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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Joy Technologies Inc. - Coal Field Operations
Contractor-operator status affirmed
Joy Technologies provided mining equipment and service support at Somerset Mining Company's underground Sanborn Creek Mine. A Joy service representative visited the mine regularly, worked with essential mining equipment, and operated a continuous miner during an assembly task without the required…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
One citation affirmed and one vacated
Walker Stone Company was cited for an unguarded conveyor tail pulley and a severely cracked windshield on a pickup used for mine business. Judge Roy J. Maurer affirmed the tail-pulley citation and assessed a $50 penalty. He vacated the windshield citation because the evidence did not establish that…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
One citation affirmed and one vacated
Walker Stone Company was cited for an unguarded conveyor tail pulley and a severely cracked windshield on a pickup used for mine business. Judge Roy J. Maurer affirmed the tail-pulley citation and assessed a $50 penalty. He vacated the windshield citation because the evidence did not establish that…
Associated Sand & Gravel Company, Inc.
Mixed result on mine jurisdiction and penalties
Associated Sand & Gravel operated a sand and gravel pit, a wash plant, and related concrete and asphalt facilities at the Butler Pit Wash Plant. The judge considered whether a maintenance shop used to repair mining equipment was within the Mine Act's jurisdiction, after citations were issued for an…
Wallace Brothers, Inc.
Failure-to-abate penalties affirmed
Wallace Brothers was cited for two unguarded moving-machine-part violations at a portable crusher and was given two days to correct them. When the inspector returned 26 days later, the violations had not been abated and the company had no sufficient explanation. Judge Arthur J. Amchan affirmed the…
Cedar Creek Quarries, Inc.
Dismissal motions denied and cases consolidated
Cedar Creek Quarries' president and a foreman asked the judge to dismiss civil-penalty petitions alleging knowing violations of mine safety standards. They argued that the delay between the alleged violations and notice of personal liability was unfair, that Mine Act section 110(c) was…
Lance Paul v. Newmont Gold Company
Dismissal vacated and remanded
Lance Paul alleged that Newmont Gold Company discriminated against him under the Mine Act. The ALJ dismissed the case after Newmont said it could not locate Paul, but Paul later told the judge that he had updated his address and had not received the hearing notice. The Commission treated Paul's…
Akzo Salt Company
Discrimination found and reinstatement ordered
James Rieke reported that a foreman removed a safety tag from equipment and directed miners to use it before repairs were confirmed. After MSHA issued a citation naming the foreman, Rieke was removed from his powderman and blaster position and reassigned. Judge Gary Melick found that the…
P. A. Landers, Incorporated
Four excavation violations affirmed for $10,300, willful charge reduced to serious
P. A. Landers, Incorporated was constructing a manhole in an excavation about 8.5 feet deep beside a roadway carrying substantial traffic. Three employees worked without hard hats, bricks and concrete blocks were stored within two feet of the edge, and the access ladder extended only one foot above…
Construction Materials Corp.
Settlement approved with reduced penalty
Construction Materials Corp. and the Secretary proposed a settlement in a civil-penalty case. Judge Avram Weisberger found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria. He approved the settlement, reduced the proposed penalty from $645 to $516, and ordered payment within 30…
Coal Preparation Services, Incorporated
Default entered after missed hearing
Coal Preparation Services did not appear at a rescheduled civil-penalty hearing. The operator's representative said he went to the hearing on July 13, although the notice had scheduled it for July 12 at a specific location. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the operator had not shown good cause for…
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company
Consolidated penalties partly affirmed, vacated, and settled
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company faced civil-penalty proceedings involving five dockets and multiple alleged safety violations. The parties settled some citations, while Judge Roy J. Maurer decided the remaining disputes. The judge affirmed many citations, vacated some citations for insufficient…
Waste Management of Palm Beach, Division of Waste Management, Inc., of Florida
Commission affirms hazard from unauthorized reinforcement of trash-loader boom
Waste Management of Palm Beach operated garbage trucks fitted with hydraulic trash loaders whose flexible booms were designed to absorb operating shock. After one boom cracked, the company welded steel plates along it without evidence of manufacturer approval. The trash-loader assembly later…
Fort Scott Fertilizer-Cullor, Inc.
Brake citations partly vacated and modified
Fort Scott Fertilizer-Cullor and James Cullor faced civil-penalty proceedings after MSHA found defective brakes and a broken leaf spring on quarry trucks. Judge Jerold Feldman found evidence that employees had tampered with the brake adjustments, vacated two brake citations, and dismissed the…
Kellys Creek Resources, Inc.
Borehole violation reduced to non-S&S with $500 penalty
Kellys Creek Resources cut into a sealed mine area without drilling the required boreholes. The company stipulated that it violated 30 C.F.R. § 75.388(a)(2), which requires boreholes when a working place approaches an area not shown by certified surveys. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the…
Williams Construction Co., Inc.
Final power-line citation withdrawn and $80,000 fee settlement approved
The case arose from citations issued after an accident at Williams Construction Co., Inc.'s Montana electrical power-line construction worksite. After other items had been withdrawn, the only remaining item alleged that an employee approached energized parts too closely with a conductive object…
Eyelematic Manufacturing Company, Inc.
Power-press, chain, cylinder, and electrical items produce $5,300
Eyelematic Manufacturing Company, Inc. made small metal parts at its Connecticut facility. Administrative Law Judge Richard DeBenedetto vacated a flammable-container item because the Secretary's amendment shifted the theory from approved container design to liquid transfer without evidence fitting…
RNS Services, Inc.
Coal refuse pile held outside Mine Act jurisdiction
RNS Services operated a coal refuse pile and was cited for alleged violations involving daily workplace examinations and a ground control plan. RNS accepted that the cited standards were violated but argued that the site was not subject to the Mine Act. Judge Avram Weisberger held that the…
Williams Brothers Coal Co., Inc.
Six citations affirmed and two vacated
Williams Brothers Coal Company operated the No. 3 Mine in eastern Kentucky. MSHA issued eight citations involving boreholes, examination records, lighting, insulation mats, coal dust and oil, a ladder, roof-bolt torque testing, and ventilation. Judge Arthur J. Amchan affirmed six citations as…
Madison Branch Management
Fatal carbon-monoxide case remanded for higher penalties
Madison Branch Management operated a surface mine where its contractor, Protective Security Services, assigned a night watchman to remain for long periods in a parked vehicle. The watchman died from carbon monoxide intoxication after his vehicle's damaged exhaust system released fumes into the…
Consolidation Coal Company
Civil penalty cases dismissed after respondents' absence from mine shifts
The Secretary alleged that four individuals knowingly authorized, ordered, or carried out a violation involving a pre-shift examination at Consolidation Coal's mine. The respondents submitted sworn statements that they were not on duty during the shifts immediately before or during the incident…
Kiewit Mining Group Incorporated
Settlement approved after fatal electrical incident
Kiewit Mining Group was cited after electrical work was performed near energized equipment on a dragline. The citations concerned failure to deenergize electrical power and failure to lock out and tag the circuit. The conditions were associated with a fatality, and both violations were classified…
Deby Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved and cases dismissed
Deby Coal Company faced two civil penalty proceedings involving section 104(b) orders and section 104(a) citations at its preparation plant. Judge Avram Weisberger reviewed the parties' settlement motion and found it appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria. He approved the settlement…
Umetco Minerals Corporation
In re Umetco Minerals Corporation (EAB CAA Appeal No. 94-6): radon-reporting violation found and case remanded
EPA Region VIII alleged that Umetco Minerals Corporation failed to report 1990 radon emissions testing for the A-9 uranium mill tailings impoundment at its East Gas Hills facility in Wyoming. The presiding officer dismissed the complaint after concluding that the impoundment was not operational…
Mid-Continent Resources, Inc.
Coal accumulation violation found S&S on remand
Mid-Continent Resources was cited after loose coal accumulated along a 3,000-foot belt at its Dutch Creek Mine. The earlier ALJ decision found the violation and unwarrantable failure but not S&S. After Commission remand, Judge Richard W. Manning found that the gassy mine, ignition sources, the…
Moishe's Moving Systems, Inc.
Manager's vacation did not excuse late notice of contest
Moishe's Moving Systems, Inc. received a serious OSHA citation on December 8, 1992, making its notice of contest due December 30. The company filed its contest in January after the building manager returned from vacation and found the citation in his mail. Chief Judge Irving Sommer noted that 30 to…
Fort Scott Fertilizer-Cullor, Inc.
Employee misconduct did not defeat brake citations
Fort Scott Fertilizer-Cullor operated a limestone quarry where MSHA found defective brakes on two haulage trucks. The ALJ vacated the citation and withdrawal order after finding that employees had tampered with the brakes, and dismissed the penalty proceedings against Fort Scott and supervisor…
Florida Rock Industries, Inc.
Discrimination case dismissed after joint withdrawal
Irvin Rodgers, II, brought a discrimination proceeding against Florida Rock Industries concerning his November 22, 1994 termination. The parties jointly moved to withdraw their pleadings, and Florida Rock agreed not to seek attorney's fees from Rodgers. The judge granted the motion and dismissed…
Appalachian Collieries
Borehole violations affirmed, S&S findings rejected
Appalachian Collieries operated the No. 2 Mine, where an MSHA inspector found boreholes that were shorter than required in two entries. The judge found violations of 30 C.F.R. § 75.388(b)(3) and (c)(2), which address boreholes maintained ahead of working faces and boreholes drilled at a 45-degree…
Faith Coal Company
Mixed findings across consolidated civil penalty proceedings
Faith Coal Company operated the No. 15 Mine as a contract operator for Tennessee Consolidated Coal Company. The consolidated proceedings involved numerous alleged violations of mine safety and health standards, with many matters resolved through settlements. Judge David F. Barbour approved the…
RB Coal Company, Inc.
Late reopening request remanded for Rule 60(b) review
RB Coal Company asked the Commission to reopen penalty assessments that had become final after it missed the 30-day period to contest them. RB said it mailed a hearing request on day 45 because the request card had been misplaced. The Commission remanded the matter to an ALJ to decide whether RB…
Cowlitz Valley Sand & Gravel
Jurisdiction found and settlement approved
Cowlitz Valley Sand & Gravel was preparing a sand-and-gravel operation but had not yet begun production when MSHA inspected it. The judge found that the operation was subject to the Mine Act because its preparation and equipment were connected to activities that would affect interstate commerce…
Cyprus Emerald Resources Corp.
Settlement reduces and modifies penalties
Cyprus Emerald Resources Corp. and the Secretary settled a civil penalty case involving five orders at the Emerald No. 1 Mine. The settlement reduced the penalties on two orders and reduced and reclassified three others as section 104(a) citations, deleting the unwarrantable-failure allegations…
Consolidation Coal Company
Discrimination settlement approved
Randy Cunningham alleged that Consolidation Coal Company failed to pay him for one hour spent serving as a walkaround representative during an MSHA inspection. The company agreed to pay him for that hour, and the Secretary agreed to withdraw the proposed civil penalty. The judge approved the…
NI Industries, Riverbank Army Ammunitions Plant
Inadequate sump ventilation produces one serious $3,500 violation
NI Industries employees cleaned sludge from a permit-required sump about 25 feet deep at an ammunition plant. The sump had limited natural ventilation, and employees used a gasoline chain saw that repeatedly caused the atmospheric monitor's alarm to sound. NI initially provided no forced…
Tanglewood Energy, Inc. and Fern Cove, Inc.
Relief from final orders denied
Tanglewood Energy and Fern Cove asked the Commission to reopen 119 matters that had become final, citing excusable neglect under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(1). The Commission explained that 94 matters became final when the operators did not timely contest proposed penalty assessments…
Amax Coal Company
Coal accumulation orders partly resolved
Amax Coal Company operated the Wabash Mine, a large underground coal mine. The case involved three orders alleging violations of the Mine Act and 30 C.F.R. § 75.400, which requires combustible materials to be cleaned up and not allowed to accumulate in active workings. The judge approved an $8,000…
Louisiana-Pacific Company
Sander kickback and repeat lockout failures produce $158,500
Louisiana-Pacific Company operated a particle-board plant where a jammed wide-belt sander ejected a board that struck an employee and caused severe internal injuries. The judge found that kickback was a recognized woodworking hazard and that manufacturer-recommended anti-kickback fingers would…
Tamposi Family Investments
In re Tamposi Family Investments (EAB CERCLA § 106(b) Petition No. 94-6): reimbursement petition denied
Tamposi Family Investments sought reimbursement for costs it incurred under an EPA order to clean asbestos contamination on its property in Nashua, New Hampshire. TFI argued that Johns-Manville Corporation was solely responsible for the release and that TFI was an innocent landowner because it had…
Boart Longyear Company
Discrimination proceeding dismissed
Sam Collette alleged that Boart Longyear Company discriminated against him after a back injury and his complaints about the safety and health effects of driving a water truck. The judge found that the company had no other qualified light-duty position available and that Collette's termination was…
William H. Oliver
In re William H. Oliver (EAB CERCLA 106(b) Petition No. 94-8): reimbursement petition denied
William H. Oliver sought reimbursement for response costs he incurred while complying with an EPA order to clean up hazardous substances at a former furniture manufacturing site in Cadillac, Michigan. He argued that he did not own the cans and drums at the site, that any liability should not be…
Newmont Gold Company
Discrimination complaint dismissed without prejudice
Lance A. Paul filed a discrimination complaint against Newmont Gold Company under section 105(c)(3) of the Mine Act. A hearing notice was returned as unclaimed, and the company reported that Paul's address was unknown. The judge granted the company's motion to dismiss, canceled the scheduled…
Kellys Creek Resources, Inc.
Consolidated penalties assessed after fatal roof fall
Kellys Creek Resources operated Mine No. 78 and faced contests and civil penalty proceedings involving numerous citations and orders. The proceedings included violations related to a January 1, 1992 roof fall that fatally injured two miners and seriously injured a third. The judge rejected Kellys…
Chemical Waste Management of Indiana, Inc.
In re Chemical Waste Management of Indiana, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal Nos. 95-2 and 95-3): permit review denied
Chemical Waste Management of Indiana operated the Adams Center Landfill Facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, under a federal RCRA permit and sought a Class 3 permit modification and renewal of the federal portion of the permit. The City of New Haven and two individual petitioners challenged the permit…
Richard A. Pulaski Construction Company, Inc.
Default set aside because employer lacked a chance to show cause
The administrative law judge dismissed Richard A. Pulaski Construction Company, Inc.'s notice of contest after the company missed an agreed telephone prehearing conference. The record showed that Pulaski had previously filed a witness statement, promptly contacted the Commission after the…
Southmountain Coal, Inc.
Settlement approved and contests dismissed
Southmountain Coal and William Ridley Elkins were parties to contest and civil penalty proceedings involving numerous citations, orders, and proposed penalties. The Secretary reported related criminal proceedings and stated that the respondents' monetary liability had been satisfied. The judge…
Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc.
Consolidated citations settle for $8,850
The Commission approved a complete settlement of three consolidated Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc. dockets. Seven electrical-panel cabinet items were reclassified as other-than-serious with $600 total penalties, and Ingalls agreed to keep panel doors closed and replace missing blanks. A…
Cedar Lake Sand & Gravel
Two safety violations affirmed
Cedar Lake Sand & Gravel operated a sand and gravel pit in Wisconsin. The judge found that the company stored an uncovered compressed-gas cylinder and allowed rocks to accumulate on a walkway leading to a sizing screen. The judge found both violations, reduced the negligence assessment for…
D. H. Blattner & Sons, Incorporated
Verbal-order contest dismissed
D. H. Blattner & Sons challenged an alleged verbal MSHA order requiring it to file a legal-identity notification or face shutdown. The judge explained that the Commission can review written citations and orders, but not an alleged verbal order. The judge dismissed the case and noted that the…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved with modified charges
Consolidation Coal Company faced proposed penalties totaling $24,096 for citations and orders at the Humphrey No. 7 Mine. The settlement reduced the penalty for two citations, removed the significant-and-substantial designation from one citation, and changed two withdrawal orders to section 104(a)…
Dunkard Mining Company
Settlement approved
Dunkard Mining Company faced a proposed civil penalty of $1,949. The judge approved the parties' settlement after considering the submitted representations and documentation and finding the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria. The company was ordered to pay $780 within 30…
Gold Coin Ironworks
Late contest dismissed after employer also missed the hearing
Gold Coin Ironworks received a serious citation and proposed penalty on October 7, 1994, making its notice of contest due October 31. It requested an informal conference but did not file a contest until November 23. The employer also failed to appear at the scheduled hearing, arriving after the…
Cherry Hill Stairs, Inc., t/a Harmonson Stairs
Repeated refusal to guard table saw results in $12,000 willful penalty
Cherry Hill Stairs, trading as Harmonson Stairs, operated a custom stair-building shop in New Jersey. Employees used a hand-fed circular ripsaw without the required hood, spreader, and anti-kickback fingers, even though the guarding unit was nearby. The company argued that guards were infeasible…
Reading Anthracite Company
Temporary-reinstatement enforcement motion resolved
William Kaczmarczyk had been temporarily reinstated after alleging retaliation connected to his work as a walkaround representative during an MSHA inspection. The judge found that Reading Anthracite assigned him mud-removal work beyond his physical capabilities on April 17 and April 19, 1995…
Tanglewood Energy, Inc.; Fern Cove, Inc.; Randy Burke, and Randall Key
Discriminatory discharge found, damages reserved
Samuel Knotts was discharged after speaking with a mine engineer about equipment conditions, management, and safety concerns at the Coalbank Fork No. 12 Mine. The judge found that Knotts had engaged in protected activity by testifying in an earlier discrimination case, assisting MSHA inspectors…
Wiser Construction, L.L.C.
Default order reopened and matter remanded
Wiser Construction failed to answer the Secretary of Labor's proposed civil penalties or an order to show cause, and the ALJ entered a default order assessing $4,300 in penalties. Wiser later said it had responded but had mistakenly mailed its response to a Department of Labor attorney. The…
T.E. Bertagnolli & Associates
Default order reopened and matter remanded
T.E. Bertagnolli & Associates failed to answer the Secretary of Labor's proposed civil penalties or an order to show cause, and the ALJ entered a default order assessing $9,800 in penalties. The company later said it had responded but had mistakenly mailed its response to a Department of Labor…
Valley Construction Company
$750 awarded for unjustified material-safety-data-sheet item
Valley Construction Company sought attorney, consultant, and other expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after settling OSHA citations arising from an employee's fatal electrocution. The settlement withdrew three items, reclassified two, and reduced two penalties. The judge found Valley to…
American Stone, Inc.
Settlement approved and one citation vacated
American Stone contested 18 safety violations at its Aragonite Mine and crushing mill. The Secretary vacated the citation alleging that the mine had been closed without notice after records showed the mine was open, and the judge set aside its $50 penalty. The parties settled the remaining matters…
Brushy Creek Coal Co., Inc.
Ventilation citations partly modified and partly affirmed
Brushy Creek Coal Company contested seven ventilation-related citations issued during an inspection at its Brushy Creek Mine, and the Secretary also pursued civil penalties in three related dockets. The ALJ found violations involving ventilation of worked-out areas, nonpermissible equipment…
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.