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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Buck Creek Coal Company, Inc.,
Buck Creek Coal Company, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 93-241): Preshift-examination order modified with $3,000 penalty
MSHA found that three miners entered Buck Creek's underground mine before the required preshift examination had been completed and recorded. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon held that the maintenance crew was part of the oncoming shift and that the preshift rule applied even though the crew entered during…
Peabody Coal Company
Unwarrantable coal-dust violation affirmed
Peabody Coal operated an underground coal mine where an MSHA inspector found extensive accumulations of loose coal and coal dust around a conveyor transfer point. Similar accumulation problems had been recorded in seven of the eight prior preshift examinations, but the condition was not adequately…
BethEnergy Mines, Inc., et al.
Violation and individual liability affirmed, S&S finding reversed
BethEnergy miners entered an area where roof-support beams had been installed but not yet strapped, after danger signs had been posted. The Commission affirmed the violation of the mine examination and danger-sign standard, the finding of unwarrantable failure, and individual liability for three…
Beth Energy Mines, Incorporated
Rib citations affirmed
Beth Energy operated the Cambria Slope Mine No. 33. MSHA cited the mine after inspectors found loose, unsupported ribs along a conveyor and track entry and determined that the area had not been adequately examined before the shift. Judge Gary Melick found that the conditions posed a serious fall…
Consolidation Coal Company
Three citations resolved with settlements and an affirmed violation
Consolidation Coal operated the Blacksville No. 1 underground coal mine. The judge approved settlements for two citations, including a reduced $350 penalty for an accumulation of loose coal and float coal dust and a $276 penalty for failing to report a hazardous roof condition during a weekly…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlements approved and citations partly modified
Consolidation Coal's five related dockets involved settlements and a contested roof-support order at the Blacksville No. 1 and No. 2 Mines. Judge James A. Broderick approved the proposed settlements, vacated one overlapping citation, and affirmed the remaining settled citations. On the contested…
C.W. Mining Company
Three orders vacated, eight affirmed
C.W. Mining faced 11 orders and citations involving escapeways, coal and combustible accumulations, electrical equipment, short-circuit protection, maps, and pre-shift examinations at Bear Canyon No. 1 Mine. Judge John J. Morris vacated three orders and affirmed eight others, while striking or…
C. W. Mining Company
Five unwarrantable-failure violations affirmed
C. W. Mining Company was cited for failures involving weekly electrical examinations, permissibility of electrical equipment, coal accumulations, preshift examinations, and coal dust on equipment at the Bear Canyon No. 1 Mine. Judge Gary Melick found all five violations proven and concluded that…
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company
Guarding order modified and second order dismissed
Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company was cited after an inspector found unsecured guarding at the tail of a belt conveyor at the Greenwich Collieries No. 2 Mine. Judge Avram Weisberger found a violation of the guarding standard, but found that the evidence did not establish unwarrantable failure or…
C. W. Mining Company
Partial settlement approved, remaining violation decided by default
C. W. Mining Company operated the Bear Canyon No. 1 Mine. The Secretary proposed settlements for two violations, involving a belt control switch and compliance with the roof control plan, reducing the penalties from $192 to $134 and from $294 to $206. Judge Paul Merlin approved those settlements…
Birchfield Mining Incorporated
Pre-shift examination penalty reduced to $300
Birchfield Mining Incorporated was cited for failing to complete and record a required pre-shift examination at No. 1 Mine. Judge Gary Melick had previously assessed a $400 civil penalty for the serious violation. On remand, the Commission's finding that the violation was not significant and…
Birchfield Mining Company
Pre-shift citation modified and penalty remanded
MSHA cited Birchfield Mining Company after miners entered the No. 1 underground coal mine before the required pre-shift examination had been completed and recorded. The ALJ found a violation that was significant and substantial, resulted from unwarrantable failure, and warranted a $400 penalty. The…
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…
Rushton Mining Company
Orders modified and $1,600 in penalties assessed
Rushton Mining's consolidated cases involved three contested orders and a civil-penalty proceeding arising from ventilation, escapeway, coal-dust, and examination issues at the Rushton Mine. Judge James A. Broderick vacated Order No. 2403926 and dismissed its contest, approved a settlement that…
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.