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.
Big Ridge, Inc.
Ventilation and accumulations orders yield $17,200 total penalty
Big Ridge faced four contested orders involving its ventilation plan and combustible oil or coal accumulations, plus a fifth violation resolved by settlement. Judge Michael E. Zielinski affirmed the ventilation violation but removed unwarrantable failure because the off-plan air-reading location…
Cumberland Coal Resources, LP.
High-spot methane testing violation reduced to non-S&S
MSHA cited Cumberland Coal for failing to properly test for methane near the roof of a high spot in an intake entry. The Judge found that preshift examiners routinely used a probe that could reach only about 15 to 16 feet in an area that rose as high as 21 feet, rather than testing within 12 inches…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Nonpermissible sealed-area pump citation vacated
MSHA cited Jim Walter Resources for operating a nonpermissible submersible pump in the sealed area of its No. 7 Mine, alleging a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.507-1. The company argued that the pump was not operating in return air because it was in a permanently sealed, water-filled worked-out area…
Lodestar Energy, Inc.
Weekly air-course examination citation affirmed on remand
Lodestar Energy was cited after it examined one entry but not a second entry in a 6,615-foot intake air course at its Baker Mine. On remand from the Commission, Judge T. Todd Hodgdon considered whether the regulation gave Lodestar adequate notice that both entries required weekly examination. He…
Lodestar Energy, Inc.
Weekly air-course inspection ruling remanded for notice findings
Lodestar operated an underground coal mine where two longwall entries were separated by stoppings and coal pillars for about 6,615 feet. MSHA cited the company for failing to inspect the No. 1 intake entry weekly for hazardous conditions, as required by 30 C.F.R. § 75.364(b)(1). The Commission…
Lodestar Energy, Inc.
One citation vacated and two resolved with a $100 penalty
Lodestar Energy operated the Baker Mine, an underground bituminous coal mine in Kentucky. The judge vacated one citation by settlement, affirmed a second citation by settlement, and found that the company had failed to examine a separate intake entry as required by the ventilation rules. He held…
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…
Consolidation Coal Company
Methane explosion case partially remanded
Consolidation Coal Company's Blacksville No. 1 Mine experienced a methane explosion during installation of a dewatering pipe, killing four contractor employees and injuring two others. The Commission reviewed one citation and three orders involving ventilation, methane examinations, and…
Consolidation Coal Company
Methane-explosion citations modified
Consolidation Coal's Blacksville No. 1 Mine experienced a methane explosion that killed four miners and injured two others during a shaft-capping and dewatering project. Judge Gary Melick vacated a citation alleging inadequate ventilation in inactive workings because the Secretary did not prove the…
Energy West Mining Company
Ventilation-plan dispute vacated and remanded
Energy West Mining Company was cited after an inspector measured 22,680 cubic feet of air per minute at the intake end of a longwall face where the mine's approved ventilation plan required 30,000 cubic feet per minute. Energy West argued that the requirement applied only during active coal…
Energy West Mining Company
$50 citation affirmed
Energy West Mining Company was cited at its Cottonwood Mine after three nonpermissible diesel trucks were found in a two-entry longwall panel during equipment installation. The judge held that the belt-haulage entry remained a belt-haulage entry while the conveyor was being modified, and that the…
M A G Incorporated
Settlements totaling $21,000 approved across 14 dockets
M A G Incorporated contested 54 alleged safety and health violations across 14 dockets at Alloy Deep Mine No. 2. The parties reported that the operator was a small mine with poor financial condition, that no accidents or injuries resulted from the cited conditions, and that all conditions were…
Zeigler Coal Company
Power-connection violation affirmed, S&S finding remanded
MSHA cited Zeigler Coal after inspectors found non-permissible golf-cart power connection points in return air outby the last open crosscut at an underground coal mine. The Commission agreed that, for purposes of 30 C.F.R. § 75.507, air that ventilated any working face could be treated as return…
Energy West Mining Company
Ventilation citation affirmed during idle shift
Energy West Mining Company was cited after the air reaching the intake end of an idle longwall face measured 22,680 CFM, below the 30,000 CFM minimum in its approved ventilation plan. Energy West argued that the plan applied only while coal was being produced, but Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. held…
Consolidation Coal Company
Escapeway citations resolved with $140 penalty
MSHA cited Consolidation Coal Company after finding widespread cracking in sealant on Kennedy stoppings separating escapeways at the Ireland Mine. Judge Jerold Feldman found violations of the escapeway separation standards, affirmed two citations, approved a settlement on a third citation, and…
Peabody Coal Company
Citation and penalty vacated, proceeding dismissed
Peabody Coal challenged a citation alleging a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.301. The Commission had granted Peabody’s petition for discretionary review after an adverse ALJ decision. MSHA later vacated the citation because a final rule expected to take effect would moot the issues, and Peabody did…
Peabody Coal Company
Ventilation citation upheld and settlement approved
Peabody Coal Company was cited at the Martwick Underground Mine after an inspection found only 6,750 cubic feet per minute of air at the last open crosscut, below the 9,000 CFM minimum in 30 C.F.R. § 75.301. Judge Gary Melick rejected the company's arguments that the inspector measured at the wrong…
Old Ben Coal Company
Citations split, settlements approved, and $690 penalty ordered
Old Ben Coal Company faced 13 consolidated civil penalty dockets involving its Nos. 24, 25, and 26 mines. Judge Avram Weisberger found some violations, amended several citations to remove significant-and-substantial findings, vacated other citations, and dismissed three dockets. He also approved…
Shamrock Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved and violations affirmed without S&S findings
Shamrock Coal operated underground coal mines and a preparation plant. In KENT 90-75, Judge Avram Weisberger approved a settlement that reduced two citation penalties from $121 to $40. In KENT 90-60, the judge found violations involving self-contained self-rescuers, emergency materials…
BethEnergy Mines, Inc.
Citation and penalty vacated, proceeding dismissed
MSHA cited BethEnergy Mines after a sudden release of methane at the face area of a longwall section, alleging violations involving ventilation and the mine's ventilation plan. The ALJ vacated the ventilation-plan citation but found a violation of the ventilation standard, and BethEnergy petitioned…
Beth Energy Mines Incorporated
Methane citation amended, plan citation dismissed
Beth Energy's Cambria Slope Mine No. 33 experienced elevated methane readings, and MSHA issued two citations and an imminent-danger withdrawal order. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the mine violated 30 C.F.R. § 75.301, but the evidence did not establish that the violation was significant and…
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
Methane and dust orders partly affirmed
Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal contested an imminent-danger order, methane-ventilation citations, roof and coal-dust conditions, and a detonator-magazine condition at its mines and preparation plant. Judge Roy J. Maurer affirmed the imminent-danger order and related methane citations, modified two…
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor
Carbon-dioxide citation vacated at bleeder evaluation points
MSHA cited Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company after air samples at bleeder evaluation points and a nearby crosscut showed carbon dioxide above the 0.5 percent limit in 30 C.F.R. § 75.301. The operator argued that the cited locations were part of a bleeder system rather than active workings, so the…
Beaver Creek Coal Company
Settlement approved and penalties set at $250
Beaver Creek Coal timely contested three citations but failed to file the required blue cards for the proposed penalties, resulting in automatic final orders to pay. The judge found that the omission was excusable neglect because the operator intended to contest the citations and the procedural…
Sterling Energy, Inc.
Mine safety orders affirmed and two modified
Sterling Energy, Inc. operated the Sterling No. 5 Mine. MSHA cited roof control, preshift examination, conveyor guarding, ventilation, and airflow conditions, including an imminent-danger order and several unwarrantable-failure orders. Judge Roy J. Maurer affirmed the cited violations and orders…
Peabody Coal Company
Cab and canopy violation affirmed
MSHA cited Peabody Coal Company after inspectors observed mobile bridge carriers operating without protective cabs or canopies at the Camp No. 11 Mine. The Commission held that an MBC is self-propelled electric face equipment when it is taken into the last open crosscut, and that the first MBCs in…
Green River Coal Co.
Orders affirmed and citation vacated
Green River Coal Company's No. 9 Mine was cited for inadequate ventilation, loose coal accumulations, and methane readings in return air. Judge William Fauver found violations in Order 2215847 and Order 2215849, affirming both orders and assessing $700 and $800 penalties. He vacated Citation…
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…
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…
Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Company
Consolidated roof, ventilation, and canopy matters resolved
Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Company faced several consolidated contests and civil penalty proceedings at the Nelms No. 2 Mine. Judge Gary Melick modified some enforcement orders, approved a $500 settlement for one order, and found that another canopy violation was not significant and substantial but…
Pyro Mining Company
Eight violations settled for $15,000
MSHA proposed penalties for eight alleged violations of mandatory safety standards at Pyro Mining Company’s Pyro No. 9 Slope and Palco Mine. The initial assessments totaled $16,300. The parties agreed to settlements totaling $15,000, including reduced amounts for two listed violations. Judge George…
Pyro Mining Company
Settlement amount corrected to $1,600
Judge George A. Koutras had approved a settlement in the proceeding against Pyro Mining Company. The earlier decision stated that Order No. 2513117 was settled for $2,000. The parties later informed the judge that they had agreed to settle the alleged violation for $1,600. After reviewing the…
Solar Fuel Company, Inc.
One citation vacated, one modified, and $205 assessed
MSHA cited Solar Fuel Company at the Solar No. 10 Mine for electrical equipment near pillar workings, inadequate airflow, and other conditions. Judge Roy J. Maurer vacated Citation No. 2694689, modified Citation No. 2694571 to remove its significant-and-substantial designation, and affirmed the…
Helvetia Coal Company
Methane and oxygen settlement approved
Helvetia Coal Company was cited twice under 30 C.F.R. § 75.301, once for excessive methane and once for inadequate oxygen at the Lucerne No. 6 mine. The violations were originally assessed at $750 each, for $1,500 total, and the parties proposed settling them for $425 each, or $850 total. The…
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.