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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R S & W Coal Company, Inc.
Broken loader window violation upheld but reduced
R S & W Coal Company operated a small anthracite mine with a front-end loader whose left door window was broken near the top. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the broken window violated the requirement to keep cab windows in good condition. He found the violation was not significant and substantial…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Thirty-three citations resolved for $20,343
Eight civil-penalty dockets covered 33 alleged safety violations at Jim Walter Resources' No. 4, No. 5, and No. 7 underground coal mines. Judge Jerold Feldman adjudicated six citations and one order involving haulage coupling, electrical protection, rib support, track obstructions, a leaking seal…
Christian County Generation, LLC
In re Christian County Generation, LLC (EAB PSD Appeal No. 07-01): CO₂ BACT review denied as waived
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issued Christian County Generation a PSD permit for a proposed 630-megawatt integrated gasification combined cycle coal-fired power plant in Illinois. Sierra Club sought review because the permit did not include a best available control technology limit for…
McElroy Coal Company
Four safety violations upheld with two reduced
MSHA cited four conditions at McElroy's underground coal mine and surface preparation plant, including an incomplete preshift report, hazardous electrical equipment, an open motor-control enclosure, and low oxygen in a bleeder entry. Judge Michael E. Zielinski upheld all four violations. He removed…
Martin Construction, Inc.
EAJA filing period began after the judicial-review window closed
Martin Construction prevailed when an administrative law judge vacated six excavation citation items. The company filed an Equal Access to Justice Act fee application 63 days after the merits decision became a final Commission order, and the judge dismissed it as untimely because neither party had…
City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Facility and Combined Sewer Overflows
In re City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Facility and Combined Sewer Overflows (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 07-13): petition dismissed after settlement
The Conservation Law Foundation petitioned for review of the NPDES permit for the City of Portsmouth's Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Facility and Combined Sewer Overflows. The foundation reported that EPA Region 1, the permit issuer, and the City had settled the disputed permit issues and…
C. W. Mining Company
Coal accumulation and examination citations produce $6,500 penalty
MSHA cited conditions at C. W. Mining's Bear Canyon No. 4 underground coal mine involving combustible accumulations, machine guarding, and preshift examinations. Judge Richard W. Manning upheld the S&S coal-accumulation citation because extensive dry coal and float dust were exposed to several…
J.S. Redpath Corporation
Delayed entrapment report upheld, phone citation vacated
Two Redpath miners remained about 1,400 feet up a ventilation raise for several hours after a severed air hose disabled their climber's normal drive and braking systems. Judge David F. Barbour found they were entrapped because they reasonably believed staying in place was safer than attempting a…
Matter of Liduina De Fatima GARCIA-MADRUGA
Welfare fraud is not ordinarily a theft offense
The Board reviewed an Immigration Judge's finding that a Rhode Island welfare-fraud conviction was an aggravated-felony theft offense. The Board clarified that a theft offense ordinarily requires taking or controlling property without the owner's consent, with criminal intent to deprive the owner…
Core Energy, LLC
In re Core Energy, LLC (EAB UIC Appeal No. 07-02): reconsideration denied
Robert and Joan LeBlanc sought review of EPA Region 5's permit authorizing Core Energy, LLC to convert a test well in Otsego County, Michigan, into a Class V carbon-dioxide injection well. They argued that the permit raised questions about liability for damage and the property rights of neighboring…
Centredale Manor Superfund Site (North Providence, RI)
In re Centredale Manor Superfund Site (North Providence, RI) (EAB CERCLA Appeal No. 05-02): petition dismissed as moot
Brook Village Associates Limited Partnership and EPA Region 1 jointly notified the Environmental Appeals Board that Brook Village elected to withdraw its petition for review. The notice stated that an effective consent decree between the parties made the petition moot. The Board dismissed Brook…
Banner Blue Coal Company
Citation vacated after Secretary default
Banner Blue Coal Company contested Citation No. 7316850, which had been issued at the Apollo Mine on September 7, 2006. The Secretary did not respond to Judge Gary Melick's order requiring a response by October 26, 2007. The judge granted the company's contest by default. He vacated the citation.
Shawn Johnson v. David Huffman Trucking Inc.
Discharged miner awarded back pay and fees
An earlier decision found that David Huffman Trucking unlawfully discharged Shawn Johnson in violation of the Mine Act's discrimination protections. After the parties could not agree on damages, Judge Gary Melick calculated Johnson's lost earnings through the date he left the labor market to become…
Consol of Kentucky, Inc.
Imminent-danger methane order vacated
MSHA withdrew miners from Consol's Jones Fork E-3 Mine after sampling found methane and oxygen levels behind a set of seals within an explosive range. Judge Gary Melick found that an explosive atmosphere alone did not establish an imminent danger without a reasonably likely ignition source. MSHA's…
Matter of I-S- & C-S-
Withholding of removal requires an explicit removal order
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge found two Indonesian respondents removable but granted withholding of removal without entering an explicit removal order. The Board held that a removal order must be entered before withholding can be granted…
Empire Iron Mining Partnership
Stuck-pallet maintenance violation affirmed
A miner was fatally injured when a stuck pallet on Empire Iron's ore-pellet cooler released and moved into a pinch point while employees tried to free it. The Commission majority held that MSHA could allege two alternative standards in one citation because both arose from the same facts, gave…
Mammoth Coal Company
Misplaced penalty form remanded for good-cause review
MSHA's June 2007 assessment covered several Mammoth Coal citations, including Citation No. 7254427. Mammoth said its administrative staff misplaced the assessment form and therefore failed to mark that citation for contest. The company discovered the mistake after receiving a delinquency letter…
Benny Presley
Misaddressed personal penalty contest allowed to proceed
MSHA assessed a personal penalty against former mine foreman Benny Presley after a section 110(c) investigation at the Upper Big Branch Mine. Presley had moved, and the assessment was sent to the wrong address, so he first learned of it through an October 2007 delinquency letter. He filed a contest…
Canyon Fuel Company, LLC
$59,392 missed contest remanded for good-cause review
MSHA proposed $59,392 in penalties after issuing Canyon Fuel Company numerous citations during a regular safety inspection. Canyon's safety manager mistakenly believed he had filed a timely contest, but no contest was submitted before the assessment became final. The company moved to reopen after…
James Hamilton Construction
Weekend penalty deadline dispute remanded
James Hamilton Construction said it received an MSHA penalty assessment on August 10, 2007. The company calculated that the 30-day contest period ended on Sunday, September 9, and mailed its contest the next day. The Secretary did not oppose reopening, but the Commission found the record…
James Hamilton Construction
Late penalty contests remanded for good-cause review
James Hamilton Construction asked the Commission to reopen three penalty assessments after an earlier motion had been denied without prejudice for insufficient detail. The company said its safety director missed the contest deadlines while handling urgent air-quality compliance matters, and the…
Prime Roofing Corporation
Late amendment denied and repeat fall citation remained vacated
OSHA cited Prime Roofing under the general unprotected-edge fall standard after observing an employee working on a parapet wall about 22 feet above the ground. The judge initially found the employee was performing roofing work governed instead by the low-slope-roof standard and vacated the…
Emerald Coal Resources, LP and Cumberland Coal Resources, LP
Refuge-chamber purchase-order requirement upheld
Emerald and Cumberland proposed emergency response plans using refuge chambers to provide 96 hours of breathable air, but wanted 60 days after plan approval to place purchase orders. MSHA required purchase orders within two days of approval and cited the operators when negotiations reached an…
Standard Building Company, Inc., and Standard Systems, Inc.
Three items affirmed against one company and all items vacated against the other
Standard Building managed a restaurant renovation, and Standard Systems was identified as a related stucco contractor. The judge found that a subcontractor owner acted in part as Standard Building's site superintendent but lacked scaffold and powered-industrial-truck safety training. Standard…
Core Energy, LLC
In re Core Energy, LLC (EAB UIC Appeal No. 07-02): review denied
Robert and Joan LeBlanc petitioned for review of EPA Region 5's permit authorizing Core Energy, LLC to convert a test well in Otsego County, Michigan, into a Class V carbon-dioxide injection well. They raised concerns about liability for damage and about property rights beneath neighboring land…
The American Coal Company
Blocked access to escapeways violates travel requirements
A longwall stage loader at American Coal's Galatia Mine repeatedly migrated toward the rib and blocked the normal path from the working face to designated escapeways. Miners then had to climb and crawl over the running loader in muddy conditions or use a slower route across other equipment. The…
In re Miguel Angel MARTINEZ-ZAPATA
Sentence enhancements can define the aggravated felony offense
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's request for a waiver after a Texas marijuana-possession conviction was enhanced because the offense occurred in a drug-free zone. The Board held that a fact that increases the maximum penalty and must be proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt, unless…
MetWest, Inc.
Reusing blood-tube holders violated the contaminated-needle rule
MetWest used reusable blood-tube holders whose push-button mechanism let phlebotomists detach contaminated needles after drawing blood. OSHA cited the company under the bloodborne-pathogens rule that generally prohibits removing contaminated needles. The Commission held that the rule permits…
Consolidation Coal Company
Disputed mailed contest remanded for fact-finding
Consolidation Coal said it mailed MSHA a letter contesting selected citations and orders ten days after receiving a proposed penalty assessment. It separately paid the uncontested items, but MSHA had no record of receiving the contest letter. The Commission could not determine whether MSHA…
Secretary of Labor v. Dana Mining Company, Inc.
Accident victim's estate denied intervention
The estate administrator of a miner killed in a roof fall sought to intervene in an MSHA penalty case against Dana Mining. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon held that she was neither a miner nor a representative of affected miners under the Commission's intervention rule. He also found that the Secretary could…
Hazleton Shaft Corporation
Grinder trigger-lock citation vacated
An MSHA inspector found an unused hand grinder at Hazleton Shaft's preparation plant with both a pressure-sensitive trigger and a manufacturer-installed trigger lock. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon held that section 77.402 requires a control needing constant hand or finger pressure but does not prohibit a…
Manalapan Mining Company
Vague mail explanation remanded for detail
Manalapan Mining missed the 30-day deadline to contest an MSHA penalty assessment. The company said the form may have been misplaced or there may have been confusion with the mail, while the Secretary produced receipts indicating that the contest was late and did not oppose reopening. The…
Chevron Mining, Inc.
Separate penalty-contest mistake remanded
Chevron Mining timely contested an MSHA citation and order after a March 2007 inspection. When MSHA later proposed penalties, Chevron's safety manager mistakenly believed the earlier contest also preserved the right to challenge those assessments and did not submit the separate penalty form…
North American Salt Company
Missing citation contest remanded for good-cause review
MSHA's proposed assessment covered 31 citations issued to North American Salt Company. The company said it marked Citation No. 6240760 for contest on the assessment form and also sent an MSHA official a June 11 letter stating its intent to contest. MSHA had no record of receiving the assessment…
In re Jharfvan Jose THOMAS
Simple possession is not recidivist aggravated felony without a recidivist proceeding
The Board reviewed a Jamaican respondent's cancellation-of-removal case after an Immigration Judge treated a Florida marijuana-possession conviction as an aggravated felony based on an earlier drug conviction. The Board held that simple possession does not become a recidivist aggravated felony…
In re Jose Angel CARACHURI-ROSENDO
Simple possession does not become recidivist aggravated felony automatically
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's cancellation-of-removal case after an Immigration Judge treated a later Texas alprazolam-possession conviction as an aggravated felony because of an earlier marijuana-possession conviction. The Board held that controlling Supreme Court and circuit precedent…
Contour Erection & Siding Systems, Inc.
Old building and visible debris put contractor on notice of asbestos
Contour employees cut, shoveled, and swept ceiling material while shoring a partially collapsed roof in a building constructed in 1960. OSHA cited 14 serious violations because the company provided none of the protections required for Class I asbestos work. The Commission found constructive…
Lanier Construction Company
Mistaken payment of contested penalties remanded
Lanier Construction intended to contest five citations issued in July 2007. Its office manager mistakenly paid the proposed penalties instead, and the company discovered the error while checking a citation involved in a section 110(c) special investigation. The Secretary did not oppose reopening…
Keene Wastewater Treatment Facility
In re Keene Wastewater Treatment Facility (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 07-18): portion of petition dismissed as moot
EPA Region 1 reissued an NPDES permit for the City of Keene's wastewater treatment facility in New Hampshire. The City challenged new limits for total recoverable copper, lead, and zinc, among other permit terms. After the Region withdrew those metal limits and planned a new public notice and…
Trinity Industries, Inc.
Asbestos violations remanded for a serious-violation penalty
Trinity hired a contractor to repair a furnace in a pre-1980 facility without first determining whether asbestos was present or warning the contractor about asbestos-containing material. The ALJ affirmed two asbestos hazard-communication violations but classified them as non-serious and assessed no…
General Motors Corp., CPCG Oklahoma City Plant
Widespread lockout failures produced serious and willful violations
OSHA issued 57 lockout/tagout citation items after a millwright was killed when a motor rail conveyor activated during servicing work at General Motors' Oklahoma City plant. The Commission found that GM did not adequately implement or enforce its energy-control program, conduct the required annual…
Austin Powder Company
Detonator magazine-storage citations affirmed
Austin Powder stored non-mass-detonating detonators in a metal freight container whose ceiling had a sparking surface and whose vents were covered. The Commission majority held that the plain language of MSHA's rules requires all detonators, not only mass-detonating types, to be stored in compliant…
In re Miguel LEMUS-Losa
Unlawful presence bar applies after any qualifying departure
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's application to adjust status after he had spent more than one year unlawfully in the United States, departed, and later returned without inspection. The Board held that the ten-year inadmissibility bar applies when an alien with at least one year of…
In re Alonzo BRIONES
Adjustment of status unavailable after unlawful reentry
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge found him inadmissible for reentering the United States without admission after more than one year of unlawful presence. The respondent sought adjustment of status under section 245(i), relying on an approved family-based…
Wausau Papers of New Hampshire, Inc.
In re Wausau Papers of New Hampshire, Inc. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 05-15): appeal dismissed
Wausau Papers of New Hampshire, Inc., later renamed Wausau Paper Printing & Writing LLC, petitioned for review of NPDES Permit No. NH0001562. EPA Region 1 issued a final permit modification that revised the challenged permit conditions, making the petition moot. The Environmental Appeals Board…
Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Scoop citation upheld, cable citation reduced
Oak Grove admitted that a battery-powered scoop had an excessive gap in its electrical enclosure and that a shuttle-car cable splice was deteriorated. Judge Gary Melick found the scoop violation S&S and highly grave because the gassy mine had a history of methane ignitions and the gap could allow…
Africo Manufacturing, Inc.
Missing scissor-lift guardrails exposed workers to a 20-foot fall
Two Africo employees installed sprinkler piping from a scissor lift about 20 feet above a concrete floor with guardrails missing from one side and one end. The ALJ credited the OSHA officers' testimony and rejected the company president's claim that the employees had switched lifts without his…
Huron Real Estate Associates, LLC
Exit-route obstruction affirmed, lockout item vacated
A condensate-induced water hammer ruptured a steam-system valve at Huron's facility, killing one worker and seriously injuring another. The ALJ vacated OSHA's lockout/tagout item because the cited release-from-lockout provision required replacement of parts removed during servicing and cleanup of…
Jaxun v. Asarco, LLC
Reassignment and stay denied, complaint materials ordered
Vurnun Edwurd Jaxun asked to have his discrimination case reassigned and to stay the assignment order. Chief Administrative Law Judge Robert J. Lesnick denied both requests and directed the case to proceed. He ordered Jaxun to file the original MSHA complaint, proof that the mine operator received…
Summit Anthracite, Inc.
Nineteen mine-startup citations yield $1,569 penalty
MSHA issued Summit Anthracite 19 citations while the small Brockton Slope mine was installing and starting new systems. The violations covered a late quarterly report, vehicle and roadway safety, electrical installation and examination defects, plan compliance, guarding, housekeeping, fire…
Kenneth D. Bowles, employed by New River Mining Company
Mine manager personally liable for roof-plan violation
New River's approved roof control plan required supplemental cable bolts wherever slickensided formations were present. MSHA found extensive, obvious slickensides without the required cable bolts, creating a serious roof-fall hazard. Judge David F. Barbour held that mine manager Kenneth Bowles knew…
TK Construction, LLC
Claimed late receipt of assessment remanded
MSHA issued TK Construction a proposed penalty assessment on August 22, 2007. TK said it did not receive the assessment until October 5 and promptly contacted MSHA to contest two citations, but was told the 30-day period had expired. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission remanded…
John Shabrach, employed by D.M. Stoltzfus & Son, Inc.
Misaddressed personal assessment remanded
MSHA proposed a personal section 110(c) penalty against John Shabrach based on an order issued to his employer. Shabrach said MSHA mailed the assessment to an incorrect address and that he first learned of it from a delinquency notice, after which counsel sent a contest letter. The record did not…
Martin County Coal Corporation
Two impoundment-plan violations vacated on remand
After a 2000 slurry breakthrough, MSHA alleged that Martin County Coal violated its approved impoundment sealing plan in two ways. On remand from the Commission, Judge Michael E. Zielinski found that the company effectively covered the seepage barrier with settled fine refuse as the plan required…
L.G. Everist, Inc.
Omitted contest form remanded for good-cause review
L.G. Everist had already filed separate contests for six of eight citations and intended to contest their later penalty assessments. It marked those six items on the assessment form and sent payment for the other two, but mistakenly omitted the marked form from the mailing. MSHA then applied the…
Government of the District of Columbia, Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System
In re Government of the District of Columbia, Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 06-07 and 06-08): petitions dismissed with prejudice
The Government of the District of Columbia sought review of contested terms in NPDES Permit No. DC0000221 for its municipal separate storm sewer system. EPA Region 3 withdrew those permit terms after settlement negotiations did not resolve the parties' differences and planned to prepare a new draft…
Solar Sources, Inc.
Three late citation contests dismissed
Solar Sources filed contests of three citations more than 30 days after MSHA issued them. The company argued that later citation-continuation forms appeared to extend the deadline and that its delay resulted from mistake or excusable neglect. Chief Administrative Law Judge Robert J. Lesnick held…
Alex Energy, Inc.
Late answer accepted and contests stayed
The Secretary filed an answer to four Alex Energy contest cases 38 days after the Commission rule's 20-day period, citing internal mail-routing delays. Alex Energy opposed the late filing but did not identify any prejudice caused by the delay. Judge Jerold Feldman held that the filing period was a…
Thomas Industrial Coatings, Inc.
Water cooler was inadequate for washing lead from workers' hands
Thomas sent a two-person crew to remove lead paint from a bridge while initial air-monitoring results were still pending. The Commission held that the lead standard's interim protections applied during that period, but its overlapping general protections did not yet apply. A water cooler and…
In re C-W-L-
Successive asylum claim barred after a final removal order
The Board considered a Chinese respondent's request to file a successive asylum application based on changed personal circumstances while he was subject to a final removal order. The Board held that a successive asylum application may be considered only through a timely and properly filed motion to…
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.