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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McElroy Coal Company
Rock-dusting violation affirmed as S&S and unwarrantable failure
MSHA issued a section 104(d)(2) order after finding that rock dust in three entries and a connecting crosscut at McElroy Mine did not meet the required incombustible-content percentages. Judge Roy J. Maurer credited the inspector's samples and found a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.403. He found the…
American Mine Services, Incorporated
Welding and hoisting violations affirmed or modified, $1,600 assessed
American Mine Services, a coal-mining contractor at West Elk Mine, faced two civil penalty proceedings involving welding and hoisting practices. In WEST 91-563, Judge John J. Morris affirmed an imminent-danger order and a welding citation after an employee used a cutting torch without a face shield…
Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company
Expedited hearing denied in Sebree No. 1 contest
Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company asked for an expedited hearing after contesting an MSHA order at the Sebree No. 1 Mine. Judge William Fauver denied the request because the company did not show the extraordinary conditions required for expedited treatment, and because granting it could be…
Homestake Mining Company
Settlement approved and $36,000 assessed
Homestake Mining Company was involved in two contest proceedings and a civil penalty proceeding concerning the Homestake Mine and Lead Mine. The parties agreed to a settlement involving an order and two citations issued under 30 C.F.R. § 48.7(c) and 30 C.F.R. § 57.14205. Judge John J. Morris…
Shady Lane Coal Company
Consolidated proceedings dismissed after plea agreement
The Secretary moved to dismiss consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings against Shady Lane Coal Company after the company and its principal entered plea agreements concerning dust-sample falsification. The release states that Triangle Research admitted falsifying dust samples and that two…
Sunset Land & Coal Company
Consolidated proceedings dismissed after plea agreement
The Secretary moved to dismiss consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings against Sunset Land & Coal Company after the company and its principal entered plea agreements concerning dust-sample falsification. The release states that Triangle Research admitted falsifying dust samples and that…
Allan Goode, Employed by Consolidation Coal Company
Foreman assessed $1,000 for knowingly authorizing roof-control violation
Allan Goode, a section foreman at Consolidation Coal Company's Ireland Mine, faced an individual penalty under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. During roof-support work, Goode helped advance a continuous miner and steady materials while the temporary roof support system was not firmly against the…
GSX Services of South Carolina, Inc.
In re GSX Services of South Carolina, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 89-22): permit remanded in part and review denied in part
GSX Services of South Carolina, Inc. operates a hazardous-waste treatment, storage, and disposal facility in Pinewood, South Carolina. GSX challenged the permit's term, definitions and designations of solid-waste management units, waste-analysis requirements, testing requirements…
Lucky Branch Coal Co., Inc.
Settlement approved and $850 assessed
Lucky Branch Coal Co. faced two civil penalty proceedings involving Mine No. 4. The parties proposed reducing the penalty from $1,145 to $850 and dismissing the cases after payment. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria, approved it, and ordered…
Davis A. Shoulders employed by Pyro Mining Co.
Individual penalty proceeding dismissed under section 110(c)
Davis A. Shoulders, the chief electrician at Pyro No. 9 Wheatcroft Mine, faced a proposed $1,000 individual penalty under section 110(c) of the Mine Act for allegedly authorizing or carrying out an electrical violation. The record established that Pyro Mining Company was a general partnership…
Edd Potter Coal Company
Dust-sampling proceedings dismissed after criminal plea agreements
The Secretary moved to dismiss dust-sampling contest and civil penalty proceedings against Edd Potter Coal Company after the company and its principal entered plea agreements related to falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The record states that two people associated with Triangle Research…
Red Dog Coal Corporation
Proceedings dismissed after plea agreement
The Secretary moved to dismiss Red Dog Coal Corporation's contest and civil penalty proceedings after the company and its principal entered plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples. The release states that Triangle Research admitted falsifying samples submitted to MSHA and that two people…
Rhone-Poulenc of Wyoming Co.
Late penalty filing denied and case dismissed
MSHA issued a citation to Rhone-Poulenc of Wyoming Co. and notified the operator of a proposed $1,000 penalty 237 days later. The Secretary filed the penalty proposal two weeks after the Commission deadline and attributed the delay to changes in the assessment process, a prior enforcement program…
Donald Bowling
Temporary reinstatement ordered pending discrimination merits
Donald Bowling sought temporary reinstatement after losing his coal-truck driving job and alleging that he was discharged because of safety complaints to MSHA. Judge William Fauver found that Perry Transport, Stevie Caldwell Trucking, and Stevie Caldwell could be treated as co-employers for the…
Ten-A Coal Company
Settlement approved and citations affirmed
Ten-A Coal Company had previously been ordered to pay $400 for a section 104(d)(1) citation, while a separate section 104(d)(1) order had been changed to a section 104(a) citation. The Commission reversed that modification and sent the matter back to the Judge. On remand, the parties agreed to…
Dixie Mining Company, Inc.
Settlement approved and $150 assessed
Dixie Mining Company faced a civil penalty proceeding concerning Mine No. 1. After testimony at a hearing, the parties moved to approve a settlement that reduced the proposed penalty from $500 to $150. Judge Roy J. Maurer found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria and…
Lucky L & L Coal Co., Inc.
Civil penalty proceeding dismissed
Lucky L & L Coal Co. and its principal entered a criminal plea agreement concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceeding. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal served the purposes of the Mine Act and…
Good Times Mining, Inc.
Civil penalty proceedings dismissed
Good Times Mining and its principal entered criminal plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceedings. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal under these circumstances served the purposes of…
Flint Engineering & Construction Co.
Controlling contractor liable for trench hazards
Flint Engineering opened an approximately 11-foot-deep pipeline trench with vertical, unprotected walls and a large spoil bank at its edge. The administrative law judge found that the workers seen in the trench were not Flint employees, but that Flint created and controlled the hazardous…
CBI Services, Inc.
Confined-space welding attendant required
CBI Services manufactured steel-plated submarine hull sections at its Alabama facility. OSHA observed a welder enter a hull section through restricted openings and work about nine feet below the entry point without an attendant stationed outside. The Commission held that the welding standard's…
Ambrose Branch Coal Company
Settlement approved and penalty reduced to $750
Ambrose Branch Coal Company faced a penalty proceeding involving an alleged violation of the respirable-dust sampling regulation at its preparation plant. The Secretary maintained that the violation resulted from a deliberate act, while the operator denied that allegation and disputed the degree of…
Briarfield Coal Corporation
Civil penalty proceeding dismissed
Briarfield Coal Corporation and its president entered criminal plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceeding. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal served the purposes of the Mine Act and…
L & L Energy of Hurley, Inc.
Civil penalty proceeding dismissed
L & L Energy of Hurley and its principal entered criminal plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceeding. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal served the purposes of the Mine Act and…
Carol Coal Corporation
Civil penalty proceeding dismissed
Carol Coal Corporation and its president entered criminal plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples submitted to MSHA. The Secretary agreed to seek dismissal of the related civil penalty proceeding. Judge James A. Broderick found that dismissal served the purposes of the Mine Act and…
Secretary of Labor o/b/o Smith v. The Helen Mining Company
Escrow ordered pending appeal
Helen Mining Company asked the Commission to stay an Administrative Law Judge's assessment of a $10,000 civil penalty and a $45,450.37 back-pay award while the company appealed. The Secretary did not oppose relief if Helen deposited the awards, plus any required interest, into bona fide…
Alma Plantation, Ltd.
In re Alma Plantation, Ltd. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 92-27): permit issues remanded in part and review denied in part
Alma Plantation, Ltd. operates a sugar refinery near Lakeland, Louisiana. It challenged the denial of an evidentiary hearing request concerning its NPDES permit, including outfall references, biochemical oxygen demand limits, discharge-limit phases, and a requested variance. The Environmental…
Consolidation Coal Company
Imminent-danger order partially affirmed and contest dismissed
Consolidation Coal challenged an imminent-danger withdrawal order issued after an inspector found hot and arcing trolley-wire hangers at the Dilworth Mine. The Judge found that the first condition, which involved an active fire near coal and wooden supports, was an imminent danger and affirmed that…
Waste Coal Management, Inc.
Settlement approved and $70 assessed
Waste Coal Management, Inc. faced a civil penalty proceeding involving the Black Mountain Mine. The parties jointly asked Judge Roy J. Maurer to approve a settlement that reduced the proposed penalty from $273 to $70 and dismissed the case. The judge found the settlement appropriate under the Mine…
Genicom Corporation
In re Genicom Corporation (EAB EPCRA Appeal No. 92-2): penalty affirmed
Genicom Corporation manufactured computer printers and precision electronic relays at a facility in Waynesboro, Virginia, where it generated waste cyanide solutions. A pipe failure led to two off-site releases, one of 136 pounds of cyanide and another of 27.5 pounds. The Board held that Genicom had…
Black Widow Collieries Ltd.
Proceeding dismissed after plea agreement
The Secretary moved to dismiss Black Widow Collieries Ltd.'s civil penalty proceeding after the company and its president entered plea agreements concerning falsified dust samples. The release states that Triangle Research admitted falsifying samples submitted to MSHA and that two people associated…
Leadville Mining & Milling Corporation
Citation modified and $100 penalty assessed
Leadville Mining & Milling Corporation operated the Hopemore Shaft, a small underground gold and base metals mine. MSHA cited the mine for failing to maintain a second escapeway while miners extracted ore during development work. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. held that the regulation required two…
Island Creek Coal Company
Ralph J. Thorn v. Island Creek Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 92-1010-D): Discrimination settlement approved and case dismissed
The Secretary filed a discrimination complaint on behalf of miner Ralph J. Thorn, who alleged that Island Creek Coal Company placed an unlawful written warning in his personnel file. Island Creek agreed to remove the warnings and related references, not rely on the discipline in future actions…
Brown Brothers Sand Co.
Two safety citations affirmed and $40 assessed
Brown Brothers Sand Co., a small surface sand operator, was cited for an inoperable seat belt on a bulldozer and an unguarded coupling on a water-gun pump motor. Judge David F. Barbour found both violations established, but not serious, because the evidence showed limited exposure to the hazards…
Elmer Darrell Burgan v. Harlan Cumberland Coal Co.
Hearing continued without date
Elmer Darrell Burgan's discrimination hearing against Harlan Cumberland Coal Company was scheduled for December 22, 1992. The parties asked to continue the hearing while they sought to consolidate Burgan's claim with a related, not-yet-docketed discrimination case against commonly owned Dixie Fuel…
Drummond Company, Inc.
One order affirmed and one withdrawal order vacated
Drummond Company faced two consolidated civil penalty proceedings involving the Mary Lee No. 1 and No. 2 Mines. In the No. 2 Mine case, the judge found the cited ventilation conditions had been abated and vacated the Section 104(b) withdrawal order, while affirming the underlying citation and…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Settlement approved with citations vacated and penalties reduced
Jim Walter Resources, Inc. faced civil penalty proceedings involving its No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 7 mines. The parties proposed a settlement that reduced the total penalties from $18,125 to $10,754, vacated six citations, and removed the Significant and Substantial designations from specified…
J. Bradley Miller v. White's Pelletizing Co.
Discrimination case dismissed for failure to prosecute
J. Bradley Miller's discrimination case against White's Pelletizing Co. was set for hearing in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The company's counsel appeared, but Miller did not appear and did not later explain his absence. Judge William Fauver dismissed the case for failure to prosecute the claim.
City of Denison
In re City of Denison (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 91-6): review denied
The City of Denison challenged the NPDES permit for its Iron Ore Wastewater Treatment Plant in Texas. It questioned the authority of the Deputy Regional Administrator who denied its evidentiary hearing request, the requirement to submit an approvable Toxicity Reduction Evaluation proposal, the lack…
Helen Mining Company
Consolidated settlement approved and cases dismissed
The Secretary of Labor and Helen Mining Company jointly sought approval of a comprehensive settlement covering civil-penalty proceedings and related contest proceedings across 29 dockets. The settlement specified civil penalties for some citations or orders and withdrew others, including the…
Keystone Coal Mining Corp.
Single-shift dust citations vacated for lack of rulemaking
MSHA cited Keystone Coal Mining Corp. after single-shift respirable-dust samples exceeded 2.0 milligrams per cubic meter at its Emilie No. 1 and Margaret No. 11 mines. The citations were issued under MSHA's 1991 spot-inspection program, which directed inspectors to cite operators based on a single…
Wedron Silica Company
Settlement approved and S&S finding deleted
Wedron Silica Company faced a civil-penalty proceeding concerning a citation at its Wedron Silica Plant. The company agreed to pay the proposed $700 penalty, and the parties asked the judge to approve the settlement and dismiss the case. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement appropriate under the…
Gatliff Coal Company, Inc.
Emergency communication violation found S&S and remanded for penalty reassessment
Gatliff Coal operated a surface coal mine where an employee died after a truck accident and workers had to leave the mine property to find a telephone because no company two-way radio was present. The Commission held that employee-owned CB radios did not satisfy the requirement for an…
Pressure Concrete Construction Co.
Storm-sewer hazard training violation affirmed
Pressure Concrete repaired an aging storm-sewer system in Montgomery, Alabama. During a rainstorm, water rapidly entered the tunnel through lateral lines, and an employee who reached the bottom of a manhole could not be rescued before he drowned. The Commission held that the company failed to train…
Consolidation Coal Company
One citation settled and another stayed
Consolidation Coal Company faced two citations at its Blacksville No. 2 Mine. The parties settled one citation involving inadequate identification markings for circuit breakers, reducing the proposed penalty from $1,155 to $350. Judge Jerold Feldman approved that settlement and ordered payment…
Ford Development Corporation
Hazard communication and trench rulings modified
OSHA inspected Ford Development after a trench wall shifted and trapped an employee's foot during drainage-pipe work in Ohio. The Commission declined to dismiss the case because the Secretary transmitted Ford's notice of contest seven days late through an inadvertent clerical error, with no…
Ronald B. Snyder and R.B.S. Incorporated
Temporary reinstatement ordered in discrimination case
Paul H. Brooks claimed that R.B.S. Incorporated fired him after he refused to continue operating a loader near an unsafe highwall and raised safety concerns. The Secretary presented testimony from Brooks and an MSHA investigator, while the respondents offered a different account that Brooks was…
Ford Construction Company
Seat-belt citations reinstated and remanded
Ford Construction Company was cited after operators of a Caterpillar scraper and bulldozer were observed operating without seat belts. The ALJ vacated both citations after finding that the seat-belt standard did not cover the equipment. The Commission held that the scraper's tractor portion was…
Vincent Braithwaite v. Tri-Star Mining, Inc.
Reconsideration denied and damages awarded
An earlier decision found that Tri-Star Mining, Inc. discriminatorily discharged Vincent Braithwaite and limited back pay to the period before the company offered reinstatement. After a damages hearing, the judge rejected Tri-Star's request to reconsider liability based on a state unemployment…
Solid Mining Company, Inc.
Dust-sampling proceedings dismissed
The Secretary moved to dismiss Solid Mining's civil-penalty and contest proceedings after the company and its president entered plea agreements involving a conspiracy to defraud the United States through falsified respirable-dust samples. Solid Mining had contracted with Triangle Research, whose…
Ogden Martin Systems of Onondaga, Inc. and Onondaga County Resource Recovery Facility
In re Ogden Martin Systems of Onondaga, Inc. and Onondaga County Resource Recovery Facility (EAB PSD Appeal No. 92-7): review denied
Five citizens' organizations challenged the Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit for a proposed solid-waste incinerator in Onondaga County, New York. They argued that four emissions and monitoring conditions did not represent best available control technology, that a later state-law…
M P & M Coal Company, Inc.
Dust-sampling proceeding dismissed
The Secretary moved to dismiss the civil-penalty proceeding against M P & M Coal Company after the company and its president entered a plea agreement concerning a conspiracy to defraud the United States through falsified respirable-dust samples. The company had contracted with Triangle Research…
Jamboree Coals, Incorporated
Civil-penalty proceedings dismissed after dust-sampling fraud plea
The Secretary moved to dismiss civil-penalty proceedings against Jamboree Coals after the company and its president entered plea agreements concerning a conspiracy to defraud the United States involving falsified respirable-dust samples. The company had provided signed blank dust data cards to…
Powderhorn Coal Company
Inadequate mine illumination supported a $20 penalty
Powderhorn Coal Company operated the Roadside Mine. MSHA cited the company for failing to provide sufficient illumination at a surface electrical substation, switch panels, and the walkway leading to them. The ALJ credited the inspector's testimony that the area and path were dark and hazardous…
Acme Gravel Company, Inc.
One citation vacated and two settlements approved
The ALJ decided three civil penalty proceedings involving Acme Gravel Company and Barber Brothers Contracting Company. Two cases were settled, with penalties of $200 for an unsafe dredge access condition and $450 for an unworn seat belt, and both settlements were approved. The third case involved a…
Osage (Pawhuska, Oklahoma)
In re Osage (Pawhuska, Oklahoma) (EAB UIC Appeal No. 92-2): review denied in part and permit remanded in part
Scott F. Wiehle, a rancher and farmer near Pawhuska, Oklahoma, challenged a UIC permit issued to Calumet Oil Company to convert a well into a Class II enhanced oil recovery injection well. He argued that the permit should include a public hearing, a pressure gauge, limits on injection pressure, and…
Faith Coal Company
Common-issues respirable-dust decision ordered mine-specific proceedings
This release addresses common issues from a large group of MSHA citations alleging that mine operators altered respirable-dust sample filters. The ALJ found that the evidence did not prove by a preponderance that abnormal white-center patterns established intentional alteration or that deliberate…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Escapeway citation and withdrawal order vacated
MSHA cited Southern Ohio Coal Company for using an underground escapeway that was not the safest direct practical route to a mine opening. An ALJ found a violation and sustained a section 104(b) withdrawal order after the operator did not make the changes MSHA sought. The Commission reversed…
Pyramid Mining, Incorporated
Settlement reduced penalties to $294
The parties settled consolidated civil penalty proceedings involving Pyramid Mining's Hall No. 2 Mine. The Secretary initially sought $1,726 in penalties, and the ALJ approved the parties' proposed reduction to $294 after considering the Mine Act's penalty factors. Pyramid Mining was ordered to pay…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Witness motions resolved before common-issues trial
Before the common-issues trial on respirable-dust sample alteration citations, the ALJ ruled on two witness motions. The judge denied the motion to exclude expert John J. Miller because his identification and opinions were relevant to the common issues. The judge granted the motion to exclude 28…
Chestnut Ridge Sand
Safety director permitted to represent operator
Chestnut Ridge Sand, a division of Haines & Kibblehouse, asked to have safety director James F. Sassaman represent it in the proceeding. The Secretary opposed the request, arguing that the case involved an imminent-danger order and that Sassaman lacked sufficient mine-safety experience. Judge…
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.