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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
M.A.E. West, Incorporated
Electrical safety settlements approved after fatal-accident investigation
M.A.E. West operated a bituminous coal preparation plant in West Virginia. After a fatal-accident investigation, MSHA issued four electrical-safety citations and two imminent-danger orders involving damaged wiring, lockout practices, and circuit breakers. Judge George A. Koutras approved the…
Beth Energy Mines, Inc.
Escapeway citations partly affirmed and one vacated
Beth Energy Mines operated the Cambria Slope No. 33 Mine. The case involved five alleged violations concerning escapeway conditions, roof support, and pressure separation. Judge Gary Melick approved a settlement reducing one order's penalty from $850 to $650, vacated Citation No. 2691158, and…
Patch Coal Company
Miner-training violations affirmed with $375 in penalties
Patch Coal Company operated the Welch Mine and was cited after five newly employed experienced miners had not received required training. Judge George A. Koutras found that the training violations were serious but not significant and substantial, and that the company's negligence was moderate. The…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement reduction disapproved and information ordered
Consolidation Coal Company was cited because six miners at the Robinson Run Mine were not wearing distinctively colored hard hats. The Secretary proposed reducing the $311 penalty to $250, citing lower gravity and the miners' temporary maintenance assignment. Judge Paul Merlin found that the…
Zeigler Coal Company
Withdrawal order modified to citation with $400 penalty
Zeigler Coal Company was cited after a machine operator worked 3.5 feet beyond the last row of permanent roof support at the Zeigler No. 5 Mine. Judge Roy J. Maurer found a violation of the roof-control standard and determined that it was significant and substantial. He found no evidence of…
Davidson Mining, Inc.
Ventilation order affirmed with $1,000 penalty
Davidson Mining, Inc. was cited after a roof fall left inadequate ventilation at the Davidson No. 1 Mine. The mine had only 2,420 cubic feet of air per minute at a location requiring 9,000, and lower readings at two working locations that required 3,000. Judge Gary Melick found that the operator…
Davidson Mining Inc.
Ventilation order affirmed with $1,000 penalty
Davidson Mining Inc. was cited after a roof fall left inadequate ventilation at the Davidson No. 1 Mine. The mine had only 2,420 cubic feet of air per minute at a location requiring 9,000, and lower readings at two working locations that required 3,000. Judge Gary Melick found that the operator…
Patrick J. Burns v. Gary Klinefelter (U. S. Steel Company)
Patrick J. Burns v. Gary Klinefelter (FMSHRC PENN 88-4-D): Discrimination complaint dismissed
Patrick J. Burns filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint against Gary Klinefelter, identified in the release as associated with U.S. Steel Company. The complaint was filed under section 105(c) on October 5, 1987. After the Commission requested information and later issued a show-cause order…
Patrick J. Burns v. Gary Klinefelter (U.S. Steel Company)
Patrick J. Burns v. Gary Klinefelter (FMSHRC PENN 88-4-D): Discrimination complaint dismissed
Patrick J. Burns filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint against Gary Klinefelter, identified in the release as associated with U.S. Steel Company. The complaint was filed under section 105(c) on October 5, 1987. After the Commission requested information and later issued a show-cause order…
Consolidation Coal Company
Electrical citations partly dismissed and partly affirmed
Consolidation Coal Company was cited for electrical conditions at its Arkwright No. 1 Mine, including cable fittings, a blower temperature device, a ground-check circuit, circuit-breaker settings, and cable size. Judge Avram Weisberger found that two alleged violations were not proven and dismissed…
Beaver Creek Coal Company
Contest dismissed after cited order was vacated
Beaver Creek Coal Company contested an MSHA order concerning its roof control plan and sought declaratory relief, attorney fees, and costs. MSHA vacated the order after the contest was filed, and the judge found that the requested declaratory relief was moot because the requested plan modification…
Wilmot Mining Company
Civil penalty assessment remanded
Wilmot Mining Company's case returned to the Commission after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed part of the Commission's earlier decision, reversed part, and remanded the matter. The court held that substantial evidence did not support the Commission's negligence…
Local Union 5817, UMWA v. Monument Mining Corporation
Compensation case remanded
Local Union No. 5817, District 17, UMWA brought a compensation matter involving Monument Mining Corporation and Island Creek Coal Company. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed the Commission's earlier decision and remanded the matter for further proceedings. The…
Samuel Griffin v. Energy Producers Associates Inc.
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Samuel Griffin filed a Mine Act discrimination complaint against Energy Producers Associates Inc. on February 16, 1988. Judge Paul Merlin later issued a show-cause order directing Griffin to provide information about the complaint or explain why he had not done so. The order was received, but…
Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Company
Canopy violation affirmed as unwarrantable failure
Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Company was cited after a section foreman directed a miner to operate a scoop tractor without a canopy in an underground mine area where the canopy was required. Judge Gary Melick found that the foreman knew the equipment was being operated in violation of the standard and…
Garrick Gravel Incorporated
Three citations affirmed with $357 penalty
Garrick Gravel Incorporated admitted three safety violations but contested the proposed penalties. After a hearing at which the Secretary presented evidence and the company did not appear, Judge August F. Cetti found the violations proven and found the proposed penalty of $119 for each citation…
Cobblestone, Ltd.
Gravel-pit citations affirmed
Cobblestone operated a small family gravel pit and argued that MSHA lacked jurisdiction because it was producing gravel for personal use during the inspection period. Judge August F. Cetti found that the gravel operation was a mine whose operations and products affected interstate commerce. He…
Bethenergy Mines, Inc.
Ventilation-plan order modified
Bethenergy Mines operated Cambria Slope Mine No. 33, where MSHA found a canvas curtain serving as an intake regulator even though the approved ventilation plan did not authorize that location or material. Judge Avram Weisberger held that the curtain violated the approved plan and 30 C.F.R. §…
Sandy Fork Mining Company
Discrimination proceeding settled and dismissed
The Secretary brought a Mine Act discrimination proceeding on behalf of Orville Sparks against Sandy Fork Mining Company. The parties submitted a settlement, which Judge Avram Weisberger approved after considering their stipulation and motions. The judge ordered compliance with any remaining…
Rushton Mining Company
Escapeway citation modified to non-S&S
Rushton Mining designated an escapeway from part of its underground mine that took a longer, indirect route to the nearest shaft. Judge Avram Weisberger held that the designated route did not follow the safest direct practical route required by 30 C.F.R. § 75.1704-2(a), while finding that the…
Rivco Dredging Corporation
Remand amended to remove moot docket
Rivco Dredging Corporation sought discretionary review in five related contest dockets. After the Commission remanded the cases, the Administrative Law Judge reported that KENT 88-27-R was moot because the Secretary had already vacated its citation. The Commission amended its remand order to delete…
Meramec Aggregates, Inc.
Civil penalty case dismissed
Meramec Aggregates requested a hearing on a proposed civil penalty, but the Solicitor did not file the required penalty petition within the applicable deadline. After a show-cause order and a further promise to file the petition or respond, the Solicitor still did not act. Chief Administrative Law…
Cen-Tex Ready Mix Concrete Company, Incorporated
Contests withdrawn and dismissed
Cen-Tex Ready Mix Concrete asked to withdraw nine contests as part of a settlement reached in related civil penalty proceedings. Judge Gary Melick granted permission to withdraw under 29 C.F.R. § 2700.11. The nine contest proceedings were dismissed.
Consolidation Coal Company
Citation-vacation dismissal affirmed
The Secretary's civil penalty petition and Consolidation Coal Company's related contest concerned an enforcement document that MSHA had vacated. At the hearing, the Solicitor moved to withdraw the penalty petition and dismiss the contest. Judge Paul Merlin granted the motion, affirmed the dismissal…
Rivco Dredging Corporation
Penalty contest remanded
Rivco Dredging contested citations and orders but did not separately notify the Secretary that it intended to contest the proposed civil penalties. An ALJ dismissed the contest, and Rivco sought discretionary Commission review, explaining that it had misunderstood the separate penalty-contest…
Cen-Tex Ready Mix Concrete Company, Incorporated
Settlement approved and penalty reduced
Cen-Tex Ready Mix Concrete Company faced two civil penalty proceedings concerning its Lampasas Quarry. The Secretary of Labor proposed reducing the combined penalty from $10,957 to $6,957 through a settlement. Judge Gary Melick rejected the company's claim that an independent contractor was…
Darmac Associates Corp.
Discrimination complaint dismissed after settlement
Kenneth J. Pedersen filed a discrimination complaint against Darmac Associates Corp. The company moved to dismiss, stating that the claims had been resolved through a settlement in a related National Labor Relations Board proceeding and that Pedersen consented to dismissal. Pedersen then filed a…
H. B. Zachry Company
Motion for summary decision denied
H. B. Zachry Company performed repair work at Texas Utilities Mining Company's Martin Lake Strip Mine after a fatal accident. Zachry argued that it was not subject to the Mine Act because it lacked a continuing presence at a mine, was not an independent contractor within the Act's scope, and…
Emery Mining Corporation And/Or Utah Power & Light Company
Wilberg Mine Fire report excluded
Emery Mining Corporation and Utah Power & Light Company asked the judge to exclude the Secretary's report about the 1984 Wilberg Mine Fire from evidence in related contest and civil penalty proceedings. The judge found that the report contained factual and legal conclusions without an adequate…
FMC Wyoming Corporation
Discrimination proceeding dismissed
Mary M. Ball asked to dismiss her discrimination proceeding against FMC Wyoming Corporation, the Secretary of Labor, and an MSHA district manager. Her motion followed a letter stating that MSHA would advise district managers to confirm that state agencies would keep miner complainants' names…
Arch of Kentucky, Inc.
Discrimination settlement approved
Harry Thomas brought a discrimination complaint against Arch of Kentucky under section 105(c) of the Mine Act. The parties submitted a settlement agreement and asked the judge to dismiss the case. Judge William Fauver found the settlement consistent with the statute's purposes. He approved the…
Patton Rock Products
Discrimination settlement approved
Patton Rock Products settled a discrimination complaint filed on behalf of William Lee Cook, who alleged that he was discharged after complaining about bad brakes on a front-end loader and refusing to operate it without brakes. The settlement required $756.35 in back pay and interest, permanent…
Westrick Coal Company
Default order later vacated on review
Westrick Coal Company failed to respond to a show-cause order in a civil penalty proceeding. Judge Avram Weisberger entered default, ordered Westrick to pay the assessed $482 penalty, and canceled the scheduled hearing. The Commission later vacated that default order and remanded the matter so the…
Charolais Corporation, E. R. Mining, Inc., D.B.A. as E. R. Trucking Co.
Party dismissed from discrimination case
Charles H. Sisk asked to amend his discrimination complaint by removing Charolais Corporation as a party respondent. No party objected to the request. Judge Gary Melick granted permission to amend the complaint under 29 C.F.R. § 2700.11 and dismissed Charolais Corporation from the case. The release…
Field & Associates, Inc.
Ladder citation settlement approved for $700
Field & Associates contested a serious citation and a repeat citation involving a ladder. The company represented that it had abated the conditions by taking the ladder out of use. It agreed to withdraw its contest and pay $700 to resolve all disputed matters without admitting fault or liability…
Beckley Lick Run Company
Compensation complaint dismissed after payment
Local Union 2387, District 29, United Mine Workers of America filed a compensation proceeding against Beckley Lick Run Company concerning the Bonny Mine. The complainant asked to withdraw the complaint because the individual complainants had been paid the requested compensation. Judge Gary Melick…
National Steel & Shipbuilding Company
Fatal electrical-contact citation withdrawn
National Steel used a temporary electrical load tank, called a salt box, while testing a ship's generators. An electrician entered the unlocked box and was killed by contact with an energized 440-volt circuit. The judge found that supervisors failed to communicate that the box remained energized or…
Birchfield Mining Incorporated
Pre-shift examination citation affirmed with $400 penalty
MSHA cited Birchfield Mining Incorporated after miners entered the No. 1 Mine before the required pre-shift examination had been completed, reported, and recorded. Judge Gary Melick found that Birchfield violated 30 C.F.R. § 75.303(a), that the violation resulted from unwarrantable failure, and…
Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Company
Penalty reassessed after remand
Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Company operated the Nelms No. 2 Mine and was involved in a contest proceeding and a civil penalty proceeding. The Commission remanded the cases after holding that the cited “hole through” violation was not significant and substantial because a roof fall was not reasonably…
Smith v. Bow Valley Coal Resources, Inc.
Settlement approved and case dismissed
Harley M. Smith brought a discrimination case against Bow Valley Coal Resources under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act. An ALJ had found that Bow Valley unlawfully discharged Smith and ordered reinstatement, approximately $52,880 in back pay plus interest, attorney fees, and costs. While the…
M & M Construction Inc.
Guarding citations settled for $999
MSHA cited M & M Construction at the West Ann Road Pit for eight alleged violations of the machinery-guarding standard in 30 C.F.R. § 56.14001 and one alleged violation of 30 C.F.R. § 56.14006. The parties agreed to reduce each proposed penalty from $192 to $111, for a total of $999, and M & M…
Utah Power & Light Co.
Interlocutory review denied pending clearer liability theory
Utah Power & Light's Mining Division sought interlocutory review after an ALJ denied its motion for summary decision in proceedings arising from the Wilberg Mine fire and loss of life. Utah Power argued that it was not liable as Emery Mining Corporation's successor in interest, while the Secretary…
White County Coal Corporation
Withdrawal-order contests denied after remand
MSHA issued two section 104(d) withdrawal orders at White County Coal Corporation's Pattiki Mine after inspectors found a chalk centerline and footprints in areas of unsupported roof. The Commission remanded the case after reversing the ALJ's earlier modification of the orders to section 104(a)…
Austin Power, Inc.
One safety citation reversed and one affirmed
Austin Power employees were installing a cross-pit spreader at the Big Brown Strip Mine when a boom moved unexpectedly after an eyelet failed. Steve Smith fell to his death, and two other employees were not injured. The Commission held that the Secretary did not prove a violation of the…
Consolidation Coal Company
Training citation and withdrawal order vacated
Consolidation Coal Company operated the Humphrey No. 7 underground coal mine. MSHA alleged that scoop operator Brad Slaman lacked task training under 30 C.F.R. § 48.7 after a mine accident in which another employee was pinned against a coal rib, and proposed a $900 penalty. Judge George A. Koutras…
Consolidation Coal Company
Ventilation citation modified and withdrawal order affirmed
Consolidation Coal Company operated the Robinson Run No. 95 underground coal mine. MSHA alleged that damaged haulage doors were allowing ventilating air to enter an intake escapeway, in violation of the approved ventilation plan and 30 C.F.R. § 75.316. Judge Gary Melick found the condition…
Nally and Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Untimely discrimination complaint dismissed
Bobby Sizemore alleged that Nally and Hamilton Enterprises discharged him in violation of the Mine Act's miner-protection provision. Judge Gary Melick found that Sizemore received notice of the Secretary's determination on May 7, 1987, but did not file his Commission complaint until July 6, 1987…
Emery Mining Corporation
Unwarrantable-failure finding reversed
Emery Mining Corporation operated the Deer Creek underground coal mine in Utah. MSHA cited the company after finding four roof bolts without bearing plates and determined that the violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.200 was significant and substantial and caused by unwarrantable failure. The Commission…
Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Company
Roof-control findings partly affirmed and remanded
Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Company was cited for two violations of its approved roof control plan at the Nelms No. 2 underground coal mine. The Commission affirmed the unwarrantable-failure findings for both violations and affirmed the significant-and-substantial finding for the temporary…
Quinland Coals, Inc.
Unwarrantable-failure finding affirmed on remand
Quinland Coals operated the Quinland No. 1 Mine. On remand, Judge William Fauver found that dangerous roof conditions and broken timbers had been known or should have been known by mine management for at least one or two months before MSHA issued its order under 30 C.F.R. § 75.200. He concluded…
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
Ventilation order modified to citation
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company operated the Greenwich Collieries No. 1 Mine. MSHA alleged that the mine was using an approved ventilation plan that did not cover its retreat mining system, in violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.316, and issued a section 104(d)(2) order. Judge George A. Koutras…
Randy Rothermel/Tracey Partners
Inspection-refusal citations vacated
Randy Rothermel and Tracey Partners operated the Tracey Slope Mine, which MSHA had placed on a five-day spot-inspection cycle after a 1982 methane explosion that seriously injured three miners. Judge George A. Koutras found that MSHA did not establish excessive methane or other especially hazardous…
Karl's Drilling Co., Inc.
Settlement withdrawal granted and discrimination case dismissed
The Secretary of Labor, on behalf of John P. Grinder, asked to withdraw the discrimination complaint against Karl's Drilling after the parties reached a mutually agreeable settlement. Grinder consented to the withdrawal. Judge Roy J. Maurer granted permission to withdraw the complaint under 29…
Midacontinent Resources, Inc.
Respirable-dust citation affirmed with penalty reduced to $300
Midacontinent Resources was cited after samples showed that miner Verlin F. Windedahl, a Part 90 miner, was exposed to respirable dust above the 1.0 milligram-per-cubic-meter limit. Judge John J. Morris found that the operator violated 30 C.F.R. § 90.100 and rejected its challenges to the sampling…
Greenwich Collieries, Division of Pennsylvania Mines Corporation
Five withdrawal orders modified to section 104(a) citations
After a methane explosion at Greenwich No. 1 mine killed three miners and injured eleven, MSHA issued five section 104(d)(1) withdrawal orders tied to alleged violations. Greenwich argued that the orders were invalid because they were not issued within 90 days of the underlying citation and were…
Whitaker Coal Corporation
Discrimination complaint dismissed as untimely
Ronald Sizemore alleged that Whitaker Coal discharged him in violation of the Mine Act's discrimination provision. The Secretary of Labor notified him on November 23, 1985 that the investigation found no violation, but Sizemore did not file his Commission complaint until August 13, 1987. Judge Gary…
Monsanto Company
Styrene label citation withdrawn under settlement
OSHA cited Monsanto's hazard communication materials for styrene monomer, inhibited, without proposing a penalty. The judge affirmed portions of the label-warning item and a material safety data sheet item. In settlement, Monsanto agreed to add warnings that excessive overexposure can affect the…
Occidental Chemical Company
Settlement withdrawal granted and discrimination proceedings dismissed
The Secretary of Labor moved to withdraw Richard W. Haviland's discrimination complaint after Haviland and Occidental Chemical reached a settlement. The proposed settlement included compensation, restoration of fringe benefits, reinstatement, reimbursement of covered medical claims, and expungement…
Peabody Coal Company
Discrimination proceeding dismissed after no response to show-cause order
The United Mine Workers of America, on behalf of Richard E. Jarvis, was ordered to show cause why the discrimination proceeding should not be dismissed. No response was filed by the deadline. Judge James A. Broderick dismissed the proceeding.
Peabody Coal Company
Discrimination proceeding dismissed after no response to show-cause order
The United Mine Workers of America, on behalf of Jimmy Johnson, was ordered to show cause why the discrimination proceeding should not be dismissed. No response was filed by the deadline. Judge James A. Broderick dismissed the proceeding.
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.