation in San Antonio, Texas. The conditions created a risk that a person or material could fall through the floor and cause permanently disabling or fatal injuries, violating the…
Peabody Coal Company
Walkaround pay violation affirmed
Peabody Coal operated the Sundial No. 10-B Mine. During a joint federal and state investigation of a roof fall, the company paid one miners' representative who accompanied the state inspector but refused to pay Ernest Eugene White, who accompanied the federal inspector. Judge William Fauver held…
Collier Stone
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Robert A. Cook alleged that Collier Stone fired him after he reported equipment safety defects to an MSHA inspector at the company's Pennsylvania open pit crushed-stone and aggregate mine. Judge William Fauver found that Cook had engaged in protected activity, but the evidence did not prove that…
Dravo Basic Materials Company, Inc.
Settlement approved with reinstatement and backpay
Alonzo Walker was found to have been discharged in violation of the Mine Act from his dragline operator job at the Selma Mine. In this order, Judge William Fauver approved a settlement between Walker, Dravo Basic Materials, and R & S Materials. The settlement required $5,890.63 in backpay, $75 in…
Roger Deel, employed by Blackfoot Coal Company, Inc.
Roof-control penalty reduced to $50
MSHA charged Roger Deel, a section foreman at Blackfoot Coal Company's No. 1 Mine, with knowingly violating the mine's roof-control requirements. The judge found that Deel followed a management practice of mining from left to right even though the roof-control plan required mining from right to…
Bill Pack Land Corporation and PCR Joint Venture
Fire-control settlements approved
These consolidated civil penalty proceedings involved a coal-mine refuse pile in West Virginia that had been burning for more than 50 years. After a hearing and settlement conference, Bill Pack Land Corporation and PCR Joint Venture agreed to reduced penalties, fire-control and extinguishing plans…
Beth Energy Mines, Inc.
Belt travelway safeguards affirmed
MSHA cited Beth Energy after finding obstructions that narrowed the tight-side travelways alongside two belt conveyors below the 24-inch width required by a safeguard notice. Judge William Fauver held that the notice was valid because it tracked a published safeguard criterion and that the…
Mettiki Coal Company
Lockout violations affirmed and imminent-danger order modified
Mettiki Coal operated the Mettiki General Preparation Plant. An MSHA inspection found that a padlocked disconnect breaker for a conveyor could still be turned on because its lockout device was defective. Judge William Fauver found violations of 30 C.F.R. §§ 77.502 and 77.507, but concluded that the…
Arch of Kentucky, Inc.
Two citations vacated
Arch of Kentucky operated Mine No. 37, a longwall coal mine. After an April coal outburst, MSHA approved a supplemental roof control plan requiring remote operation from shields 85 to 104. Following a May outburst that injured a shearer operator, MSHA cited the company for allegedly violating the…
Arch of Kentucky, Inc.
Fatality-related machinery citations affirmed
Arch of Kentucky operated the High Splint No. 2 Mine. During a repair of a continuous mining machine, a maintenance foreman used the machine's tram motor and chain to remove a shaft, even though that method was not a recommended maintenance procedure. The chain broke and the foreman died. Judge…
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
Stay lifted and $78 penalty due
The Secretary sought a civil penalty for a citation that was also being litigated in a related contest proceeding. The penalty case was stayed while the contest decision was reviewed by the Commission. After the Commission affirmed the citation and the $78 penalty in the contest case, Judge William…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
Eleven safety citations affirmed with negligence findings modified
Walker Stone operated a surface limestone quarry and mill. MSHA alleged eleven violations involving guarding, electrical grounding, conveyor warnings, fuel-tank signage, power-switch labeling, cable fittings, and defects in a fuel-delivery truck. Judge William Fauver found every cited violation…
Day Branch Coal Company Inc.
Roof and fire-suppression violations affirmed
Day Branch Coal Company operated an underground coal mine. MSHA alleged that miners traveled under unsupported roof, warning devices were missing, roof supports did not follow the mine plan, roof bolts were damaged, and a conveyor-belt fire-suppression system was inoperative. The judge found the…
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company
Penalty corrected from $525 to $475
The judge amended his January 30, 1990 decision to correct a clerical error in the penalty amounts stated in the order. The corrected order changes the penalties from $525 to $475. The amendment covers the KENT 88-191 and KENT 88-192 civil penalty proceedings involving H-2 Mine and C-2 Mine. The…
Moltan Company
Electrical-cabinet citation affirmed
Moltan Company's kiln operator had to reach into an electrical cabinet to reset motor starter controls while exposed 480-volt conductors and terminals remained energized. The judge found that the reset controls were operating controls covered by 30 C.F.R. § 56.12040. He also found that the…
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company
Methane-related citations affirmed
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company operated two underground coal mines where inspectors found an impermissible opening in a continuous miner's breaker box and methane moving from an abandoned area into an active working section. The judge found that the first condition could contribute to a serious…
Mettiki Coal Company
Citation vacated and case dismissed
The Secretary moved to vacate Citation No. 3110387 in a civil penalty proceeding against Mettiki Coal Company. Judge William Fauver granted the motion for good cause. The case was dismissed, and the decision does not state the underlying safety standard or provide further facts about the citation.
Mettiki Coal Company
Ventilation order vacated and other violations affirmed
Mettiki Coal Company faced consolidated proceedings involving ventilation, hoist-cable, and roof-control issues at the Mettiki Mine. Judge William Fauver vacated the order alleging that the mine's ventilation plan was violated because the cited areas carried intake air and complied with the plan…
Mettiki Coal Company
Safeguard, citation, and order vacated
Mettiki Coal Company was cited after an inspector found water and mud in approaches to mine seals and issued a safeguard requiring clear, safe travelways. The ALJ found that the safeguard addressed a hazard common to underground mines and had bypassed the formal rulemaking process used for…
Cargill, Inc.
Wilbur Hartley v. Cargill, Inc. (FMSHRC YORK 89-41-DM): Complaint dismissed by default
Wilbur Hartley's discrimination proceeding against Cargill, Inc. concerned the Cargill Salt Mine. The Judge had ordered Hartley to file a prehearing statement after continuing the proceeding and later issued a show-cause order when the statement was not filed. Hartley did not respond to the…
Mettiki Coal Corporation
Both citations vacated
Mettiki Coal Corporation operated the Mettiki Mine, where miners used track-mounted personnel carriers and belt conveyors. The ALJ vacated a citation concerning a parked personnel carrier because the underlying safeguard was invalid and the Secretary was collaterally estopped from relitigating that…
Mettiki Coal Corporation
Settlement approved and contest dismissed
Mettiki Coal Corporation and the Secretary proposed a settlement covering a civil penalty proceeding and a related citation contest. Judge William Fauver approved the settlement, modified Citation No. 3110113 to remove its significant and substantial designation, and assessed $100 for that…
Mathies Coal Company
Back pay and litigation expenses ordered
Joseph G. Delisio and Mathies Coal Company stipulated to the amount of back pay with interest and litigation expenses after an earlier decision on liability. Judge William Fauver ordered the company to pay $99 in back pay with accrued interest and $2,000 in litigation expenses, including a…
Mettiki Coal Company
Electrical-equipment citation vacated
Mettiki Coal Company used diesel locomotives underground at its mine. MSHA cited the company for not recording a weekly examination under 30 C.F.R. § 75.512, which applies to electrical equipment. Judge William Fauver held that the standard did not cover diesel-powered locomotives merely because…
Peabody Coal Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Judge William Fauver issued a show-cause order giving Donald R. Babbs an opportunity to explain why his discrimination complaint should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Babbs did not respond by the deadline. The judge therefore dismissed the proceeding for lack of jurisdiction.
Virgnia Carbon, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement ordered after safety complaint
John L. Jones, Jr. worked as a scoop operator at Virginia Carbon's Mine No. 4 and was discharged after refusing to sign an examination book and leaving a note about miners working under unsupported roof. Judge William Fauver found that the evidence showed a substantial, nonfrivolous basis for the…
Florence Mining Company
Remand penalty reduced to $100
The Commission had affirmed Florence Mining Company's violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.1704, reversed the findings of unwarrantable failure and significant and substantial violation, and remanded the case for reconsideration of the civil penalty. On remand, Judge William Fauver considered the Mine Act…
Green River Coal Company
Settlement approved and $6,800 assessed
Green River Coal Company faced consolidated civil penalty proceedings involving Mine No. 9 under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act. At the hearing, the parties first proposed reducing the penalties from $7,100 to $5,400 and changing two section 104(d)(1) orders to section 104(a) citations…
A. H. Smith Stone Company
Backup alarm violation affirmed with $395 penalty
A. H. Smith Stone Company operated a Terex front-end loader at its Louisa Plant without an operable backup alarm. The judge found that the condition had continued for about two weeks, exposed people on foot in the loading area to a high risk of serious injury, and supported high negligence and a…
Consolidation Coal Company
Compensation complaint dismissed on withdrawal
Local Union 9909, District 31, United Mine Workers of America, filed a compensation proceeding against Consolidation Coal Company concerning the Loveridge No. 22 Mine. The union requested permission to withdraw its complaint. Judge William Fauver granted the request and dismissed the case. The…
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.