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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Donald L. Giacomo, employed by Wyoming Fuel Company
Motions to vacate dust citations denied
This consolidated order addressed motions by Utah Power and Light, now Energy West Mining Company, Bentley Coal Company, and Kentucky Prince Coal Company to vacate citations alleging that respirable-dust samples had been altered. The operators argued that the Secretary issued the citations too…
Consolidation Coal Company
Reporting citations and high negligence affirmed
Consolidation Coal was cited for reporting more employee hours than its payroll and other time records showed at its Robinson Run No. 95 and Blackstone No. 1 mines. The company had added time that miners spent on mine property before and after their paid shifts. The Commission held that the Part 50…
Capricorn Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved for dust-standard violation
Capricorn Coal agreed to settle one alleged violation of the respirable-dust standard at its Mine No. 3. The violation under 30 C.F.R. § 70.209(b) had originally carried a proposed penalty of $1,200. The Secretary and the operator disputed whether the violation was deliberate and disagreed about…
Donald L. Giacomo, employed by Wyoming Fuel Company
Donald L. Giacomo (FMSHRC WEST 92-100): Motion to compel witness names granted
The Secretary brought a civil penalty case against Donald L. Giacomo and invoked the informant privilege to withhold the names of potential witnesses. Judge John J. Morris reviewed the protected material in camera and found that Giacomo's need for the information was greater than the Secretary's…
R & N Coal Company
Financial hardship settlement approved
R & N Coal Company asked to settle two civil penalty proceedings because it had no employees and its only income was $3,250 per month in rental income. The Secretary proposed a 90 percent reduction for each violation and payment in six monthly installments. Judge Roy J. Maurer found the settlement…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Discovery motion partly granted
Contestants in the respirable-dust sample alteration proceedings asked the judge to compel further discovery responses from the Secretary. After the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General withdrew its investigative-privilege claim, the Secretary disclosed inspector identities and other…
Asarco, Inc.
Three citations vacated and one affirmed
Asarco operated the Immel underground zinc mine, where a roof fall killed a miner. The Commission reviewed four citations, two alleging failures to test or examine ground under 30 C.F.R. § 57.3401 and two alleging failures to correct hazardous ground under 30 C.F.R. § 57.3200. It vacated the two…
Miners Advocacy Council
In re Miners Advocacy Council (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 91-23): review granted in part and denied in part
The Miners Advocacy Council, an industry trade group for Alaska placer miners, sought an evidentiary hearing on eleven issues involving 31 similar NPDES permits issued by EPA Region X. The Environmental Appeals Board denied review of most issues, including mixing zones, arsenic monitoring, state…
Hobet Mining, Incorporated
Excessive-history penalties remanded
Hobet Mining challenged penalty proposals calculated under the Secretary's excessive-history program, which increased penalties based on prior violations. The Commission held that it had jurisdiction to review the program and that the program was an invalid substantive rule because it had not gone…
Cyprus-Plateau Mining Corporation
Excessive-history penalties remanded
Cyprus-Plateau Mining Corporation challenged penalty proposals calculated under the Secretary's interim excessive-history program, which increased penalties based on prior violations. The Commission held that it had jurisdiction to review the program and that the program was an invalid substantive…
Utah Power and Light Company
Excessive-history penalties remanded
Utah Power and Light challenged civil penalty proposals calculated under the Secretary's excessive-history program, which added increases based on prior violations. The Commission held that the program was an invalid substantive rule because it had not gone through notice-and-comment rulemaking and…
Zeigler Coal Company
Excessive-history penalty remanded
Zeigler Coal challenged a proposed penalty for a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.400 after the Secretary increased the amount under an excessive-history program. The Commission held that the program was an invalid substantive rule because it had not been issued through notice-and-comment rulemaking and…
Kem Coal Company
Damages ordered after discriminatory-discharge finding
An earlier decision found Kem Coal Company liable for discriminating against Charles T. Smith in violation of section 105(c) of the Mine Act. The parties stipulated that back pay and interest through April 30, 1992, totaled $46,157.12, and that attorney fees and costs totaled $6,247.50. Judge…
Texas Utilities Mining Company
Excessive-history penalty remanded
Texas Utilities Mining Company challenged a penalty proposal calculated under the Secretary's interim excessive-history program after MSHA cited one violation of a mine safety standard. The Commission held that it had jurisdiction to review the program and that the program exceeded the court's…
Cyprus-Plateau Mining Corporation
Settlement approved with modified citation and $345 penalty
Cyprus-Plateau Mining Corporation, Robert Q. Powell, and the Secretary resolved three related mine-safety proceedings through an agreement reached after a hearing began. Judge John J. Morris approved changes converting Order No. 3583459 to a section 104(a) citation and replacing alleged violations…
Mid-Continent Resources, Inc.
$165 settlement approved in bankruptcy case
Mid-Continent Resources reached a settlement with the Secretary in a civil penalty case involving three citations at the Dutch Creek Mine. The proposed penalties were $91 each for two citations, with the third reduced from $91 to $55, for a total amended amount of $237 before the bankruptcy…
Cyprus-Plateau Mining Corporation
Settlement approved with modified citation and $345 penalty
Cyprus-Plateau Mining Corporation, Robert Q. Powell, and the Secretary resolved three related mine-safety proceedings through an agreement reached after a hearing began. Judge John J. Morris approved changes converting Order No. 3583459 to a section 104(a) citation and replacing alleged violations…
Mar-Land Industrial Contractor, Inc.
Safety-belt violation affirmed, high-negligence finding reversed
Mar-Land Industrial Contractor was cited after an employee fell while working about 52 feet above a plant floor and later died. The Commission affirmed that Mar-Land violated the safety-belt standard because the employee did not properly secure the line, even though the belt and lines were not…
BethEnergy Mines, Inc.
Safeguard notice affirmed, conveyor citations vacated
BethEnergy's Mine No. 60 had a safeguard notice requiring at least 24 inches of clear travelway on both sides of belt conveyors. Judge William Fauver held that the safeguard was valid because it was based on the inspector's observations of narrow and obstructed travelways, but he found that the…
S and H Mining, Incorporated
Electrical orders affirmed with $800 penalties
S and H Mining operated an underground coal mine in Tennessee. Judge William Fauver found that a damaged cable-coupler lock and an improperly shielded high-voltage cable splice created serious electrical hazards and involved unwarrantable failure. He affirmed Orders 3174055 and 3174056 under the…
Star-Kist Caribe, Inc.
In re Star-Kist Caribe, Inc. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 88-5): modification request denied
EPA Region II petitioned for a substantial modification to the Administrator's April 16, 1990 decision in the Star-Kist matter. That earlier decision addressed whether EPA could authorize schedules of compliance in NPDES permits when applicable state water-quality standards did not authorize them…
In re: Contents of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Motions to vacate citations denied
Several coal operators asked the judge to vacate citations alleging that respirable dust samples had been altered by removing part of the dust from the samples. They argued that the Secretary issued the citations too long after the samples were collected and after officials concluded that…
Mid-Continent Resources Incorporated
Settlement amended, one citation vacated
Mid-Continent Resources and the Secretary reached a settlement in a civil penalty proceeding involving the Dutch Creek Mine. The amended decision approved the settlement, vacated Citation No. 3586432, and affirmed Citations Nos. 9996593, 9996594, and 9996595, each with a proposed penalty of $20…
Mid-Continent Resources Incorporated
Settlement approved with reduced penalties
Mid-Continent Resources and the Secretary reached a settlement in a civil penalty proceeding involving the Dutch Creek Mine. The amended decision approved the settlement, affirmed the cited violations, and reduced several proposed penalties, including reductions from $147 to $88, $119 to $71, and…
Mid-Continent Resources Incorporated
Settlement approved with reduced penalties
Mid-Continent Resources and the Secretary reached a settlement in a civil penalty proceeding involving the Dutch Creek Mine. The amended decision approved the settlement, affirmed both cited violations, and reduced the proposed penalties from $276 and $240 to $166 and $144. The total assessment was…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Safeguard validity issue remanded
Southern Ohio Coal challenged a citation based on a notice requiring at least 36 inches of combined side clearance for rubber-tired haulage equipment at its underground Meigs No. 2 Mine. The Commission held that a safeguard must be based on the inspector's judgment about specific conditions at the…
A. E. Staley Mfg. Co.
Settlement affirmed over union participation objection
The Secretary and A. E. Staley Manufacturing reached a settlement that an administrative law judge approved. The authorized employee representative, Allied Industrial Workers Local 837, sought review and argued that it had been denied meaningful participation. The record showed that the union…
Loomis Cabinet Company
Cabinet workers held to be employees
Loomis Cabinet Company manufactured wooden cabinets and was cited after a follow-up inspection for repeat, other-than-serious, and failure-to-abate violations. Loomis stipulated to the violations but argued that its former employees had become partners in Eastview Cabinet Company, leaving Loomis…
Steele Branch Mining
One violation affirmed, one reduced
Steele Branch Mining was cited after an investigation involving a fatal accident at its surface mine. Judge Avram Weisberger found that a grader's excessive steering-wheel play violated the requirement to maintain mobile equipment in safe operating condition and assessed $85 for that violation. He…
Cargill, Inc.
In re Cargill, Inc. (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 92-14): review denied
Reverend Charles Lenard Floyd petitioned for review of EPA Region IX's decision to issue Cargill, Inc. a RCRA permit for a hazardous-waste incinerator in Lynwood, California. He argued that the Region failed to follow California public-meeting procedures and therefore did not give Lynwood residents…
Tunnelton Mining Company
Withdrawal granted and case dismissed
Elmer Speelman asked to withdraw a discrimination proceeding against Tunnelton Mining Company. Judge Gary Melick granted the request under Commission Rule 11, 29 C.F.R. § 2700.11, and dismissed the case. The short order does not decide the underlying discrimination allegations or assign a penalty.
Peabody Coal Company
Multiple walkaround representatives entitled to pay
Peabody Coal operated the Martwick underground mine, where MSHA used multiple inspection teams during two quarterly inspection events. Peabody paid one miners' representative for accompanying inspectors but did not pay several other representatives who accompanied separate inspection groups. The…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Dust filters ordered produced for deposition
In the master docket concerning alleged respirable-dust sample alteration, mine operators asked the Secretary to produce cited and comparison filters for use during the deposition of the Secretary's expert, Dr. Marple. Judge James A. Broderick found that comparing representative cited filters with…
Ravenna Gravel
Late request to reopen final order denied
Ravenna Gravel failed to answer a civil penalty proceeding, and the chief administrative law judge entered a default decision. The decision became final after Ravenna did not seek discretionary review within the statutory period. More than a year later, Ravenna asked for relief, explaining that it…
Ravenna Gravel
Late request to reopen final order denied
Ravenna Gravel failed to answer a civil penalty proceeding, and the chief administrative law judge entered a default decision. The decision became final after Ravenna did not seek discretionary review within the statutory period. More than a year later, Ravenna asked for relief, explaining that it…
Stone Portable Toilets
Dismissal conditionally affirmed pending proof of answer
An administrative law judge dismissed Stone Portable Toilets' notice of contest because the company had not filed an answer to the complaint or responded to an order to show cause. Owner Gary Stone told the Commission that he had filed the required answer, although the Commission's file contained…
Broshear Contractors, Inc.
Trench expert evidence admitted on remand
Broshear Contractors was cited for failing to adequately slope or support a trench under 29 C.F.R. § 1926.652. At the hearing, the administrative law judge excluded parts of a geotechnical expert's testimony about a later re-excavation of the trench and excluded the expert's written report. The…
Concrete Construction Company
Training affirmed and backfill violation reduced
Concrete Construction Company was cited after OSHA inspected two excavations beside a public road during a water-line project. The Commission rejected the company's inspection objections because the work was visible from a public area, the foreman consented to the inspection, and the company…
Jim Walter Resources Incorporated
Safeguard and citation affirmed
Jim Walter Resources contested a safeguard notice requiring additional protection in a man cage at its No. 4 Mine and a later citation alleging that the safeguard had not been followed. Judge Albert E. Koutras found that the inspector had identified a specific transportation hazard because the cage…
Ayers Limestone Quarry
Discrimination complaint dismissed after settlement withdrawal
Homer D. Bennett brought a discrimination proceeding against Ayers Limestone Quarry. At the hearing, Bennett requested approval to withdraw the complaint based on a settlement. Judge Gary Melick dismissed the proceeding. The short scanned release has several unreadable passages, so the summary is…
Bethlehem Steel Corporation
In re Bethlehem Steel Corporation (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 92-1): complaint reinstated and remanded
EPA Region III filed an administrative complaint against Bethlehem Steel Corporation seeking penalties under section 16(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The complaint alleged that Bethlehem Steel filed a false report in violation of TSCA section 15(3). An Administrative Law Judge dismissed…
Donner Coal Company, Inc.
Citations modified, one vacated, and $793 penalty assessed
Donner Coal Company operated the Black Rose No. 1 Mine. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that several cited conditions were significant and substantial, while other findings were not supported by the circumstances. He modified two citations to remove their significant-and-substantial characterization…
Asarco, Incorporated
Stop-cord citations vacated
Asarco contested two citations alleging that emergency stop cords on conveyor belts were not properly located and an order concerning a separate mine standard. Judge August F. Cetti found that the stop cords were positioned so a person could readily deactivate the conveyors and rejected the…
Sal Masonry Contractors, Inc.
Ladder item vacated and guardrail violation made willful
Sal Masonry Contractors was cited for ladder and scaffold violations during masonry work on an academic building at Cornell University. The Commission vacated the scaffold-access item because the testimony conflicted over whether a ladder was present and whether supervisors knew employees were…
Drummond Company, Inc.
Excessive-history penalties remanded for recalculation
Drummond challenged civil penalties calculated under the Secretary of Labor's interim excessive-history program. The Commission held that the program exceeded an interim court mandate, was adopted without the required notice-and-comment process, and conflicted with the Secretary's Part 100 penalty…
Drummond Company, Inc.
Excessive-history penalties remanded for recalculation
Drummond challenged civil penalties calculated under the Secretary of Labor's interim excessive-history program. The Commission held that the program exceeded an interim court mandate, was adopted without the required notice-and-comment process, and conflicted with the Secretary's Part 100 penalty…
Keystone Coal Mining Corp.
Summary decision denied in respirable-dust contest
Keystone Coal Mining challenged citations based on single-shift respirable-dust samples taken under MSHA's spot-inspection program. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the record did not establish whether the change from multi-shift to single-shift sampling affected the operator's substantive rights…
Peabody Coal Company
Discrimination proceeding dismissed
The Secretary brought a discrimination case on behalf of miners who refused to work after water entered electrical light fixtures in a mine shower room. Judge James A. Broderick found that the miners initially had a reasonable, good-faith safety concern, but that the concern was no longer…
Consolidation Coal Company
Unwarrantable-failure order modified and $750 penalty assessed
Consolidation Coal admitted a ventilation violation and its significant-and-substantial designation after an inspector found only 4,930 CFM of air where the mine's approved plan required 6,000 CFM. Judge Paul Merlin found that the evidence did not establish that the defective tubing or a misplaced…
Multitrade Limited Partnership
In re Multitrade Limited Partnership (EAB PSD Appeal No. 92-2): review denied
Multitrade Limited Partnership sought an amended prevention of significant deterioration permit from Virginia for a small wood-fired power generation plant. The Virginia Department of Air Pollution Control deleted coal as a permitted fuel and added a restriction tied to enforceable emission…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlements approved across consolidated penalty cases
Consolidation Coal Company and the Secretary of Labor presented settlements covering one contest proceeding and eleven civil penalty proceedings involving several coal mines. Judge David Barbour approved the settlements after finding them in the public interest. The order reduced or vacated several…
Austin Powder Company
Magazine violations affirmed with civil penalties
Austin Powder Company stored and handled explosives at the Oro Grande Mine, where MSHA inspectors found problems with grounding, ventilation, warning signs, and vegetation around storage magazines. Judge John Morris held that Austin was an independent contractor subject to the Mine Act because it…
Kem Coal Company
Discriminatory discharge finding reaffirmed on remand
The Commission remanded Charles T. Smith's discrimination case for additional credibility findings and analysis of whether his discharge was connected to protected safety activity. Judge William Fauver credited Smith's account, found that a supervisor gave management a distorted account of the…
Mettiki Coal Corporation
Proceedings dismissed on unopposed motion
Mettiki Coal Corporation was involved in a contest proceeding and a related civil penalty proceeding. Judge William Fauver granted the Secretary's unopposed motion to dismiss and dismissed both proceedings. The short order does not state the underlying citation outcome or a penalty amount.
Chevron Chemical Co. (Richmond, CA Facility)
In re Chevron Chemical Co. (Richmond, CA Facility) (EAB RCRA Appeal No. 90-15): limited remand ordered
EPA Region IX issued Chevron Chemical Company a RCRA permit for a hazardous-waste incineration, storage, and treatment facility in Richmond, California. Chevron, the Pipe Trades Council of Northern California, and Citizens for a Better Environment raised twelve issues. The Board remanded for the…
Walker Stone Company, Inc.
Unsafe conveyor access citation affirmed
Walker Stone Company operated a limestone quarry where an employee used an inclined conveyor belt to reach a crusher head pulley without a handrail. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that the lack of a safe access means violated the cited standard and was significant and substantial because a fall could…
Grefco, Incorporated
Settlement approved and penalty reduced
Grefco, Incorporated and the Secretary agreed to settle a civil penalty proceeding before a hearing. The parties agreed to remove the significant-and-substantial allegations and reduce the proposed penalty for Citation No. 3448926 from $192 to $20. Judge John Morris found the settlement reasonable…
Consolidation Coal Company
Preshift-examination order modified
MSHA alleged that Consolidation Coal Company failed to conduct and record preshift examinations in a coal-mine tailgate entry where miners were working near water, trip hazards, and unstable roof. Judge Paul Merlin found the failure to conduct a preshift examination was significant and substantial…
Wallace Brothers
Untimely contest dismissed
Wallace Brothers sought review of proposed civil penalty assessments after learning that the assessments had become final because they were not contested within 30 days. Judge Paul Merlin held that the Commission lacked jurisdiction to excuse the late contest. The operator's communications with…
B&B Wrecking and Excavating, Inc.
In re B&B Wrecking and Excavating, Inc. (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 92-2): appeal dismissed as untimely
EPA Region V alleged that B&B Wrecking and Excavating, Inc. violated TSCA section 15 and the polychlorinated biphenyl disposal and marking regulations in 40 C.F.R. Part 761. An Administrative Law Judge issued a default order after B&B failed to comply with a prehearing discovery order and imposed a…
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.