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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Valley Camp Coal Company, and Shrewbury Coal Company
Valley Camp Coal Company and Shrewbury Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 91-1949-C): Settlement dismissal approved
The United Mine Workers brought a compensation proceeding on behalf of Gary Price, Billy L. Wilkinson Jr., and similarly situated miners against Valley Camp Coal Company and Shrewbury Coal Company. Judge Avram Weisberger lifted a prior stay after finding that the parties' settlement was a fair…
Woodland Hills Mining Company and Broken Hill Mining Company
Settlement approved
Woodland Hills Mining Company and Broken Hill Mining Company faced civil penalty proceedings under the Mine Act. At the hearing, the parties reported that they had reached settlement agreements and proposed reducing a $486 penalty to $200. Judge Avram Weisberger found the settlement appropriate…
Forrest Electrical Services
Fan, live-wire, and posting items affirmed
Forrest Electrical Services was an electrical subcontractor on a medical-clinic project in Spring, Texas. A temporary foreman brought an inadequately guarded floor fan to the site, where it was available for use in an area employees passed through. The ALJ affirmed the fan item as serious because…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Dust-control plans reinstated after partial contest grant
Jim Walter Resources contested two citations alleging that its No. 3 Mine lacked an approved dust-control plan for longwall and continuous mining operations. A single sample exceeded the 2.0 mg/m3 respirable-dust limit, but later samples were compliant and no repeat violation was shown. Judge…
Kiewit-Atkinson-Kenney
High-voltage tunnel cable approval violation affirmed
Kiewit-Atkinson-Kenney used a 13,800-volt mine power-feeder cable to run a tunnel-boring machine for the North Tunnel System on Deer Island, Massachusetts. The cable traveled along a road and beach, under a street, through a jobsite, and down a shaft containing water. The ALJ held that Mine Safety…
Ramzel-Texas Services, Inc.
Three electrical items affirmed during asbestos work
Ramzel-Texas Services performed asbestos removal at Lubbock High School in Texas. The ALJ rejected its challenge to the inspection because the school principal had control of the occupied school premises and validly consented to OSHA's entry. Two extension cords bypassed the company's GFCI panel…
McCrory Stores and J.J. Newberry Stores
Nationwide fire-safety settlement approved
The Secretary settled four cases involving McCrory and J.J. Newberry retail stores while the companies were operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The agreement reduced the total proposed penalties to a $500,000 general unsecured claim and changed all citation classifications to the…
Consolidation Coal Company
Partial citation and penalty decision
Consolidation Coal operated the Humphrey No. 7 underground coal mine. Judge David F. Barbour approved a $20 settlement for one citation, found violations involving weekly examinations, permissibility, equipment safeguards, ventilation, and accumulations, and modified several citations and an order…
Mid-Continent Resources Inc.
Partial settlement approved and decision amended
Mid-Continent Resources Inc. faced civil penalties for violations at the Dutch Creek Mine. The parties reached a partial settlement and proposed reducing the penalties for three citations from a combined $3,700 to $2,220. Judge John J. Morris approved the settlement, affirmed the three citations…
Westmoreland Coal Company
Motion to reopen penalty assessments denied
Westmoreland Coal Company asked the Commission to reopen uncontested civil penalty assessments that it had already paid. The operator argued that the Secretary had improperly increased the penalties under an interim excessive-history program later given no legal effect in related Commission…
Sunnyside Coal Company
Motion to reopen penalty assessments denied
Sunnyside Coal Company asked the Commission to reopen uncontested civil penalty assessments that it had already paid. The operator argued that the Secretary had improperly increased the penalties under an interim excessive-history program that the Commission later held could be given no legal…
Centralia Mining Company
Motion to reopen penalty assessments denied
Centralia Mining Company asked the Commission to reopen uncontested civil penalty assessments that it had already paid. The operator argued that the Secretary had improperly increased the penalties under an interim excessive-history program later given no legal effect in related Commission…
Windsor Coal Company
Motion to reopen penalty assessments denied
Windsor Coal Company asked the Commission to reopen uncontested civil penalty assessments that it had already paid. The operator argued that the Secretary had improperly increased the penalties under an interim excessive-history program later given no legal effect in related Commission decisions…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Motion to reopen penalty assessments denied
Southern Ohio Coal Company asked the Commission to reopen uncontested civil penalty assessments that it had already paid. The operator argued that the Secretary had improperly increased the penalties under an interim excessive-history program later given no legal effect in related Commission…
Cyprus Emerald Resources Corporation
Motion to reopen penalty assessments denied
Cyprus Emerald Resources Corporation asked the Commission to reopen uncontested civil penalty assessments that it had already paid. The operator argued that the Secretary had improperly increased the penalties under an interim excessive-history program later given no legal effect in related…
Akzo Salt, Inc.
Motion to reopen penalty assessments denied
Akzo Salt, Inc. asked the Commission to reopen uncontested civil penalty assessments that it had already paid. The operator argued that the Secretary had improperly increased the penalties under an interim excessive-history program that the Commission later held could be given no legal weight or…
FMC Wyoming Corporation
Motion to reopen penalty assessments denied
FMC Wyoming Corporation asked the Commission to reopen uncontested civil penalty assessments that it had already paid. The operator argued that the Secretary had improperly increased the penalties under an interim excessive-history program that the Commission later held could be given no legal…
General Chemical Corporation
Motion to reopen penalty assessments denied
General Chemical Corporation asked the Commission to reopen uncontested civil penalty assessments that it had already paid. The operator argued that the Secretary had improperly increased the penalties under an interim excessive-history program later given no legal effect in related Commission…
Consolidation Coal Company
Motion to reopen penalty assessments denied
Consolidation Coal Company, Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, McElroy Coal Company, and Quarto Mining Company asked the Commission to reopen uncontested civil penalty assessments that they had already paid. The petitioners argued that the Secretary had improperly increased the penalties under an…
Cyprus Empire Corporation
Motion to reopen penalty assessments denied
Cyprus Empire Corporation asked the Commission to reopen uncontested civil penalty assessments that it had already paid. The operator argued that the Secretary had improperly increased the penalties under an interim excessive-history program later given no legal effect in related Commission…
BethEnergy Mines, Inc.
Conveyor-belt citations vacated
BethEnergy's underground Mine No. 60 received a safeguard notice requiring 24-inch clear travelways on both sides of belt conveyors. Inspectors later cited obstructions along the No. 3 and No. 4 belts, but the ALJ vacated the citations after finding that the evidence did not establish the required…
Peabody Coal Company
Two citations affirmed and one vacated
Peabody Coal Company faced three alleged violations involving its mines, including an allegation that the methane and dust control plan was not followed because air behind a curtain was below the plan's required level while a wet bed scrubber was off. The parties settled two dockets, reducing the…
National Cement Company, Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Ronny Boswell claimed that National Cement Company suspended him for reporting faulty lights on a loader and refusing to operate equipment while he believed it was unsafe. Judge Gary Melick found that Boswell engaged in protected activity, but also found that the company would have suspended him…
C.W. Mining Company
Citation for operating without an approved roof-control plan affirmed
C.W. Mining operated the Bear Canyon No. 1 underground coal mine in Utah without an approved roof-control plan after MSHA revoked the mine's prior plan during a dispute over revisions. The judge found that the Secretary proved a violation of the requirement to develop and follow an approved…
Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company
Motion to reopen penalty assessments denied
Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company asked the Commission to reopen uncontested civil penalty assessments that it had already paid. The operator argued that the penalties had been improperly increased under an interim excessive-history program that the Commission had later found could be given no…
Ross v. Shamrock Coal Company, Inc.
Discrimination findings affirmed, backpay issues remanded
Shamrock Coal Company discharged miners Lonnie Ross and Charles Gilbert after workplace safety complaints and a dispute about moving electrical cables at its underground Kentucky coal mine. The Commission affirmed the finding that the miners' protected safety activity contributed to their…
Schenectady Hardware & Electric Co.
Late contest dismissed after missed callback
Schenectady Hardware & Electric received two OSHA citations and proposed penalties on March 20, 1992, making April 10 the last day to contest them. Its vice president requested an informal conference before deciding whether to contest. An OSHA representative called, but the vice president was…
Genstar Stone Products Co.
Seat-belt citation affirmed, S&S finding vacated, penalty reduced
Genstar Stone Products operated a quarry where a haul-truck driver was cited for not wearing a seat belt. The judge found that the driver was not wearing the belt and affirmed the underlying violation. The judge rejected the significant-and-substantial finding because the evidence did not establish…
Valley Camp Coal Company
Ventilation-plan violation affirmed with a $500 penalty
MSHA cited Valley Camp Coal Company after an inspection found that required permanent stoppings were missing between the intake and return air courses at the company's No. 12-A Mine. The company conceded the ventilation-plan violation, but disputed whether its conduct amounted to unwarrantable…
Bethenergy Mines, Inc.
Ventilation violation affirmed with reduced classification and penalty
Bethenergy Mines operated an underground coal mine where an ALJ found that air velocity in a belt entry fell below the minimum required by the mine's ventilation plan. The judge found that the Secretary proved a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.316 based on smoke-tube tests showing air velocity of 26.54…
Kiah Creek Mining Company
Default order vacated and case remanded
Kiah Creek Mining Company failed to answer a proposed civil penalty assessment and an ALJ's order to show cause, so the ALJ entered a default order and assessed the Secretary's proposed $94 penalty. Kiah Creek's mine manager later sent a letter seeking reconsideration and included documents showing…
Cougar Coal Company, Inc.
Default order vacated and case remanded
Cougar Coal Company did not answer a proposed civil penalty assessment or an ALJ's order to show cause, so the ALJ entered a default order and assessed the Secretary's proposed $1,008 penalty. The Commission received a copy of an earlier letter from Cougar disputing the proposed penalty and treated…
Island Creek Coal Company
Settlement approval vacated in part and case remanded
Island Creek Coal Company agreed to withdraw its contest of a withdrawal order and pay an $1,800 penalty as part of a settlement approved by an ALJ. The same order also appeared in another docket, and Island Creek later said that it had mistakenly believed important defense documents were missing…
S & H Mining, Inc.
Ground-check violation affirmed as S&S and unwarrantable
MSHA found that the locking device on a cable coupler supplying electricity to a coal mine power center had been removed and wedges had been used to hold the coupler in place. The Commission held that the resulting violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.902 was significant and substantial because a ground…
Zeigler Coal Company
Power-connection violation affirmed, S&S finding remanded
MSHA cited Zeigler Coal after inspectors found non-permissible golf-cart power connection points in return air outby the last open crosscut at an underground coal mine. The Commission agreed that, for purposes of 30 C.F.R. § 75.507, air that ventilated any working face could be treated as return…
Essroc Corp.
Backpay award amended on remand
On remand from the Commission, Judge William Fauver determined the unemployment compensation that Clifford Meek received during the original backpay period in his discrimination case against Essroc Corporation. The judge deducted $6,942 from the prior $24,000 backpay and interest award, leaving…
L.M. Karnes, Employed by J.H. Shears Sons, Inc.
Default order vacated and remanded
Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Merlin entered a default order against L.M. Karnes after Karnes did not answer the Secretary's proposed civil penalty notice or an order to show cause. The judge assessed the proposed $400 penalty. The Commission treated Karnes's later letter as a timely petition…
Consolidation Coal Company
Partial settlement approved and citation transferred
Consolidation Coal Company faced 13 alleged violations at the Osage No. 3 Mine. Judge George A. Koutras approved settlements for 11 citations, then approved a settlement for Citation 3716124 after the parties agreed to delete its S&S designation and reduce the penalty from $276 to $166. The…
Energy West Mining Company
Ventilation citation affirmed during idle shift
Energy West Mining Company was cited after the air reaching the intake end of an idle longwall face measured 22,680 CFM, below the 30,000 CFM minimum in its approved ventilation plan. Energy West argued that the plan applied only while coal was being produced, but Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. held…
Mid-Continent Resources Inc.
Partial settlement approved and decision amended
Mid-Continent Resources Inc. faced five orders involving alleged mine-safety violations at the Dutch Creek Mine. One order was pending discretionary review and another had already been reassessed and settled in a different docket, so Judge John J. Morris deleted both from this proceeding. The…
Waste Technologies Industries
In re Waste Technologies Industries (EAB RCRA Appeal Nos. 93-7 and 93-9): review dismissed for lack of jurisdiction
Waste Technologies Industries operated a hazardous-waste incinerator in East Liverpool, Ohio. Greenpeace and other petitioners challenged an EPA letter approving post-trial-burn operations, while the City of Pittsburgh and West Virginia challenged a later letter that imposed additional operating…
Oglebay Norton Taconite Company
Part 50 injury-reporting settlement approved
Oglebay Norton Taconite Company faced 53 citations across four dockets for failing to report mine-site injuries that were reportable under Part 50 of the regulations. The parties explained that 45 injuries were treated later and did not cause lost time, while eight caused lost time and should have…
Beta Construction
General contractor liable for inadequate night lighting
Beta Construction was the general contractor for removal and replacement of roofing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development headquarters in Washington, D.C. Its asbestos-removal subcontractor worked at night in areas measuring as little as 1.95 foot-candles, below the required five…
Byrd Produce Company
Attorney neglect leaves late citations final
OSHA issued Byrd Produce Company two serious citations after inspecting two California ranches, alleging failures to provide drinking cups and hand-washing water and proposing $640 in penalties. Byrd promptly delivered the citations to its attorney, but the attorney filed the notice of contest four…
Jackson Associates of Nassau
Late-contest case remanded over alleged OSHA misrepresentation
OSHA cited Jackson Associates of Nassau, operator of the Jackson Hotel, for eleven serious violations and one willful violation, with $11,230 in proposed penalties. The hotel filed its notice of contest after the statutory deadline while one owner was caring for her terminally ill husband and her…
Wyoming Fuel Company
Remand decision splits imminent-danger orders and citations
Wyoming Fuel Company contested several orders and citations at the Golden Eagle Mine after MSHA inspectors found methane near Kennedy stoppings and issued imminent-danger orders. On remand, Judge John J. Morris found no legally recognizable prejudice from the Secretary's proposed citation…
The Harriman Coal Corp.
Equipment-safety citations affirmed
The Harriman Coal Corporation used a Caterpillar excavator without handrails along the outer edges of its walkways and a Ford truck without an audible backup alarm. Judge Roy J. Maurer held that the excavator lacked the handrails required by 30 C.F.R. § 77.409(b), and that the truck's missing alarm…
U.S. Steel Group, Minnesota Ore Operations
Imminent-danger findings modified after crusher hearing
U.S. Steel Group, Minnesota Ore Operations contested an imminent-danger withdrawal order and two citations issued during repair work near the primary crusher at its Minntac taconite plant. Judge David F. Barbour vacated the imminent-danger and S&S findings connected to the unsecured crusher hatches…
Quick-Cast Limited
Seven serious citation items settled for $675
OSHA cited Quick-Cast Limited, an aluminum casting and engraving business, for safety conditions involving portable fire extinguishers, bench grinders, oxygen and acetylene cylinder storage, flexible electrical wiring, and its written hazard communication program. An ALJ had affirmed most of the…
Ray Sumlin Construction Co., Inc.
Unprotected excavation results in $4,000 penalty
OSHA observed a Ray Sumlin Construction employee working in a six-foot-deep excavation with vertical walls and no cave-in protection at a county jail project in Alabama. The superintendent initially requested a warrant but later invited the compliance officer to examine the excavation and helped…
Metal Recycling Company
Scrap-yard hazards yield mixed ruling and $400 penalty
OSHA inspected Metal Recycling Company's three-employee scrap-metal facility in El Paso, Texas, and issued a serious citation with multiple items. The judge affirmed serious violations involving unsecured access stairs, an exit leading into a blocked and fenced yard, obstructed aisles, hazardous…
Asamera Mineral (US), Inc.
Settlement reduction rejected for lack of support
Asamera Mineral (US), Inc. and the Secretary asked the judge to approve a reduction of a methane-ignition penalty from $157 to $20. Judge Paul Merlin rejected the proposed settlement because the parties gave no reasons for the reduction and did not explain how the amount met the six statutory…
Asamera Mineral (US), Inc.
Accident-scene settlement reduction rejected
Asamera Mineral (US), Inc. and the Secretary asked to reduce a $100 penalty to $50 for allegedly altering an accident scene before MSHA could investigate. Judge Paul Merlin rejected the settlement motion because it did not describe how the scene was altered, the effect of the alteration, or the…
Adams Stone Corp
Quarry safety findings partly modified after disabling fall
Adams Stone Corporation faced six safety violations after assistant superintendent Terry Cantrell fell about 25 to 30 feet from a primary crusher and suffered permanently disabling injuries. Judge George A. Koutras affirmed the safety-belt violations and several blasting-related violations, while…
Ramblin Coal Company, Inc.
Remanded citations dismissed as moot
The Secretary asked to dismiss the portions of two Ramblin Coal Company cases that had been remanded for further action because the remanded citations were moot. The civil penalties had been recalculated, were not contested by the operator, and became final Commission orders under 29 C.F.R. §…
Martin Sales & Processing
Summary default reinstated after missed remand response
Martin Sales & Processing failed to provide a substantive response to an ALJ remand order after the Commission had vacated earlier summary default decisions and sent the matters back for further proceedings. Judge George A. Koutras found that the operator had received the orders and had ample…
Boswell v. National Cement Company
Backpay award vacated as beyond remand
Ronny Boswell was found to have been unlawfully disqualified from his utility-laborer position and reassigned by National Cement Company, and the Commission had remanded the case for further review of the discrimination merits. On remand, the ALJ sustained the complaint and awarded Boswell…
Broward County, Florida
In re Broward County, Florida (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 92-11): review denied in part and permit remanded in part
Broward County sought review of EPA Region IV's denial of an evidentiary hearing request concerning its NPDES permit for the Northern Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Environmental Appeals Board ordered the Region to supplement the record on whether the plant's effluent had a reasonable…
Quarto Mining Company
Known loader steering defect affirmed as unwarrantable failure
Quarto Mining Company kept a Caterpillar 988 front-end loader in service even though its steering intermittently locked when turned fully right. The shop foreman had known about the problem for several months, but the defect was not corrected and the loader was not removed from service before MSHA…
Glenn Burwick, Employed by Burwick Construction Company
$400 settlement approved
Glenn Burwick, employed by Burwick Construction Company, faced a civil penalty proceeding at the Alexander Sand Pit. Judge William Fauver reviewed the parties' settlement motion and supporting documentation under the statutory civil-penalty criteria. He approved the settlement and ordered payment…
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.