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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Chico Crushed Stone Partnership
Highwall scaling citation and withdrawal order vacated
Chico Crushed Stone was cited after an inspector observed loose material on an 80-to-100-foot highwall at the company's limestone plant. The Secretary alleged that the highwall had not been scaled and issued a related withdrawal order for failure to abate. Judge Gary Melick found that muck at the…
Metro Power, d/b/a Gibson Electric
Floor-opening item affirmed, breaker-panel item vacated
Metro Power, doing business as Gibson Electric, was the electrical subcontractor on a youth facility construction project in Georgia. The judge affirmed a ground-fault circuit interrupter violation because the outlet serving drink and ice machines did not have functioning protection, but classified…
Stone Container Corp.
Boiler-area protective equipment citation vacated
Stone Container operated a paper and linerboard mill with a black liquor recovery boiler in Montana. A boiler explosion burned three employees, and one employee later died from the injuries. OSHA cited the company for not requiring protective clothing and self-contained respirators during boiler…
Pyramid Mining, Incorporated
Training violation modified to non-S&S with $20 penalty
Pyramid Mining assigned an employee to operate a modified bulldozer and conveyor, called a stacker, before his task training was complete. Judge Avram Weisberger found a violation of the training standard because the employee began operating the equipment before receiving all required instruction…
Odessa Union Warehouse Co-op, Inc.
In re Odessa Union Warehouse Co-op, Inc. (EAB FIFRA Appeal No. 93-1): commercial applicator classification affirmed
Odessa Union Warehouse Co-op, Inc. stores and markets grain for its farmer-members and applies pesticides to the grain when necessary. EPA Region X alleged that Odessa violated pesticide-label requirements while fumigating and shipping grain, and proposed a penalty based on treating Odessa as a…
Beazer East, Inc. and Koppers Industries, Inc.
In re Beazer East, Inc. and Koppers Industries, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 91-25): permit partly remanded
Koppers Industries, the owner, and Beazer East, the operator, challenged the federal portion of a hazardous-waste permit for a wood-treatment facility in Guthrie, Kentucky. They raised issues about reporting terms, corrective-action workplans, deadlines, duplicative investigations, and several…
Gatliff Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved after penalty reassessment
The Commission remanded the captioned cases for reassessment of the civil penalty for Citation No. 3178705 after the original section 104(d) order was modified to a section 104(a) citation without unwarrantable-failure findings. Judge Gary Melick approved the parties' settlement, reducing the…
Consolidation Coal Company
Firehose and cable violations resolved with mixed findings
Consolidation Coal was cited at its Blacksville No. 2 Mine for inadequate firehose reach and exposed high-voltage cable, and it agreed to pay a $20 settlement for a damaged trailing-cable citation. Judge Jerold Feldman found the firehose violation significant and substantial but modified the order…
Cavalier Mining Corp
Discrimination complaint dismissed without prejudice during bankruptcy
Bobby Gene Strouth's discrimination complaint against Cavalier Mining came before the judge while the company was in bankruptcy. The bankruptcy stay prevented the discrimination case from proceeding to judgment. At the complainant's request, and without objection from the respondent, Judge Roy J…
Noland Incorporated
Ten orders affirmed and two vacated
Noland Incorporated operated a sand and gravel mine where MSHA issued ten citations and orders for electrical, conveyor, guarding, examination, handrail, and first-aid conditions. The parties agreed that the main issue was whether the plant was operating when inspectors visited, and Judge John J…
Mountain Cement Company, a Wyoming Partnership
$5,300 settlement approved for protective-clothing violations
The eight consolidated proceedings arose from a citation alleging that special protective clothing was not worn while an employee attempted to poke and unplug a preheat tower at Mountain Cement's operation. The Secretary alleged that the company and several agents knowingly authorized or carried…
Perry Sisk
Eight violations affirmed with $285 in penalties
Perry Sisk operated four coal trucks that regularly picked up coal from the Kanima Mine stockpile and delivered it to a power plant. MSHA alleged eight violations in two dockets, and Sisk conceded that the cited conditions occurred while challenging whether the Mine Act covered his…
Dempsey Darcy Oldsmobile
Penalties reduced for good faith and inspection history
Dempsey D'Arcy Oldsmobile purchased the assets of a dealership after OSHA had cited the prior owner. OSHA later cited the new company for conditions that had not been corrected, and the parties settled the violations but disputed the penalty amounts. The judge found that the company deserved…
Custom Services
Settlement approved with $975 in penalties
OSHA issued Custom Services a serious citation containing several construction safety items. At the hearing, the parties reached a settlement and placed its terms on the record. The judge adopted the agreement, which withdrew one scaffold item and affirmed the remaining listed violations. The order…
Vogel Brothers
Four serious construction violations affirmed, two vacated
Vogel Brothers Building Company was the general contractor on a wastewater administration building project in Tampa, Florida. The judge affirmed serious violations involving an unavailable fire extinguisher at a diesel fueling area, unguarded floor edges, an unbarricaded crane swing radius, and…
United States Steel Mining Company, Incorporated
Trolley-wire safeguard violation affirmed with $690 penalty
United States Steel Mining Company operated an underground coal mine where trolley poles repeatedly came off the trolley wire because of excessive distance from the track and kinks, bends, and twists in the wire. Judge William Fauver upheld the safeguard requiring the trolley wire to be installed…
Consolidation Coal Company
Damaged power cable violation affirmed with $250 penalty
Consolidation Coal was cited after an underground mine power cable was found on the ground with damaged outer and inner insulation. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the cable was not adequately insulated and fully protected as required by 30 C.F.R. § 75.517. He found the violation significant and…
Consolidation Coal Company
Trolley-wire citation amended and related matters resolved
Consolidation Coal challenged several enforcement actions involving trolley-wire guarding at its Humphrey No. 7 Mine. Judge Avram Weisberger found that personnel carriers transporting miners were man-trips and that the regular loading area was a man-trip station requiring guarded trolley wire under…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Roof citation affirmed after nine matters settled
Jim Walter Resources operated an underground coal mine where MSHA cited hazardous roof conditions in a longwall travelway. Nine of the ten citations were settled, and Judge William Fauver heard the remaining challenge to Citation No. 2804441 under the roof-support standard. He found that roof…
ThermalKEM, Inc., Rock Hill, South Carolina
In re ThermalKEM, Inc., Rock Hill, South Carolina (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 92-4): appeal dismissed
ThermalKEM operated a hazardous-waste treatment and storage facility in Rock Hill, South Carolina, under interim status. After EPA's toxicity-characteristic rule reclassified some wastes as hazardous, ThermalKEM sought to increase the incinerator's hazardous-waste mass feed rate in its Part A…
Earl A. Eichline Enterprises, Inc.
Trench cave-in protection violation affirmed, two other items vacated
Earl A. Eichline Enterprises was repairing a water line valve in an excavation in New Berlin, Wisconsin. OSHA cited the company for inadequate cave-in protection, no safe means of exit, and failure to provide high-visibility garments near traffic. The judge affirmed the repeated cave-in protection…
Harris Masonry, Inc.
Unguarded scaffold violation affirmed
Harris Masonry performed masonry work at a Pennsylvania middle school construction site. OSHA observed three employees on scaffolds about 15 feet high without guardrails. The company argued that the employees were erecting the scaffolds, but the judge credited evidence that the scaffold height did…
Fuellgraf Electric Co.
Platform-training item affirmed, debris item vacated
Fuellgraf Electric Company was an electrical contractor at an elementary school construction site in Pennsylvania. OSHA alleged that an employee operating a self-elevating platform lacked proper training and that debris in a cafeteria created a tripping hazard. The judge affirmed the platform item…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved and order modified
Consolidation Coal agreed to settle six alleged violations at its Osage No. 3 mine. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement, which reduced the total penalties from $1,725 to $1,052. The company agreed to pay the originally assessed penalties for five violations, while Order No. 3718027 was…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved and negligence reduced
Consolidation Coal agreed to settle two violations involving equipment at its Arkwright No. 1 Mine. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement, kept the originally assessed penalty for one citation, and modified the other citation by reducing negligence from moderate to low. The total proposed…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved and multiple citations modified
Consolidation Coal agreed to settle 18 alleged violations at its Arkwright No. 1 Mine, including three citations that were also being contested. Judge Paul Merlin approved a settlement reducing the total penalties from $4,380 to $2,677. Three citations were modified to reduce the likelihood of…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved for $684
Consolidation Coal agreed to settle two alleged violations at its Dilworth mine. Judge Paul Merlin reviewed the parties' representations and documentation and found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's section 110(i) criteria. The originally assessed penalties and the proposed settlement…
Black Mountain Coal Mining, Incorporated
Settlement amended to add $1,000 in attorney fees
Robert C. Teaney brought discrimination proceedings against Black Mountain Coal Mining, and the parties reached a settlement. Judge Gary Melick amended the settlement decision to add $1,000 in attorney fees for Teaney's counsel. The amended decision also noted payment of $3,600 in backpay and $400…
Peabody Coal Company
Coal-dust accumulation violation affirmed with $500 penalty
Peabody Coal admitted that coal dust and float coal dust had accumulated at multiple locations along a conveyor belt at its Martwick Underground Mine. The company conceded that the violation was significant and substantial but disputed whether it resulted from unwarrantable failure. Judge Gary…
Fred Jones, Employed by Christian Energies, Incorporated
Settlement approved with $2,800 penalty
Fred Jones, employed by Christian Energies, faced a civil penalty proceeding involving Christian Energies No. 2 Mine. Judge Roy J. Maurer approved a settlement that reduced the proposed penalty from $11,400 to $2,800 because of Jones's limited financial resources. The penalty was payable in 14…
Abbott Contractors, Inc.
Two willful trench cave-in violations affirmed, penalty reduced to $40,000
Abbott Contractors, Inc. installs water mains and was working in Aurora, Illinois. In July and August 1991, OSHA inspected two of its trenching worksites. Before the hearing the parties settled all items except two willful excavation items, which alleged that employees worked in trenches about 9 to…
Waste Processing Equipment, Inc.
Eleven of twelve serious items affirmed, one vacated, penalty cut to $4,600
Waste Processing Equipment, Inc. runs a manufacturing plant in Rainsville, Alabama, with about 28 employees making paper balers and other waste-handling equipment. A September 1991 OSHA inspection led to a serious citation with 12 items and a proposed penalty of $12,500, plus an "other" citation…
Magor Plumbing & Heating Co.
Citations vacated because OSHA did not prove Magor employed the workers
Magor Plumbing & Heating was cited in August 1991 for alleged serious and nonserious violations found during an OSHA inspection of a church under construction in Bayside, New York, with $7,650 in proposed penalties on the serious citation. The only contested issue was whether Magor was the employer…
Mautz & Oren, Inc.
EAJA fee request denied after citation withdrawal
Mautz & Oren was cited for a repeat electrical violation after OSHA found that its construction site used neither ground-fault circuit interrupters nor an assured equipment grounding conductor program. The Secretary later withdrew the citation during Commission review, making Mautz the prevailing…
Consolidation Coal Company
Employee-hour reporting violations affirmed with $1,200 penalty
Consolidation Coal was cited for overreporting employee hours on its quarterly employment and coal production reports. Judge Paul Merlin treated the case as controlled by an earlier summary decision involving the same issue and found that summary decision was appropriate because no material fact…
Kerr-McGee Coal Corporation
Nonemployee miners' representatives permitted to accompany inspections
Kerr-McGee operated a nonunion surface coal mine where miners designated two United Mine Workers of America agents as their representatives for mine inspections. The Commission held that section 103(f) of the Mine Act and Part 40 allow miners to choose nonemployees, including union agents, as…
Island Creek Coal Company
Imminent-danger orders and ventilation citation vacated
Island Creek operated the gassy VP-3 underground mine, where inspectors measured explosive methane concentrations behind stoppings in a gob area. They issued two imminent-danger withdrawal orders and a citation alleging that the mine's ventilation plan was not being followed. The Commission…
Williams Brothers Coal Company, Incorporated
Loader-light citation vacated
Williams Brothers operated the No. 3 Mine, where MSHA cited a Caterpillar front-end loader because one front headlight and two rear taillights were inoperable. Judge Jerold Feldman found that the loader still had at least two operational lights on both ends, which satisfied 30 C.F.R. § 77.1605(d)…
Berkman Brothers, Inc.
Settlement requires fall protection and a $280 penalty
Berkman Brothers operated an electroplating facility where employees worked on walkways beside tanks containing heated and corrosive chemicals. OSHA cited the company for failing to guard employees against falls into the tanks or contact with their contents. In a settlement during Commission…
Consolidated Construction, Inc.
Limited EAJA fee award ordered for excavation defense
OSHA cited Consolidated Construction over the slopes of a 35-foot-deep excavation used to repair an underground Air Force fuel tank, but an ALJ vacated both excavation items after crediting the company's expert evidence. Consolidated then sought more than $50,000 in fees and expenses under the…
Consolidation Coal Company
One citation affirmed and other orders dismissed
Consolidation Coal's Dilworth Mine was cited after miners connected high-voltage cables without a qualified person and after inspectors addressed fires, hot roof conditions, trolley-wire insulation, and combustible materials. Judge Avram Weisberger vacated the citation for connecting the cable…
Conn Pest Control Incorporated
Refresher-training settlement approved at $150
Conn Pest Control was cited because a miner had not received the required annual refresher course. The Secretary explained that the operator's negligence was lower than initially believed because it was uncertain whether the operator knew the miner had not been trained. Judge Paul Merlin approved…
Brown Brothers Sand Company
Late review petition denied
Brown Brothers Sand Company challenged an ALJ decision finding two Mine Act violations, but filed its petition for discretionary review after the 30-day deadline. The company acknowledged that it deliberately waited past the deadline. The Commission held that the late filing did not satisfy the…
Consolidation Coal Company
Trolley-switch citation vacated
Consolidation Coal used a trolley switch as a dead block at its Osage No. 3 Mine after removing the switch handle and blade but leaving the fingers attached. MSHA cited the practice under 30 C.F.R. § 75.520, and the Secretary sought a $50 civil penalty. Judge David F. Barbour found that the switch…
Western Sand & Gravel
Settlement approved at $192
Western Sand & Gravel operated the Tenino Pit and faced a proposed civil penalty of $431. The parties jointly asked the judge to approve a settlement reducing the penalty to $192. Judge Paul Merlin found the reduction appropriate in light of the operator's small size and negligible history. He…
U.S. Borax
Retaliatory suspension found
U.S. Borax suspended chief production operator Stephen D. Jungers after he raised concerns about how sodium dithionite fires were handled at the Boron Mill. Judge August F. Cetti found that Jungers made good-faith safety complaints, that the suspension followed those complaints closely, and that…
Western Sand & Gravel
Ten-violation settlement approved at $642
Western Sand & Gravel faced ten civil penalty violations at its Tenino Pit. The parties proposed reducing the total penalties from $738 to $642, with nine citations settled at their original $50 amounts and the remaining penalty reduced from $288 to $192. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement…
Baxter R. Neece, formerly employed by H B & B Equipment Co. Inc.
Settlement approved
The Secretary sought civil penalties against Baxter R. Neece, a former maintenance foreman, and proposed reducing the assessed penalties from $2,950 to $500. The Solicitor stated that Neece was unemployed and likely lacked authority to prevent or correct the violations found during preshift…
IMC Fertilizer, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Irene Toney alleged that IMC Fertilizer discharged her after she complained to management and MSHA about missing or unsanitary toilet facilities at the Kingsford Mine. Judge Gary Melick found that Toney engaged in protected activity, but concluded that IMC proved the discharge was not motivated by…
Jefferson Materials Company
Settlement approved
MSHA assessed $1,200 in civil penalties against Jefferson Materials Company for violations at its Howitt Plant. The proposed settlement reduced the total to $960, an across-the-board 20 percent reduction, even though the violations were characterized as highly likely to result in a fatality. Judge…
James Kosiba, Employed by Rensselaer Stone Co. Inc.
Settlement approved
MSHA alleged that an electrical circuit supplying the crushing plant's main power control center lacked overload protection. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement of the one violation for the originally assessed penalty of $500. The respondent paid the penalty, and the matter was dismissed.
Black Mountain Coal Mining, Incorporated
Discrimination settlement approved
Robert C. Teaney alleged that Black Mountain Coal Mining transferred him after he reported an electrical hazard, causing lost compensation. Judge Gary Melick approved a settlement covering two discrimination proceedings. The company agreed to pay Teaney $3,600 in back pay and $400 in interest…
Costain Coal Incorporated
Four civil penalty citations settled for $688
MSHA sought civil penalties for four alleged violations of mandatory safety standards in 30 C.F.R. Part 75 at Costain Coal's Pyro No. 9 Wheatcroft operation. The parties agreed to settle without reducing any of the proposed penalties. Judge Jerold Feldman found the settlement reasonable and in the…
Little Rock Quarry Company, Incorporated
Dismissal order vacated and matter remanded
An ALJ dismissed three civil penalty proceedings after the Secretary failed to show good cause for not complying with a prehearing order. The Secretary then filed a motion for reconsideration, stating that the parties had informally settled the cases before the dismissal order. The Commission…
K Y V Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved for ventilation and dust-control violation
MSHA alleged that K Y V Coal was not complying with its ventilation and dust-control plan because water-spray pressure was below the required level. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement for the originally assessed penalty of $903. He found the penalty appropriate for the serious violation…
Kern Rock Company
Settlement approved for $1,449
Kern Rock faced civil penalties arising from conditions at the Wheeler Ridge Pit & Mill. The Solicitor proposed reducing the penalties from $1,610 to $1,449 because the original assessments did not adequately account for good-faith abatement. Judge Paul Merlin found the settlement appropriate under…
Montana Resources
Late filing accepted and settlement approved
The judge accepted the Solicitor's unopposed late filing of the penalty petition. The underlying matter involved a broken electrical conduit on the side of a conveyor belt that exposed employees to possible electrical shock. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlement for the originally assessed…
Basin Asphalt Company
Citation modified and penalty reduced in settlement
Basin Asphalt and the Secretary proposed settling a civil penalty proceeding for a citation issued at the Moses Lake Pit & Plant. The settlement reduced the penalty from $362 to $181 and removed the significant-and-substantial designation from Citation No. 3644310. Judge Paul Merlin approved the…
Basin Asphalt Company
Citation modified and penalty reduced in settlement
Basin Asphalt and the Secretary proposed settling a civil penalty proceeding for a citation issued at the Moses Lake Pit & Plant. The settlement reduced the penalty from $362 to $181 and removed the significant-and-substantial designation from Citation No. 3644317. The parties also advised that…
Harlan-KYVA Coal Inc.
Five penalty cases settled for $5,682
Harlan-KYVA Coal faced five civil penalty proceedings with proposed penalties totaling $9,370. The parties proposed reducing the penalties to $5,682 based on the operator's financial condition. Judge Paul Merlin relied on accounting reports showing a deficit in stockholder equity and a net…
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.