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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Keystone Coal Mining Corporation
Dust-citation decisions affirmed, Keystone citations vacated
This consolidated decision concerns thousands of respirable-dust sample citations issued to coal mine operators after MSHA identified abnormal white centers on dust filters. The Commission affirmed the ALJ's common-issues and Keystone decisions, holding that an abnormal white center alone did not…
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…
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…
Oneida Coal Company, Inc.
Motion to dismiss denied in respirable-dust citation contests
Oneida Coal Company contested 34 citations concerning alleged alteration of respirable dust samples at five mines. Oneida separately failed to return the forms contesting the proposed civil penalties, and the Secretary moved to dismiss the citation contests. Judge James A. Broderick found that…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Reconsideration denied and discovery deadline extended
This master docket concerns citations alleging that mine operators altered the weights of respirable dust filter cassettes. The Secretary asked Judge James A. Broderick to reconsider his holding that an accidental, unintentional change in a cassette’s weight is not a violation of 30 C.F.R. §§…
In re: Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Common citation issues consolidated for trial
This master docket covered approximately 4,000 citations alleging that respirable dust filter cassettes had been altered at underground coal mines, surface facilities, and mines with special protections for miners who had evidence of pneumoconiosis. Judge James A. Broderick consolidated the cases…
Bottom Coal Co., Inc.
Dust-sample cases settled for $39,185
The order covered multiple consolidated contest and civil-penalty proceedings involving 35 citations alleging violations of the respirable dust sample rule at several coal mines. The Secretary alleged deliberate alteration of dust filter media, while the operators maintained that dust could have…
Secretary of Labor v. Darbet, Incorporated
Settlement approved with $2,400 penalty
The Secretary alleged three violations of 30 C.F.R. § 70.209(b) by Darbet, Incorporated and sought total penalties of $3,000. The operator disputed the allegation that the violations resulted from a deliberate act and disputed the degree of negligence. Judge James A. Broderick approved the parties'…
Doris Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved and penalties reduced to $12,155
Doris Coal Company faced thirteen alleged violations of 30 C.F.R. § 70.209(b), originally assessed at $1,100 each. The Secretary and the operator disputed whether the violations resulted from a deliberate act and disputed the degree of negligence. Judge James A. Broderick approved the settlement…
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…
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…
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…
Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Motion to vacate allowed to proceed
The consolidated proceedings involved 36 citations alleging that respirable-dust samples had been altered by removing part of the dust from the sample. The mine operators moved to vacate the citations, arguing that MSHA delayed issuing them and that the delay caused prejudice through lost evidence…
Harman Mining Company
Settlement approved and penalties reduced to $9,360
Harman Mining faced nine alleged respirable-dust violations at the Greenbrier No. 1 Mine. The parties disputed whether the violations resulted from deliberate conduct and agreed to reduce the total proposed penalties from $11,700 to $9,360. Judge James A. Broderick approved the settlement under the…
T & H Coal Company, Inc.
Penalty approved and case dismissed after payment
T & H Coal Company withdrew its contest of the proposed penalty for a respirable-dust citation and paid the penalty. The citation alleged that respirable dust had been intentionally removed from samples before they were submitted to MSHA. Judge Paul Merlin reviewed the penalty under the Mine Act's…
CNB Coal Company, Inc.
Motion to dismiss late penalty petition denied
CNB Coal Company asked the judge to dismiss a civil penalty proceeding because the Secretary filed the penalty petition after the deadline in Commission Rule 27. The Secretary explained that an extraordinary volume of citations and contest notices had caused the delay. Judge James A. Broderick…
CNB Coal Company, Inc.
Motion to dismiss denied because late filing did not prejudice the operator
CNB Coal Company asked the judge to dismiss a civil penalty proceeding because the Secretary filed the penalty petition after the 45-day deadline. The judge found that the unusually large number of citations and contests processed during the period provided adequate cause for the delay. CNB did not…
S & L Coal Company
Motion to dismiss late penalty petition denied
S & L Coal Company asked the judge to dismiss a civil penalty proceeding because the Secretary filed the penalty petition after the deadline in Commission Rule 27. The Secretary explained that an extraordinary volume of citations and contest notices had caused the delay. Judge James A. Broderick…
Mountaineer Coal Company, Inc.
Common-issues findings lead to a mine-specific trial
This consolidated proceeding concerned roughly 5,000 citations issued to more than 800 mines for alleged intentional alteration of respirable-dust filter weights. After a common-issues trial, Judge James A. Broderick found that the Secretary's circumstantial evidence did not establish that the…
Betty B Coal Company, Inc.
Dust citation settlement approved for $2,880
Betty B Coal Company and the Secretary settled three alleged respirable-dust violations under 30 C.F.R. § 70.209(b). The violations had originally carried total proposed penalties of $3,600, and the parties disputed whether the conduct was deliberate and the degree of negligence. Judge James A…
Mettiki Coal Corporation
Motion to vacate respirable-dust citations denied
Mettiki Coal Corporation and several other operators asked the judge to vacate 87 respirable-dust citations issued after MSHA found abnormal white centers on submitted samples. They argued that the Secretary had not issued the citations with reasonable promptness and that the delay prejudiced their…
Walker Coal Company
Settlement approved at $4,000
Walker Coal Company faced five alleged violations of 30 C.F.R. § 70.209(b) in two civil penalty proceedings. The parties disputed whether the violations resulted from a deliberate act and disagreed about the degree of negligence. Judge James A. Broderick approved their settlement, reducing the…
Lambert Coal Company
Settlement approved with $8,250 penalty
The Secretary alleged that Lambert Coal Company altered the weight of respirable dust samples submitted as part of its sampling requirements at five mines. The five dockets covered ten alleged violations of 30 C.F.R. § 70.209(b), and the operator denied deliberately tampering with or altering the…
Contests of Respirable Dust Sample Alteration Citations
Privilege rulings reconsidered and documents ordered produced
This master-docket discovery order addressed documents concerning alleged alteration of respirable dust samples, including materials related to 30 C.F.R. § 70.209(b). Judge James A. Broderick granted reconsideration of earlier privilege rulings, upheld protection for some investigative…
Brent Roberts
Certification revocation contest dismissed
Brent Roberts challenged a proposed revocation of his certification to collect respirable-dust samples after MSHA alleged that dust samples connected to him had not been properly collected. Judge Paul Merlin held that the certification was a property right entitled to appropriate due-process…
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.