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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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…
Danbi, Inc.
Incorrect zip code remanded for good-cause findings
MSHA assessed $34,100 for two unwarrantable-failure orders, but Danbi said it never received the assessment because its legal identification form contained a mistyped zip code. The company stated that it had tried several times to correct the address without realizing those efforts had failed. It…
Northern Lakes Concrete, Inc.
Three conclusory reopening requests denied without prejudice
Northern Lakes Concrete had previously contested five underlying citations but failed to contest the three later penalty assessments. Its safety director attributed the missed deadlines to mistake, inadvertence, administrative error, and a clerical failure to bring the assessments to his attention…
Pitlick & Wick, Inc.
Four conclusory reopening requests denied without prejudice
Pitlick & Wick missed the contest deadlines for four proposed penalty assessments issued on the same day. Its safety director attributed the failures to mistake, inadvertence, administrative error, and a clerical failure to bring the assessments to his attention. The Secretary did not oppose…
Matter of Cristoval SILVA-TREVINO
A categorical framework for crimes involving moral turpitude
The Attorney General reviewed a Board decision about whether a Texas conviction for indecency with a child was a crime involving moral turpitude. The decision established a three-step approach that starts with the statute of conviction, then examines the record of conviction when necessary, and…
Mass Transport, Inc.
Address dispute remanded for contest-timing finding
MSHA issued Mass Transport a proposed assessment for one citation and three orders arising at the Delbarton Preparation Plant. Mass Transport said it missed the contest deadline because MSHA mailed the assessment to an incorrect address, while the Secretary maintained that the assessment and…
Five Star Mining, Inc.
Misread assessment remanded for good-cause finding
Five Star's counsel filed an untimely contest after misreading the proposed assessment and calculating the deadline incorrectly. A later delinquency letter went to the company's accounting department, while the safety manager and counsel believed the citation had been contested. Counsel learned of…
Highland Mining Co., LLC
Three violations affirmed without S&S findings
Highland faced 28 violations and $74,232 in proposed penalties at its Highland 9 mine. The parties settled 25 violations, leaving two combustible-oil accumulation citations and one diesel-equipment ventilation citation for decision. Highland admitted the three violations but challenged their…
Matter of F-P-R-
Last arrival means the most recent arrival from abroad
The Board considered whether an asylum applicant's one-year filing period should be measured from an earlier arrival in the United States or from his most recent return after a trip abroad. The Board held that “last arrival” in 8 C.F.R. § 1208.4(a)(2)(ii) ordinarily means the alien's most recent…
Mora Mutual Domestic Water Consumers and Sewage Works Association
In re Mora Mutual Domestic Water Consumers and Sewage Works Association (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 08-20): extension of appeal deadline denied
Mora Mutual Domestic Water Consumers and Sewage Works Association asked the Environmental Appeals Board for more time to appeal its NPDES permit. The Board found that the permit decision had been served on September 17, 2008, making October 20, 2008 the filing deadline, and that scheduling…
WR Exterior Design Construction, Inc.
Late-answer dismissal set aside for further inquiry
An administrative law judge dismissed WR Exterior Design Construction's notice of contest after the company failed to answer the Secretary's complaint, affirming citations and $19,600 in proposed penalties. The Commission found that the pro se company apparently never received the show-cause order…
PBS Coals, Inc. and Musser Engineering, Inc.
Gross negligence findings led to $110,000 in penalties
These proceedings followed the July 24, 2002 inundation at the Quecreek No. 1 Mine, which trapped nine miners underground. An earlier ruling had found that PBS Coals and Musser Engineering violated the mine-mapping standard by using an inaccurate boundary for an adjacent flooded mine. After a…
American Tower Corporation
In re American Tower Corporation (EAB EPCRA Appeal No. 08-01C): consent-based Final Order approved
EPA and American Tower Corporation consented to entry of a Final Order under EPCRA docket number EPCRA-HQ-2007-6001. The Board approved and incorporated the Consent Agreement. It ordered American Tower Corporation to comply with the agreement immediately. The release does not state a penalty amount…
Windstream Corporation
In re Windstream Corporation (EAB CWA 08-01C and EPCRA 08-02C): consent-based Final Order approved
EPA and Windstream Corporation consented to entry of a Final Order under Clean Water Act and EPCRA docket numbers. EPA published notice of the proposed Final Order in the Federal Register, the public comment period closed, and no comments were received. The Environmental Appeals Board approved and…
Matter of C-R-C-
Evidence overcame regular-mail delivery presumption
The Board considered whether to reopen removal proceedings after the respondent said he had not received a Notice to Appear sent by regular mail. The respondent submitted an affidavit stating that he still lived at the address used, showed that he had an incentive to appear because he had applied…
Matter of M-R-A-
Regular-mail notice carries a weaker delivery presumption
The Board considered a motion to reopen an in absentia removal order after the respondent said he did not receive a Notice of Hearing sent by regular mail. The Board held that a properly addressed notice sent by regular mail carries a presumption of delivery, but that presumption is weaker than the…
Stratcor, Inc.
MSHA discussions did not suspend contest deadline
MSHA proposed penalties for 13 citations issued to Stratcor. The company missed the 30-day contest deadline while asking several MSHA offices about the basis and amount of the penalties. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but emphasized that discussions with MSHA do not suspend the statutory…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Sealed-area pump citations vacated
Jim Walter Resources used nonpermissible deep well pumps to remove water from permanently sealed areas of its No. 4 and No. 7 mines. MSHA cited the pumps because their power connections were outby the last open crosscut, were not permissible, and were not in intake air. On cross-motions for summary…
Jessee Stone Company
Delinquency notice required good-cause inquiry
Jessee Stone sought to reopen an uncontested penalty assessment, saying the citation had somehow been omitted or misplaced during settlement of other citations. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but explained that this citation was never part of the other litigation or settlement and that MSHA…
Black Beauty Coal Company
Supported roof rock citation vacated
MSHA cited Black Beauty for an allegedly inadequate preshift examination after an inspector found a large roof rock above a travelway to a seal construction area. The inspector believed the rock and bowed metal straps created a serious fall hazard that should have been recorded. The company's…
Maulsby Farms, LLC
In re Maulsby Farms, LLC (EAB CAA 08-01C, CERCLA 08-01C, and EPCRA 08-03C): consent agreement ratified and $200 penalty assessed
EPA offered animal feeding operations a consent process addressing potential liabilities under the Clean Air Act, CERCLA, and EPCRA. Maulsby Farms, LLC entered a Consent Agreement that the Environmental Appeals Board reviewed and ratified. The Board ordered Maulsby Farms to comply with the…
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): penalty and name/address corrections
EPA asked the Environmental Appeals Board to correct 41 previously ratified consent agreements for animal feeding operations. The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance represented that penalty amounts for 25 respondents had been miscalculated, largely because respondents supplied incorrect…
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): responsibility transferred for six agreements
The Environmental Appeals Board had ratified consent agreements for animal feeding operations resolving potential liabilities under the Clean Air Act, CERCLA, and EPCRA. EPA reported that six respondents sold their farms after the agreements were approved, and that the new owners agreed to assume…
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): 17 agreements vacated
The Environmental Appeals Board had ratified consent agreements for animal feeding operations resolving potential liabilities under the Clean Air Act, CERCLA, and EPCRA. EPA asked the Board to vacate 17 agreements because nine respondents had sold or shut down their farms before approval, and eight…
Matter of Rolando Manapa FEDERISO
A fraud waiver requires a living qualifying relative
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal from an Immigration Judge's grant of a fraud waiver under section 237(a)(1)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The respondent had entered the United States as a lawful permanent resident based on a first-preference…
Dixie Sand and Gravel, LLC
Two-day-late penalty contest sent for a good-cause determination
MSHA proposed penalties for six citations, but Dixie Sand and Gravel submitted its contest two days after the 30-day deadline. Dixie attributed the delay to sudden personnel reductions and a mistaken belief that the deadline ran in business days rather than calendar days. The Secretary did not…
DBS, Inc.
Four late penalty contests sent for a good-cause determination
DBS had contested the citations covered by four proposed penalty assessments but did not separately contest the penalties within 30 days. The company said it did not understand that both steps were required and learned of the final assessments when the Secretary moved to dismiss the citation…
United Taconite, LLC
Late penalty contest sent for a good-cause determination
MSHA issued United Taconite a proposed assessment covering 54 citations, but the company did not contest it within 30 days. The company said the assessment went to an area safety manager who was away while his office contents were placed in storage during remodeling. The Secretary did not oppose…
FUJIFILM Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc.
In re FUJIFILM Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 08-02C): consent agreement ordered and $26,230 penalty assessed
EPA and FUJIFILM Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc. signed and consented to entry of a Final Order. The Environmental Appeals Board incorporated the Consent Agreement into the order and required FUJIFILM to comply with all its terms. The Board assessed a $26,230 civil penalty and required payment by…
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Employee letter required review of possible party status
OSHA cited the Metropolitan Museum of Art for six violations with $7,500 in proposed penalties, and the Secretary and museum later submitted a settlement reducing the total penalty to $3,700. An affected employee had earlier sent a letter asking that his materials be considered and raising…
Jacob Mining Company, LLC
Disputed penalty payment sent for a good-cause determination
Jacob Mining timely contested four citations but did not separately contest a later penalty assessment covering two of them. The company said the assessment was mistakenly routed to accounting and paid instead, while MSHA's records showed that no payment had been received. The Secretary did not…
Voss Sand Works, Inc.
Undelivered assessment sent for a good-cause determination
MSHA proposed penalties for three citations, but Voss Sand Works did not respond and later said it never received the assessment. The Secretary confirmed that Federal Express returned the assessment undelivered even though it had been sent to the operator's address of record. She did not oppose…
Bledsoe Coal Corporation
Clerical filing error sent for a good-cause determination
MSHA proposed $118,538 in penalties for six violations, and Bledsoe Coal intended to contest all of them. The company's safety director said he marked the assessment and sent it to clerical staff, who misunderstood his notation and did not mail the contest within 30 days. The Secretary did not…
Blue Diamond Coal Company
Two fatal-accident citations vacated on summary decision
The case followed a fatal fall from an aerial bucket while a maintenance supervisor employed by another company was using the boom to pull a wooden post from concrete. MSHA cited Blue Diamond for failing to require a safety belt and for failing to maintain the aerial bucket in safe operating…
StarTran, Inc.
Court's partial remand returned recordkeeping case for further proceedings
The Fifth Circuit reviewed the Commission's earlier decision affirming a StarTran citation under OSHA's recordkeeping-access rule. The court affirmed the Commission in part and remanded the case in part in an unpublished opinion. After receiving the court's mandate, the Commission remanded the…
Twentymile Coal Company
Misdirected contest form sent for a good-cause determination
Twentymile Coal sought to contest the penalty for one citation after its assessment became a final order. The Commission had denied an earlier reopening request without prejudice because the company explained only why uncontested penalties were paid late, not why the contest form was not returned…
Matter of Andres ARMENDAREZ-Mendez
Departure bar blocks reopening after removal
The respondent was removed from the United States under a final administrative removal order and later asked the Board to reopen his proceedings so he could seek section 212(c) relief. The Board held that 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(d), known as the departure bar, prevents the Board from exercising…
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.