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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Black Beauty Coal Company
Loose conveyor guards upheld as unwarrantable
MSHA cited Black Beauty because guards around a conveyor tailpiece were hung with chains and rusty tie wire, could move under slight pressure, and had been pushed apart by mud and coal fines. Judge Margaret A. Miller found that the guards were not securely in place and that a miner could slip near…
Matter of Luis CASTILLO-PADILLA
Conditional parole is not immigration parole
The Board reviewed a Mexican respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied adjustment of status based on his marriage to a United States citizen. The respondent had been released from Department of Homeland Security custody on a $12,000 cash bond and received a Form I-94 showing conditional…
Independence Coal Company, Inc.
Flooded secondary escapeway citation affirmed
More than 300 feet of Independence Coal's secondary escapeway was covered rib to rib by dark water that reached at least 15 inches deep and concealed track, ties, loose rock, and an uneven floor. Judge Margaret A. Miller found that miners, including stretcher teams, could not pass quickly and…
Snapperfarm, Inc.
In re Snapperfarm, Inc. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 09-19): petition dismissed with prejudice
Snapperfarm, Inc. asked to withdraw its petition for review of NPDES Permit No. PR0026361. EPA Region 2 consented to the motion, and Snapperfarm reported that settlement negotiations had resolved the disputed issues. Region 2 clarified its interpretation of certain permit terms and issued an…
Snapperfarm, Inc.
In re Snapperfarm, Inc. (EAB NPDES Appeal No. 09-19): petition dismissed with prejudice
Snapperfarm, Inc. sought review of its NPDES Permit No. PR0026361. The company asked to withdraw its petition after settlement negotiations with EPA Region 2. Region 2 clarified its interpretation of certain permit terms and issued an Administrative Order giving Snapperfarm additional time to…
Spencer Quarries, Inc.
Icy-walkway citation vacated, contractor-training citation affirmed
MSHA cited Spencer Quarries for ice and snow on an elevated walkway and for failing to tell a construction contractor about MSHA training obligations. Judge Richard W. Manning vacated the walkway citation because the plant was closed that day, the walkway had been cleared at the end of the prior…
Pritchard Mining Company, Inc.
Reopening denied for unexplained delay
Pritchard Mining asked the Commission to reopen a proposed assessment after stating that it had timely contested the underlying citations but did not receive the later penalty form because of an unspecified error. The Secretary opposed reopening because the company did not explain the missed…
Maple Coal Company
Late penalty petition accepted
The Secretary filed Maple Coal's penalty petition several months after the 45-day deadline. Maple Coal sought dismissal and claimed prejudice from the delay. Chief Judge Robert J. Lesnick held that the filing deadline is not jurisdictional and that Commission precedent favors resolving cases on…
ConocoPhillips Bayway Refinery
Asbestos items reduced to other-than-serious
Conoco employees chipped and cut an asbestos-containing coating from an underground pipeline sleeve without following multiple asbestos-work requirements. The judge affirmed nine citation items as serious. The Commission held that the Secretary had not presented case-specific evidence showing that…
Brody Mining, LLC
Immediate review of late-filing ruling denied
Brody Mining asked Judge William B. Moran to certify immediate review of an earlier order accepting the Secretary's penalty petition 135 days after its deadline. The company argued that the delay prejudiced it by leaving significant-and-substantial allegations unresolved and exposing it to a…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Ricky Lee Campbell v. Marfork Coal Company, Inc.
Temporary reinstatement ordered after equipment complaints
Ricky Lee Campbell repeatedly complained about shuttle-car brake and tram-pedal problems at Marfork Coal's Slip Ridge mine and said supervisors told him to continue using equipment he considered unsafe. He was suspended and terminated within weeks of starting at the mine. Judge L. Zane Gill found…
Hanson Aggregates Arizona, Inc.
Final penalty assessment reopened
Hanson Aggregates Arizona asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The published order does not state why the company missed the contest deadline. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened…
Miles Sand & Gravel Company
Final penalty assessment reopened
Miles Sand & Gravel asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The published order does not describe why the company missed the contest deadline. After reviewing the circumstances, the Commission reopened the…
Rocky Point Rock, Inc.
Disputed assessment receipt sent for factfinding
MSHA's records showed that Rocky Point Rock received a proposed assessment on September 14, 2009. The company said it actually received the form on October 13 inside an envelope with another assessment and returned both forms six days later. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but acknowledged…
Lehigh Cement Company
Misfiled penalty contests reopened
Lehigh Cement intended to contest penalties for four citations and forwarded the proposed assessment to counsel with other materials. A temporary clerical assistant misfiled the assessment, so counsel did not realize it required action before the deadline. Counsel discovered the final order while…
C & P Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Final penalty assessment reopened
C & P Sand & Gravel asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order. The Secretary did not oppose the request. The published order does not describe the operator's explanation for missing the contest deadline. After reviewing the circumstances, the…
Compass Environmental, Inc.
Power-line training violation reinstated
A Compass employee was fatally electrocuted when an excavator boom approached an overhead power line and electricity traveled through a grease line he was holding. The judge vacated the training citation because he found the employee's exposure unforeseeable. The Commission reversed, finding that a…
Russell City Energy Center, LLC
In re Russell City Energy Center, LLC (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 10-12 and 10-13): late petitions dismissed
Russell City Energy Center, LLC's PSD Permit No. 15487 authorized construction of a natural gas fired combined-cycle power plant in Hayward, California. Earnest A. Pacheco and Raymond Pietrorazio each submitted a petition for review on June 1, 2010. The permit required petitions to be received by…
Matter of Carlos Ovidio MENDEZ-ORELLANA
Antique firearm status is an affirmative defense
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings against a Guatemalan lawful permanent resident who had firearm convictions. The Board held that the antique-firearm exception in the federal firearm definition is an affirmative…
Circle T Feedlot, Inc.; Morgan Feedlot LLC; Sebade Feedyard; Stanek Brothers
In re Circle T Feedlot, Inc., Morgan Feedlot LLC, Sebade Feedyard, and Stanek Brothers (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 09-02 and 09-03): review denied
Four concentrated animal feeding operations in Nebraska challenged NPDES permits issued by EPA Region 7. The petitioners argued that Nebraska, rather than EPA, should have issued the permits and disputed whether non-Indian-owned fee land within the Omaha and Winnebago Reservations was Indian…
Black Beauty Coal Company
Settlement-review questions certified to Commission
Judge Margaret A. Miller had denied proposed settlements in three Black Beauty penalty dockets because the record did not adequately support large penalty reductions under the Mine Act's six penalty criteria and deterrent purpose. The Secretary asked for immediate review. The Judge certified…
Performance Coal Company
Reopening request dismissed after full payment
Performance Coal sought to reopen penalties for 62 violations totaling $95,627 after MSHA recorded no timely contest. The company said counsel mailed the contest within 30 days of the date its safety director stamped on the assessment. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but explained that the…
Secretary of Labor obo Strattis v. ICG Beckley, LLC
Temporary reinstatement date corrected
Judge William B. Moran corrected a statement in his June 1, 2010 temporary-reinstatement order for Mr. Strattis. The earlier order mistakenly said reinstatement was effective on the date of discharge. The Judge explained that this would make the later discrimination proceeding pointless on the…
Rockhouse Creek Development, LLC
Four one-day-late contests reopened
Rockhouse Creek's four contest forms were due on January 21, 2010, but counsel mailed them one day later. Counsel said the company did not deliver the assessments to him until January 20 and that he was out of the office until January 22. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. In the interests of…
Cemex, Inc.
Two missed penalty contests reopened
MSHA sent two assessments to Cemex's Knoxville plant after its health and safety manager left and before a replacement was hired. A manager at another plant reviewed the forms and instructed Knoxville staff which penalties to pay and which to contest. The staff made the payments but failed to…
Performance Coal Company
Stay denied and penalty hearings scheduled
Performance Coal requested hearings on citations, orders, and proposed penalties in six Upper Big Branch-South Mine dockets. Judge Margaret A. Miller denied the Secretary's motion to stay these proceedings and placed them on a hearing schedule. She required the parties to exchange information about…
Secretary of Labor obo Rickey Joe Strattis v. ICG Beckley, LLC
Dozer operator economically reinstated
Rickey Joe Strattis sought temporary reinstatement to his dozer-operator position at ICG Beckley's Beckley Pocahontas Plant. He had filed a discrimination complaint in November 2009, and MSHA requested information from the company on April 9, 2010. ICG Beckley discharged him three business days…
Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District
In re Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 08-11 to 08-18 and 09-06): permit remanded in part
Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District operates a wastewater treatment plant in Millbury, Massachusetts, that discharges to the Blackstone River. Several parties challenged conditions in the District's renewed NPDES permit, including limits for nitrogen, phosphorus, fecal coliform, and…
Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District
In re Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District (EAB NPDES Appeal Nos. 08-11 through 08-18 and 09-06): review denied in part and remanded in part
The Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District operated a wastewater treatment plant in Millbury, Massachusetts, under an NPDES permit for discharges into the Blackstone River. The consolidated appeals challenged co-permittee provisions, limits for nitrogen, phosphorus, fecal coliform, and…
Orica USA, Inc.
Off-property flyrock did not defeat MSHA jurisdiction
Orica designed, loaded, and detonated a blast at Callanan Industries' Pattersonville surface stone operation. MSHA alleged that flyrock traveled about 526 feet onto Interstate 90, struck three vehicles, injured two people, and showed that Orica had failed to guard or barricade access routes to the…
Prairie State Generating Company, LLC
Initial roof and ventilation plan citations affirmed
Prairie State began operating the new Lively Grove underground coal mine without approved roof control and ventilation plans by agreement with MSHA so it could contest the agency's proposed provisions. The operator sought 40-foot cuts, wider entries and intersections, lower air quantities, and…
Matter of Noemi MONGES-Garcia
The 90-day reopening limit applies to older in absentia orders
The Board reviewed a Honduran respondent's appeal from the denial of a motion to reopen a 1994 in absentia deportation order so she could seek adjustment of status based on her marriage to a United States citizen. The Board held that the 90-day time limit in 8 C.F.R. § 1003.23(b)(1) applies to…
Secretary of Labor obo Christopher L. Abeyta v. San Juan Coal Company
Electrical engineer temporarily reinstated
Christopher Abeyta worked as an electrical projects engineer at San Juan Coal Company's underground mine. He raised concerns about electrical arcing, capacitor use, inspections, high-voltage checks, emergency-response work, and coal dust inside load centers, and he also filed an MSHA safety…
Eurotech Construction Corp.
Floor-hole cover citations vacated for lack of knowledge
A Eurotech masonry employee fell about 17 feet through a floor opening on the 45th floor of a high-rise construction project. OSHA alleged deficient inspections, an unsecured and unlabeled cover, and a failure to retrain employees. The judge credited evidence that Eurotech's foreman inspected…
Secretary of Labor v. Arch of Wyoming, LLC
Drill benches required berms but examination citation vacated
Arch of Wyoming operated drill, explosives, and stemming vehicles on two elevated benches at its Elk Mountain surface coal mine without berms along the outer edges. Judge Richard W. Manning held that the benches were elevated roadways because vehicles traveled along them during drilling and…
Secretary of Labor v. Blue Diamond Coal Company
Missing stopping affirmed but heightened findings removed
Blue Diamond conceded that a required permanent stopping was missing after production moved to a new panel at Mine No. 77. Senior Judge Michael E. Zielinski found a violation because the stopping was required to separate a belt and neutral entry from the return. He rejected the…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company
Belt accumulations upheld and preshift order reduced
MSHA found extensive coal accumulations contacting rollers and moving belts at Consol's Enlow Fork Mine, along with several hazards omitted from a preshift examination of the E-14 longwall belt. Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck held that the preshift record should have identified hazardous stopping…
Secretary of Labor v. Orchard Coal Company, S & M Coal Company, Alfred Brown Coal Company, and B & B Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Orchard Coal Company, et al. (FMSHRC PENN 2010-339-E): Mine-standard modification request belonged with Secretary
Four anthracite operators sought Commission review of how MSHA was enforcing Mine Act requirements. They argued that the enforcement approach denied them an opportunity to request modification of those requirements and included a section 101(c) modification petition in their filing. The Commission…
Sargent Enterprises, Inc.
In re Sargent Enterprises, Inc. (EAB CAA Appeal No. 10-02): default order and penalty affirmed
Sargent Enterprises, Inc. was assessed a $17,400 penalty for failing to keep regulated asbestos-containing material wet until disposal. The ALJ entered default after Sargent failed to provide its required prehearing exchange and failed to respond to an order to show cause. Sargent argued that…
Secretary of Labor v. Bill Simola, employed by United Taconite, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Bill Simola (FMSHRC LAKE 2010-128-M): LLC-agent liability question certified for review
MSHA sought to hold Bill Simola personally liable as an agent of United Taconite under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. Simola argued that the provision applies to agents of corporations but not agents of limited liability companies, and Judge Jerold Feldman had denied his motion to dismiss. Simola…
Secretary of Labor v. Cumberland Coal Resources, LP
Post-hearing switch of preshift standard rejected
MSHA cited Cumberland for failing to immediately correct a hazardous condition recorded in a preshift book under 30 C.F.R. § 75.363(a). The judge upheld a violation on a different theory, finding that accumulations should have been identified and recorded during the preshift examination. On review…
Secretary of Labor v. Swinson Materials, Inc.
Reopening denied for unexplained missed contest
MSHA issued Swinson Materials a proposed penalty assessment covering four citations and one order. Delivery records showed that the company received the assessment on October 21, 2009, but it did not contest within the Mine Act's 30-day period. Swinson said it did not receive a final order and did…
Matter of B-Y-
Frivolousness findings require explicit materiality and deliberateness
The Board reconsidered a Chinese respondent's asylum case after the Second Circuit upheld the adverse credibility finding and denial of asylum and withholding of removal but sent the frivolousness issue back for further analysis. The Board held that an Immigration Judge may incorporate factual…
Secretary of Labor v. Imerys Clay, Inc.
Omitted contest form excused and ten penalties reopened
Imerys Clay's accounts-payable department sent MSHA a $1,918 payment for penalties the company did not intend to contest. It failed to include the assessment form identifying ten other proposed penalties that Imerys wanted to challenge, and the safety manager learned of the omission only after a…
Abundance Coal, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Partial EAJA award set at $11,586.59
Abundance Coal had prevailed in expedited contest proceedings and was entitled to fees because the Secretary's trial position was not substantially justified. Judge Gary Melick found serious defects in Abundance's verification and itemized billing, but allowed a partial award where the charges were…
Russell City Energy Center, LLC
In re Russell City Energy Center, LLC (EAB PSD Appeal Nos. 10-07, 10-08, 10-09, and 10-10): four petitions dismissed as untimely
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued a prevention of significant deterioration permit for a new natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Hayward, California. Karen Kramer, the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District, Minane Jameson, and Idojine J. Miller each sought review…
Matter of Serapio Felimon ALANIA-Martin
Unauthorized work does not bar section 245(i) adjustment
The Board reviewed a Peruvian respondent's appeal after an Immigration Judge denied adjustment of status under section 245(i) because the respondent had worked without authorization. The respondent had an approved employment certification and immigrant-worker petition, and he argued that section…
Latite Roofing & Sheet Metal, LLC, successor to Latite Roofing & Sheet Metal Company, Inc.
EAJA fee application denied
OSHA withdrew a serious citation alleging that a roofing safety monitor performed work that could distract from monitoring duties. Latite then sought attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The judge found Latite financially eligible and a prevailing party because the…
Secretary of Labor v. Barton Mines Company, LLC
Eight contests reopened despite conference-only request
Barton Mines repeatedly indicated that it wanted to challenge eight citations and penalties, but it sent its marked assessment and contest letter to a local MSHA district office rather than the required address. The company also asked the Commission to restore a conference request. The Secretary…
Secretary of Labor v. Coal Haulers, Inc.
Faxed conference request and mailed contest reopened
Coal Haulers said it faxed MSHA a conference request and mailed the proposed assessment form to contest a penalty and request a hearing. It later received a delinquency notice. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but reminded the operator that assessment contests must be marked and mailed to…
Secretary of Labor v. KWV Operations, LLC
Detailed renewed request reopened two assessments
The Commission had earlier denied KWV Operations' reopening requests without prejudice because the company gave only a general claim of inadvertence or mistake. KWV returned with a more detailed affidavit explaining that its corporate office may have sent the contest notices to MSHA's payment…
Secretary of Labor v. Glacier Stone Supply, LLC
Paid penalty reopened after contest sent to wrong office
Glacier Stone Supply wanted to contest a penalty assessment for an October 2009 citation. It sent its notice of contest to the wrong MSHA office and also paid the penalty, but told the Commission it still wished to pursue the challenge and requested a conference. The Secretary did not oppose…
Secretary of Labor v. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.
Reopening request withdrawn after full payment
Martin Marietta Materials asked the Commission to reopen a final penalty assessment. Before the Commission ruled on that request, the company decided to pay the assessment in full. Its counsel then moved to withdraw the reopening request. The Commission granted the withdrawal.
Secretary of Labor v. The Olen Corporation
Two missing contests reopened
The Olen Corporation said it marked two citations as contested on a proposed assessment form and sent the form to MSHA with payment for other citations. MSHA's Civil Penalty Compliance Office had no record of receiving the contests, and Olen later received a delinquency notice. The company…
Secretary of Labor v. White County Coal, LLC
Fourteen missing citation contests reopened
White County Coal said it marked 14 citations and $39,838 in penalties for contest and sent the assessment form to MSHA's Civil Penalty Compliance Office. It separately paid $8,053 for the remaining citations, and MSHA timely received that payment. MSHA had no record of the contest form and later…
Secretary of Labor v. Dix River Stone
Reopening requests denied for delay and inadequate explanation
Dix River Stone asked to reopen two final penalty assessments, stating only that its files showed the citations had been resubmitted as contested. The Commission denied reopening of Assessment No. 000132599 because the request arrived about 18 months after finality, beyond Rule 60(b)'s one-year…
Secretary of Labor v. Table Rock Asphalt Construction, Inc.
Mailed four-citation contest reopened
Table Rock Asphalt said it received a proposed assessment covering four citations, marked all four penalties for contest, and mailed the notice within the required 30 days. MSHA had no record of receiving the notice. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. In the interests of justice, the…
Secretary of Labor v. Wendling Quarries, Inc.
Paid penalty reopened after citation-contest confusion
Wendling Quarries had already filed a contest of Citation No. 6494021 when MSHA later issued the proposed penalty assessment. The company did not realize that it also needed to contest the penalty, did not forward the assessment to counsel, and its accounting office paid the assessment because the…
Secretary of Labor v. A.I.M., LLC
Clerk's health-related handling failure excused
A.I.M. received a proposed assessment, but a clerk with serious health problems failed to tell anyone that it had arrived. The company director learned of the assessment only when a delinquency notice was received, and A.I.M. requested reopening within one week. The Secretary initially opposed…
Secretary of Labor v. Craig's Operated Equipment
Six-penalty reopening denied for missing explanation
MSHA delivery records showed that Craig's Operated Equipment received an assessment covering seven citations and orders. After a delinquency notice, the company asked to dispute penalties for six of them but gave no reason for missing the 30-day contest deadline. The Secretary opposed reopening on…
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.