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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Alaska Mechanical, Inc.
Disputed contest deadline remanded for fact-finding
Alaska Mechanical asked to reopen a proposed penalty assessment covering two citations. The company said it received the assessment on August 11 and that Federal Express delivered its contest on the September 10 deadline. MSHA's records instead showed receipt on August 8, which would make the…
Highland Mining Company, LLC
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
Highland Mining failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment before it became a final Commission order. The company asked the Commission to reopen the assessment, and the Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission applied the principles of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), which…
Davis H. Elliot Construction Company, Inc.
Reenergization failures led to $11,300 in penalties
Davis H. Elliot rebuilt an Ohio electric distribution system while existing lines remained in service. After three workers failed to report a changed assignment, the foreman relied on an incomplete all-clear and ordered a line energized while one worker was still on a pole, causing his…
Champlain Stone, Ltd.
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
Champlain Stone missed the deadline to contest a proposed penalty assessment, which then became a final Commission order. The company asked to reopen the assessment, and the Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission applied the principles of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)…
West Coast Aggregates, Inc.
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
West Coast Aggregates did not timely contest a proposed penalty assessment, which became a final Commission order. The operator requested reopening, and the Secretary did not oppose relief. The Commission applied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) principles, including possible relief for…
Ancient Sun, Inc.
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
Ancient Sun did not contest a proposed penalty assessment before it became a final Commission order. The company asked to reopen the assessment, and the Secretary did not oppose its request. The Commission looked to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), which permits relief in circumstances…
Dyno Nobel, Inc.
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
Dyno Nobel missed the deadline to contest a proposed penalty assessment, causing it to become a final Commission order. Dyno requested reopening, and the Secretary did not oppose relief. The Commission relied on Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) principles that permit relief for circumstances…
Dusek Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Default reopened for settlement review
An ALJ entered default against Dusek Sand & Gravel because the company did not answer the Secretary's civil-penalty petition. The Secretary timely asked the Commission to treat Dusek's response to a summary-judgment motion as its answer and to reopen the case so the parties' settlement could be…
Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino Waste Water Treatment Plant
In re Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino Waste Water Treatment Plant (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 08-02, 08-03, 08-04, and 08-05): monitoring requirements remanded in part
The Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino Waste Water Treatment Plant sought an NPDES permit for treated wastewater discharges from a tribally owned facility in California. Four petitioners challenged the permit, raising issues about discharge into a dry creek bed, wildlife, permit changes, phosphorus…
Twentymile Coal Company
Mailed penalty contest found timely
Twentymile Coal received a proposed penalty assessment on March 3, 2008, and its safety assistant mistakenly believed the contest deadline was April 3 rather than April 2. The company nevertheless sent its contest by overnight mail on April 2. Commission Rule 5 makes a mailed filing effective on…
Craig & Company, LLC
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
Craig & Company failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment within 30 days, so the assessment became a final Commission order. Craig asked the Commission to reopen the matter, and the Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission used Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) principles…
18 Karat, Inc.
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
18 Karat did not contest a proposed penalty assessment within the Mine Act's 30-day period, and the assessment became a final Commission order. The company requested reopening, which the Secretary did not oppose. The Commission applied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) principles that allow…
Lopke Quarries, Inc.
Reopening request remanded for good-cause findings
Lopke Quarries failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment before the Mine Act deadline, and the assessment became a final Commission order. Lopke asked for reopening, which the Secretary did not oppose. The Commission considered Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) principles allowing relief…
Matter of James L. ROSENBERG, Attorney
Immediate suspension remains in effect
The Board considered an attorney's request to set aside his immediate suspension from practice before the Board, the Immigration Courts, and the Department of Homeland Security. The attorney had been suspended from practice before the Ninth Circuit for conduct involving dismissed immigration…
Southwest Rock Products, LLC
Final assessments reopened for settlement review
Two proposed penalty assessments against Southwest Rock Products became final Commission orders after they were not timely contested. Southwest requested reopening, and the Secretary supported relief so the parties' settlement could be considered. The Commission looked to Federal Rule of Civil…
Left Fork Mining Company, Inc.
Three reopening requests denied
Left Fork Mining sought to reopen three final penalty assessments covering 33 contested citations after unpaid penalties, interest, and fees reached $76,897.79. The company said personnel at its Brookside office mistakenly failed to return assessment forms marked for contest. The Commission…
Delta Sand & Gravel Co.
Incomplete reopening request denied without prejudice
Delta Sand & Gravel missed the contest deadline for two citations related to a fatal accident because office personnel did not recognize their connection to the accident and did not send the assessment to the risk manager. Delta said the assessment entered its payment process but was never paid…
Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.
Reopening docket dismissed after timely contest confirmed
Martin Marietta asked to reopen a proposed penalty assessment after MSHA sent a letter saying the company's contest was late. The operator maintained that it had filed on time. MSHA later informed the Commission that it was treating the assessment as validly contested. Because no final Commission…
Kandey Company, Inc.
Cave-in violation reduced from willful to serious
Kandey employees worked in an excavation to connect a new building to a water main in Clarence, New York. The judge found that a portable ladder used for access did not extend three feet above the landing and that the excavation exceeded five feet, was not entirely stable rock, and lacked cave-in…
Kone, Inc.
Fall protection was required on stationary elevator car tops
A Kone apprentice technician was found dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft after being assigned to clean and paint the tops of two elevator cars. The judge found that working on a stationary car top exposed the technician to a 30-foot fall through openings at the back and side, and that a…
Matter of Enrique Salas COMPEAN; Matter of Sylla BANGALY; Matter of J-E-C-, et al.
Matter of Compean, Bangaly, and J-E-C- (BIA ID 3632): deficient counsel claims are administrative, not constitutional
The Attorney General reviewed Board orders denying reopening in three removal proceedings involving claims that former lawyers performed deficiently. The decision held that people in removal proceedings have a privilege to retain private counsel at no expense to the Government, but they do not have…
Consent Agreements and Proposed Final Orders for Animal Feeding Operations
In re Consent Agreements and Proposed Final Orders for Animal Feeding Operations (EAB CAA, CERCLA, and EPCRA appeals): seven agreements vacated
EPA offered animal feeding operations an opportunity to resolve potential liabilities under the Clean Air Act, CERCLA, and EPCRA through consent agreements and Final Orders. The Board had already vacated seventeen agreements in an October 24, 2008 order. EPA later identified seven additional…
Cumberland Coal Resources, LP
Four belt-entry enforcement actions upheld with modifications
MSHA issued four enforcement actions involving coal and float-coal-dust accumulations, preshift reporting, delayed abatement, and combustible trash at Cumberland's underground mine. Judge Michael E. Zielinski upheld the coal-accumulation violation but rejected its S&S and unwarrantable-failure…
Standard Concrete Products, Inc.
Rotten dunnage was not reasonably discoverable before girder failure
Standard Concrete loaded an 86-ton precast bridge girder onto a barge when a timber supporting its pedestal failed, causing the girder to crack and strike an employee who died from his injuries. The judge held that the longshoring standard applied because the girder had already been landed on the…
Guamcell Communications
Supervisor's parapet shortcut was unpreventable misconduct
An acting Guamcell supervisor stood without fall protection on the parapet of a ten-story building while adjusting a cellular antenna. Guamcell admitted the standard applied, the supervisor violated it, and a fall could cause death or serious injury. The judge found that the company nevertheless…
Aracoma Coal Company, Inc.
Global settlement approved for 102 penalty dockets
The parties proposed a global settlement of 102 penalty dockets covering 1,302 citations and orders at Aracoma's Alma Mine No. 1 and Hernshaw Mine. Twenty-five alleged violations were identified as contributing to the January 19, 2006 Alma mine fire in which two miners died. The settlement reduced…
Ruscat Enterprises, Inc.
Delivery-address dispute remanded
Ruscat Enterprises sought to reopen two proposed penalty assessments, saying it never received the originals and learned of them only through delinquency notices. MSHA did not oppose reopening but reported that Federal Express returned the assessment packages because of an incorrect address. Mine…
Stowers Trucking, LLC
Counsel filing mistake remanded for good-cause findings
Stowers Trucking intended to contest penalties for one citation and four orders. Its office manager faxed the assessment to counsel with contest instructions, but counsel inadvertently filed the form without submitting the contest. The error was discovered at a March 2008 meeting after the…
Palmer Coking Coal Company
Timeliness and one-year limit remanded for fact-finding
Palmer Coking Coal said it mailed a contest of two proposed penalties on March 26, 2007, but MSHA had no record of receiving it. The existing record did not establish when Palmer received the assessment or when it mailed the contest. Those dates also mattered because Palmer's April 25, 2008…
Stark Excavation, Inc.
Documented safety program proved supervisory misconduct defense
A Stark Excavation superintendent and two laborers stripped bridge forms without fall protection while exposed to a 14-foot, 10-inch drop to rocks below. The company did not dispute the unsafe condition but argued that the supervisor's lapse during a 10-to-15-minute task was unforeseeable…
Rockhouse Energy Mining Co.
Pattern-screening citation contests produced mixed rulings
Rockhouse contested 23 citations because their S&S designations affected whether its underground mine might receive a pattern-of-violations notice. Judge David F. Barbour accelerated the hearing and issued bench rulings so MSHA could use the results in its pending pattern review. He upheld S&S…
Wolf Run Mining Company
Safeguards held eligible for S&S designation
Wolf Run argued that a mine-specific safeguard requiring a suitable conveyor-belt crossing could not receive an S&S designation because safeguard criteria are not mandatory safety standards. The Secretary moved to amend the citation from the specific crossing criterion to the general safeguard…
Pinnacle Mining Company, LLC
Ten reopening requests denied without prejudice
Pinnacle Mining asked to reopen ten final penalty assessments covering, by its count, 278 citations and orders and more than $264,000 in penalties. Its safety director said he believed the assessments had already been contested and cited a management and ownership transfer for some cases. MSHA had…
Pinnacle Mining Company, LLC
Unreliable mail system did not justify reopening
Pinnacle Mining missed a penalty-contest deadline because mail was collected infrequently from a post office box 12 to 16 miles from the mine and was not reliably delivered to the right employee. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission majority held that Pinnacle had tolerated a…
The Dow Chemical Company, Hanging Rock Plant
In re The Dow Chemical Company, Hanging Rock Plant (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 06-01): appeal withdrawn and dismissed with prejudice
The Dow Chemical Company sought review of a RCRA permit for its Hanging Rock Plant. Dow notified the Environmental Appeals Board that it was withdrawing the appeal. The Board granted the request and dismissed RCRA Appeal No. 06-01 in its entirety with prejudice. The order does not impose a penalty…
Lang Exploratory Drilling
Employee receipt mistake remanded for good-cause findings
Lang Exploratory Drilling initially said the director responsible for penalties never received a proposed assessment that the company intended to contest. MSHA opposed reopening because delivery records showed that the assessment was sent to Lang's address of record and signed for. Lang then…
Mirant Canal, LLC
In re Mirant Canal, LLC (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 08-10): petition dismissed without prejudice after permit withdrawal
EPA Region 1 told the Environmental Appeals Board that it would withdraw certain conditions from Mirant Canal's Clean Water Act discharge permit and re-notice them as draft conditions for public comment. Mirant Canal supported a stay but asked the Board to require broader re-noticing. The Board…
Agapito Associates, Inc.
Crandall Canyon citation contest stayed for criminal investigation
MSHA cited engineering consultant Agapito Associates after the August 2007 Crandall Canyon coal-pillar failure in which six miners died. Agapito sought an early ruling that it was not an independent contractor subject to the Mine Act, while the Secretary requested a stay because the same evidence…
Humboldt Bay Repowering Project
In re Humboldt Bay Repowering Project (EAB PSD Appeal No. 08-08): review denied for state-issued permit
Rob Simpson asked the Environmental Appeals Board to review a PSD permit issued to Pacific Gas and Electric Company for the Humboldt Bay Repowering Project in California. The permit came from the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District under California's federally approved State…
S & M Coal Company
Misplaced assessment explanation rejected as conclusory
S & M Coal missed the deadline to contest a $58,100 assessment covering eight citations and orders. Its president said he believed the underlying citations were already contested and attributed the missed filing to administrative oversight. Counsel added that the assessment form was found misplaced…
Solar Coal Company
Nearly two-year-old reopening request denied
Solar Coal asked to reopen an assessment issued in June 2006 so it could seek a lower outstanding penalty based on its financial condition. The Secretary argued that inability to pay is not a Rule 60(b) ground for reopening and that the request came too late. Rule 60(b) requires motions based on…
Solar Coal Company
Seven hardship-based reopening requests denied without prejudice
Solar Coal asked to reopen seven final penalty assessments so it could seek lower amounts based on its financial condition. The Secretary responded that inability to pay is not a Rule 60(b) ground for reopening and suggested that Solar contact MSHA about a payment plan. The Commission found that…
CCC Group, Inc.
Timely penalty contest confirmed and reopening docket dismissed
CCC Group told the Commission that MSHA was incorrectly treating its penalty contest as late. The matter was initially docketed as a reopening request. The Secretary then acknowledged that MSHA had erred and confirmed that CCC's contest was timely. Because the proposed assessment never became a…
Bango Oil, LLC
In re Bango Oil, LLC (EAB PSD Appeal No. 08-10): review denied for minor-source permit and premature filing
Sherry Wideman asked the Environmental Appeals Board to review a proposed revision to Bango Oil, LLC's Class II air quality operating permit for a used-oil and recycled-fuel-oil re-refining facility in Fallon, Nevada. The Nevada Department of Environmental Protection treated the facility as a minor…
Cumberland Coal Resources, LP
Four safeguard citations changed to non-S&S
Four citations alleged that Cumberland Coal violated mine-specific safeguards requiring clear 24-inch travelways near conveyor belts and feeders. Cumberland moved for summary decision removing the S&S designations, arguing that section 104(d)(1) permits S&S treatment only for violations of…
Beverly Healthcare-Hillview
Bloodborne-pathogen follow-up items affirmed after court remand
The Third Circuit vacated an earlier Commission decision that had thrown out two bloodborne-pathogens citation items against Beverly Healthcare-Hillview. The court determined that the employer had fair notice of the Secretary's interpretation of the cited post-exposure evaluation and follow-up…
Ernie's Tree Service
Commission approved settlement after directing review
Ernie's Tree Service petitioned for Commission review of the administrative law judge's disposition, and the Commission directed the case for review and requested briefing. The parties then signed a stipulation and settlement agreement that the Secretary submitted to the Commission. After reviewing…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Peter J. Phillips v. A & S Construction Company
Temporary reinstatement dissolved after MSHA declined the case
Peter Phillips obtained temporary economic reinstatement after alleging that A & S Construction discharged him for protected safety complaints. MSHA later completed its investigation, found no Mine Act discrimination, and declined to file a complaint on his behalf. The Secretary argued that…
Sangravl Company, Inc.
One citation vacated and penalties reduced to $1,626
MSHA issued five citations at Sangravl's small sand-and-gravel plant involving conveyor guarding, a rusted structural beam, and a nonworking loader backup alarm. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon vacated one return-roller citation because Sangravl had installed the guard as a previous inspector directed and…
Genwal Resources Inc.
Post-accident filing failure remanded for good-cause findings
Two August 2007 accidents at Genwal's Crandall Canyon Mine resulted in nine fatalities and ended mining operations. After the mine safety director was reassigned, a September penalty assessment was misplaced in unrelated personnel files until April 2008. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but…
Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Company
Conference misunderstanding remanded for good-cause findings
Pine Bluff participated in an MSHA conference about one citation and believed it did not need to contest the related penalty until it received the conference result. MSHA maintained that its representative left a message two days later saying the citation would not change and argued that the…
Big Ridge, Incorporated
Two safeguard citations changed to non-S&S
MSHA cited Big Ridge for violating mine-specific safeguards after finding an obstructed belt-conveyor travelway and muddy, irregular conditions on a mine travel road. Big Ridge sought summary decision removing the S&S designations, while the Secretary sought to amend the citations from the…
Ember Contracting Corporation
Returned assessments remanded for address findings
Ember Contracting said it did not receive three proposed assessments totaling $157,861 and first learned of them when a later assessment listed the balances as outstanding. MSHA reported that the three packages were sent to the address of record but returned as undeliverable. The Secretary did not…
Process Energy
Remote unguarded shaft changed to non-S&S
Process Energy stipulated that a protruding steel piece on an unguarded conveyor discharge-roller shaft violated the guarding standard. The shaft was on the offside of the belt, five to seven feet above ground, close to a highwall, and reachable only by crossing over the belt. Judge Jerold Feldman…
A. G. Mazzocchi, Inc.
Altered blood-lead report supported willful violations and $105,000 in penalties
A. G. Mazzocchi employees torch-cut lead-painted steel while demolishing a large crane at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The Commission held that the lead-in-construction standard's high-risk-task presumption and monitoring evidence established that the main torch-cutter was covered by…
Krystal Gravel
Penalty-amount objection treated as timely contest
MSHA assessed penalties for 18 citations issued to Krystal Gravel. Within the 30-day period, Krystal wrote that it did not dispute the violations but needed help because the penalty amounts were calculated incorrectly and were too high. The Secretary said the letter was not an adequate contest but…
Lafarge Aggregates Southeast, Inc.
Wrong e-mail attachment remanded for good-cause findings
Lafarge intended to contest an assessment covering seven citations after its safety director had already asked MSHA to reduce findings on one citation. The safety director instructed counsel to contest all seven penalties but accidentally attached a different assessment to the e-mail. Counsel did…
Deseret Power Electric Cooperative (Bonanza)
In re Deseret Power Electric Cooperative (EAB PSD Appeal No. 07-03): CO2 BACT issue remanded, alternatives review denied
EPA Region 8 issued Deseret Power Electric Cooperative a PSD permit for a new waste-coal-fired generating unit at the Bonanza Power Plant in Utah. Sierra Club challenged the Region's treatment of alternatives to the proposed facility and its decision not to impose a best available control…
Frontier-Kemper Constructors Inc.
Citation-contest misunderstanding remanded for good-cause findings
Frontier-Kemper timely contested citations, and those contest proceedings were stayed while MSHA prepared the proposed penalties. When the assessment arrived, an employee mistakenly believed no separate penalty contest was needed because the citations were already under contest. The assessment form…
Kevin Phillips, employed by Reostone, LLC
Individual penalty contest remanded for good-cause findings
MSHA proposed $4,150 in individual penalties against Kevin Phillips under Mine Act section 110(c) for six citations. The record did not establish when Phillips received the assessment. In January 2008 he wrote MSHA that he wanted to contest the penalties and apparently included the assessment form…
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.