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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Philip Environmental Services
One citation vacated and one affirmed
Philip Environmental Services faced two civil penalty proceedings arising from work at an alumina mill. The ALJ approved a settlement vacating a citation for caustic-material puddles and dismissed that docket. In the remaining case, the Judge found that Philip failed to clear personnel from the…
Plateau Mining Corp. (formerly Cyprus Plateau Mining Corporation)
Plateau Mining Corp. (FMSHRC WEST 98-317, WEST 98-191-R, WEST 98-192-R): Dust-control findings reduced
Plateau Mining operated the Willow Creek underground coal mine, where MSHA found that a rebuilt continuous miner had fewer water sprays than the approved ventilation plan required. The judge affirmed the underlying violations but found that the evidence did not establish significant and substantial…
Consolidated Coal Company
Methane-explosion violations affirmed on remand
Consolidated Coal was closing the Blacksville No. 1 underground coal mine when a methane explosion occurred during welding on a dewatering pipe above a production shaft. The explosion killed four contractor employees, injured two others, and damaged mine structures. On remand, Judge Gary Melick…
Harney Rock & Paving Co.
Eight mobile-equipment citations resolved with $1,904 penalty
Harney Rock & Paving Co. operated a crusher in Oregon. MSHA issued eight citations involving backing alarms and observers, parking brakes, elevated walkways, access, berm height, mobile-equipment warning devices, and a dozer operator's seat belt. Judge August F. Cetti affirmed the violations and…
Alta Gold Company
Three citations affirmed with penalty factors modified
Alta Gold Company operated the Griffon Project surface mine, where MSHA cited unsafe dumping at an undercut stockpile and inadequate restraints at a crusher feed hopper. Judge August F. Cetti found violations of the stockpile dumping and dump-site restraint standards, affirmed the…
Rag Cumberland Resources LP
Imminent danger order vacated and citation affirmed with reduced penalty
RAG Cumberland Resources LP operated the Cumberland Mine, where two coupled mantrips struck a parked cricket at the No. 6 portal. Judge Jerold Feldman vacated the imminent danger order because the mantrip operator had left the mine and the completed act did not create a continuing threat. He found…
Eagle Energy, Incorporated
Roof-examination violations affirmed and $12,000 penalty assessed
Eagle Energy operated a large mine where an MSHA inspection found unsupported kettlebottoms in the roof and cited failures to record hazardous conditions during preshift and onshift examinations. The inspection followed a fatal rib-roll accident involving maintenance foreman James Kerns, although…
L. M. Karnes, Employed by J. H. Shears' Sons, Incorporated
Settlement approved with one citation vacated
L. M. Karnes worked at the Stockton Quarry Mine for J. H. Shears' Sons, Incorporated. The Secretary alleged three violations involving explosives storage, work 18 feet above ground without a safety belt and line, and access to the work area. The judge approved the settlement after considering the…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved and S&S designation deleted
Consolidation Coal Company settled a citation alleging that trolley wire at a mantrip station was not adequately guarded. The Secretary stated that available evidence could not establish that the condition was significant and substantial, and the parties proposed reducing the penalty from $206 to…
Garden Creek Pocahontas Company
Settlement approved for conveyor citation
This civil penalty proceeding involved one alleged violation of a mandatory safety standard at Garden Creek Pocahontas Company's VP-6 Mine. The citation concerned a belt conveyor that periodically started unexpectedly while idled in sequence mode. The parties settled the proposed $189 penalty for…
Kem Coal Incorporated
Seven citations settled and S&S findings removed
This civil penalty proceeding involved seven alleged violations at Kem Coal's No. 1 Surface Mine under standards in Parts 71 and 77 of the mine safety regulations. The parties agreed to settle the proposed penalties, reducing the total from $2,222 to $500. They also agreed to remove the…
Kem Coal Incorporated
Settlement approved and one citation vacated
This civil penalty proceeding involved four alleged violations of mandatory safety standards at Kem Coal's No. 2 Surface Mine. The parties settled three citations for $655, $595, and $595, and agreed that a fourth citation involving an inaudible backup alarm should be vacated because the vehicle…
Delaware Valley Landscape Incorporated
Seat-belt violations affirmed after settlement
Delaware Valley Landscape Incorporated operated the Delaware Valley Landscape Stone mine and faced two seat-belt violations involving haulage trucks. The judge approved a settlement that changed both section 104(d)(1) actions to section 104(a) S&S citations, while affirming the underlying…
Maple Meadow Mining Company
Settlement reduced penalty and gravity finding
Maple Meadow Mining Company was cited for accumulations of loose coal and coal dust in several mine locations. The Secretary initially proposed a $4,200 penalty and alleged that a fatality was highly likely, while the company disputed the gravity assessment. Judge George A. Koutras approved a…
Black Mountain Coal Mining, Incorporated
Discrimination settlement approved
Robert C. Teaney alleged that Black Mountain Coal Mining transferred him after he reported an electrical hazard, causing lost compensation. Judge Gary Melick approved a settlement covering two discrimination proceedings. The company agreed to pay Teaney $3,600 in back pay and $400 in interest…
Costain Coal Incorporated
Four civil penalty citations settled for $688
MSHA sought civil penalties for four alleged violations of mandatory safety standards in 30 C.F.R. Part 75 at Costain Coal's Pyro No. 9 Wheatcroft operation. The parties agreed to settle without reducing any of the proposed penalties. Judge Jerold Feldman found the settlement reasonable and in the…
Shannopin Mining Company
Shuttle-car citation vacated and three settlements approved
Shannopin Mining was cited after an inspector found a shuttle car with a forward-leaning canopy and two broken welds. Judge George A. Koutras found that MSHA did not prove the canopy was unsafe under 30 C.F.R. § 75.1725(a), so he vacated the contested citation and denied its penalty. The parties…
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…
Cumberland Valley Contractors
Discrimination settlement approved
The Secretary of Labor brought a discrimination complaint for three former miners who alleged that Cumberland Valley Contractors discharged them after they complained about unsafe practices involving the roof control plan. The company denied discriminating against them. The parties and the three…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved and contest dismissed
Consolidation Coal Company agreed to pay the proposed $379 penalty for an alleged violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.400 at the Robinson Run No. 95 Mine. Judge George A. Koutras approved the settlement after noting that the condition was rapidly abated and that the violation involved moderate negligence…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved and related contests dismissed
Consolidation Coal Company faced five alleged violations at the Robinson Run No. 95 Mine. Judge George A. Koutras approved settlements for two citations, reducing the proposed penalty from $310 each to $186 each after the citations were modified from significant and substantial to non-significant…
Zeigler Coal Company
One citation settled and one affirmed
Zeigler Coal Company faced two ventilation-related citations at its No. 11 Mine. The company agreed to pay the full $20 penalty for a battery-charging-station citation under 30 C.F.R. § 75.1105, and that settlement was approved. Judge George A. Koutras found that the company also violated 30 C.F.R…
Zeigler Coal Company
One citation vacated and one settled
Zeigler Coal Company faced two civil penalty proceedings involving its Murdock and Spartan Mines. Judge George A. Koutras vacated a citation alleging that a continuous miner's emergency-stop foot switch was not maintained in safe operating condition because MSHA determined that the cited standard…
Arch of Kentucky, Inc.
Settlement approved for ventilation violation
Arch of Kentucky operated the No. 37 Mine, where MSHA found that airflow on a longwall section was below the amount required by the approved ventilation plan. The parties settled after the order was changed from an unwarrantable-failure action to a section 104(a) significant-and-substantial…
Secretary of Labor v. Carl A. Johnson, employed by Morton Salt Division/Morton Thiokol Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Carl A. Johnson (FMSHRC CENT 89-54-M, CENT 89-60-M): Settlements approved for two mine-safety orders
The Secretary charged Carl A. Johnson under section 110(c) of the Mine Act with knowingly authorizing, ordering, or carrying out two alleged violations at the Morton Salt Weeks Island Mine. One order involved 30 C.F.R. § 57.9003 and had an initial assessment of $400, and the other involved 30…
Amber Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved with $6,000 penalty
Amber Coal Company operated the Amber No. 7 Mine. MSHA proposed an $8,500 civil penalty for an alleged violation of the roof-control standard at 30 C.F.R. § 75.200. The parties submitted a settlement under which Amber agreed to pay $6,000. Judge George A. Koutras found the settlement reasonable and…
El Paso Sand Products, Inc.
Settlement proposals rejected or deferred
El Paso Sand Products proposed to settle six civil penalty proceedings involving 23 alleged violations for $6,626.25, compared with initial assessments totaling $8,835. The ALJ found that the parties' boilerplate descriptions of low negligence and low exposure conflicted with the inspection…
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…
Highwire, Incorporated
Settlement approved for eight coal-mine citations
The Secretary of Labor proposed civil penalties against Highwire, Incorporated for eight alleged violations of mandatory safety standards at its No. 1 Mine. The parties agreed to pay the full proposed amounts, $126 in KENT 87-95 and $380 in KENT 87-156. Judge George A. Koutras found the settlements…
Green River Coal Company, Inc.
Settlements approved across four mine dockets
Green River Coal Company agreed to settle four civil penalty proceedings involving coal accumulations, conveyor equipment, ventilation, methane, accident-site preservation, and roof control at its Green River No. 9 Mine. Judge George A. Koutras found the settlements reasonable and in the public…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlement approved and contest dismissed
Consolidation Coal Company was cited at the Loveridge No. 22 Mine for accumulations of float coal dust along a conveyor belt haulage entry, in alleged violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.400, with a proposed civil penalty of $750. The company contested the order, and the penalty and contest proceedings…
Dover Elevator Company
Settlement approved and $58 assessed
Dover Elevator Company faced a civil penalty proceeding over an alleged violation of the mine safety standard for guarding moving machinery. The Secretary sought a $58 penalty for Citation No. 2584200, issued at the Rock Lick Preparation Plant. The company agreed to pay the full proposed penalty…
Sellersburg Stone Company
Settlements approved for $1,080
Sellersburg Stone faced 13 alleged safety violations at its stone mine under standards covering guarding, electrical equipment, and electrical bushings. Judge George A. Koutras reviewed the Secretary's explanation for reducing the proposed penalties and approved settlements totaling $1,080 across…
Vinnell Mining and Minerals Corporation
Four citations settled for $175
Vinnell Mining and Minerals faced four citations at the Oro Grande Mine with initial assessments totaling $241. Judge August F. Cetti approved the settlement after reviewing the statutory penalty criteria and the parties' explanation for reducing two assessments. The settlement reduced the total to…
Charles J. Merlo, Incorporated
Penalty proposal withdrawn and case dismissed
MSHA alleged that a leased Caterpillar dozer lacked an audible warning and functioning directional lights. Judge George A. Koutras found that Beth Energy Mines, which owned the plant and had exclusive control of the dozer, rather than Charles J. Merlo, was responsible for the condition. The judge…
Bull Run Mining Company, Incorporated
Bull Run Mining Company (FMSHRC WEVA 86-272): Settlement approved at $200 for belt fire-protection citation
Bull Run Mining Company conceded a section 104(d)(1) citation alleging that it failed to provide two branch water lines for several belt head drives at the Meredith Mine. The original proposed penalty was $500, but the parties proposed a $200 settlement because the mine had installed…
Phelps Dodge Corporation, Tyrone Branch
Proposed settlement rejected and hearing ordered
Phelps Dodge faced a citation after a pipe-stacking accident at the Tyrone Mine and Mill in which one worker died from injuries and another suffered a broken leg. The parties proposed resolving the citation for the original assessed penalty of $192, but Judge Paul Merlin found that the record…
Columbia Portland Cement Company
Settlement approved at $1,000 for lockout citation
Columbia Portland Cement faced a citation after an electrician entered a kiln precipitator hopper while a screw conveyor was running and the electrical switch had not been deenergized or locked out. The proposed penalty was reduced from $2,000 to $1,000 because the employee did not intend to enter…
Consolidation Coal Company
Roof-bolting settlement approved for $30
Consolidation Coal Company faced a civil penalty proceeding over roof-bolt spacing at its Blacksville No. 1 Mine. The Secretary alleged that four rows of bolts in the P-3 section did not comply with the approved roof-control plan, exposing miners to roof-fall hazards. The parties disputed whether…
Pontiki Coal Corporation
Settlement approval affirmed and unsupported comments struck
Pontiki Coal settled four contested violations arising from accumulations and equipment conditions at its Mine Number Two, with a total penalty of $7,500. The Commission held that the Administrative Law Judge went beyond the limited settlement record by making unsupported comments about advance…
Greenwich Collieries, Division of Pennsylvania Mines Corporation
Section 103(k) penalty settled for $550
Greenwich Collieries faced a civil penalty proceeding for a section 103(k) violation at its No. 1 Mine. A section foreman entered an area covered by a withdrawal order after a methane explosion, and the parties proposed reducing the $1,000 assessment to $550. Judge George A. Koutras found that…
Alabama By-Products Corp.
Fatal-accident citations resolved through mixed settlement
Alabama By-Products Corp. faced seven contests and two civil penalty proceedings after a fatal accident involving a continuous-mining machine operator. The judge approved settlements for two citations, affirmed several citations and one imminent-danger order, and dismissed the related contests…
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.