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.
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…
Peabody Coal Company
Ventilation-plan provision affirmed as suitable for deep-cut mining
Peabody Coal Company challenged a citation alleging that its Martwick Mine operated without an approved ventilation plan. The dispute concerned a deep-cut provision requiring additional line-curtain placement and airflow during roof bolting. The Commission held that the Secretary proved the prior…
Consolidation Coal Company
Orders vacated and individual penalties dismissed
Consolidation Coal Company and two company agents faced proposed penalties after a December 1992 methane ignition at the Amonate No. 31 Mine injured five miners. The Secretary alleged inadequate bleeder ventilation and inadequate weekly examinations, and alleged that superintendent Robert Wyatt and…
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…
Basin Resources, Inc.
Ventilation violation found significant and substantial
Basin Resources changed the ventilation system at its Golden Eagle Mine without advance approval from MSHA. The judge considered whether the resulting violation of the mine's approved ventilation plan was significant and substantial after the Commission remanded that issue. He found that the…
Peabody Coal Company
Ventilation-plan violation affirmed, but not S&S
Peabody Coal operated the underground Martwick coal mine in Kentucky. An inspector measured 2,340 cubic feet per minute of air at a continuous miner, below the 5,000 cubic feet per minute required by Peabody's ventilation plan, and the company conceded the violation. The Commission agreed with the…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Petition for review withdrawn and proceeding dismissed
Jim Walter Resources asked to withdraw its petition for review in a consolidated proceeding involving its ventilation plan at four mines. The company said that three mines no longer operated under the disputed plan and that MSHA's interpretation was clear at the remaining mine. The Secretary of…
Peabody Coal Company
Dust-sample location violation affirmed
Peabody Coal operated the Marissa Mine, an underground coal mine in Illinois. MSHA cited the operator after finding that a respirable-dust sampling pump was collecting a sample outside the location specified in the approved ventilation and dust-control plan. The Commission held that the location…
Mid-Continent Resources, Inc.
Ventilation violation upheld and individual proceeding dismissed
Mid-Continent Resources changed the approved ventilation system at its Dutch Creek Mine after the mine stopped producing coal, without first obtaining MSHA approval. The judge found that the mine remained active for ventilation, pumping, and patrol work, and that the changes violated 30 C.F.R. §…
Wyoming Fuel Company n/k/a Basin Resources, Inc.
Ventilation findings split on review
Basin Resources changed the ventilation system at the Golden Eagle Mine without obtaining MSHA's prior approval. The Commission affirmed that the change violated the mine's approved ventilation plan, but remanded whether the violation was significant and substantial because the judge had not…
Bethenergy Mines, Incorporated
Ventilation citations and penalty proceedings dismissed
Bethenergy Mines faced consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings involving methane levels and the operation of bleeder entries at its Cambria Slope No. 33 Mine. The judge found that the Secretary did not establish that the mine's approved ventilation plan imposed the specific methane…
Consolidation Coal Company
Four orders resolved, two modified
Consolidation Coal Company operated the Osage No. 3 Mine, where MSHA brought a civil penalty case involving four section 104(d)(2) S&S orders. One order alleging coal and float-coal-dust accumulations under 30 C.F.R. § 75.316 was settled for $3,000 before the decision. Judge George A. Koutras…
Wyoming Fuel Company
Ventilation-plan violation affirmed
MSHA found hazardous water accumulations throughout parts of Wyoming Fuel's Golden Eagle Mine and alleged that the conditions violated the mine's approved ventilation plan. The Commission held that the plan required pumps to remove water accumulating in sufficient quantity or depth to present a…
VP-5 Mining Company
Imminent-danger orders affirmed and citations vacated
MSHA issued two imminent-danger orders and two citations after finding methane readings in the gob of VP-5 Mining Company's longwall mine. The Commission affirmed the imminent-danger findings but reversed the judge's conclusion that VP-5 violated its ventilation plan. It vacated both citations…
Peabody Coal Company
Dust-control-plan citation affirmed with $100 penalty
Peabody Coal's Marissa Mine used a dust pump to collect a respirable-dust sample at the wrong side of a conveyor-belt transfer point. Judge Gary Melick found that the pump was upwind and in a less dusty location than the approved dust-control plan required, and that Peabody intended to submit 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…
Costain Coal Incorporated
Settlements approved with listed settlement amounts
Costain Coal Incorporated contested civil penalty proposals covering seven related dockets and 22 alleged violations at its mines. The parties agreed to pay the original assessments for 16 citations and negotiated reduced amounts for six others. Judge George A. Koutras approved the settlements…
Peabody Coal Company
Two citations affirmed and one vacated
Peabody Coal Company faced three alleged violations involving its mines, including an allegation that the methane and dust control plan was not followed because air behind a curtain was below the plan's required level while a wet bed scrubber was off. The parties settled two dockets, reducing the…
Valley Camp Coal Company
Ventilation-plan violation affirmed with a $500 penalty
MSHA cited Valley Camp Coal Company after an inspection found that required permanent stoppings were missing between the intake and return air courses at the company's No. 12-A Mine. The company conceded the ventilation-plan violation, but disputed whether its conduct amounted to unwarrantable…
Bethenergy Mines, Inc.
Ventilation violation affirmed with reduced classification and penalty
Bethenergy Mines operated an underground coal mine where an ALJ found that air velocity in a belt entry fell below the minimum required by the mine's ventilation plan. The judge found that the Secretary proved a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.316 based on smoke-tube tests showing air velocity of 26.54…
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…
Mid-Continent Resources Inc.
Partial settlement approved and decision amended
Mid-Continent Resources Inc. faced five orders involving alleged mine-safety violations at the Dutch Creek Mine. One order was pending discretionary review and another had already been reassessed and settled in a different docket, so Judge John J. Morris deleted both from this proceeding. The…
Wyoming Fuel Company
Remand decision splits imminent-danger orders and citations
Wyoming Fuel Company contested several orders and citations at the Golden Eagle Mine after MSHA inspectors found methane near Kennedy stoppings and issued imminent-danger orders. On remand, Judge John J. Morris found no legally recognizable prejudice from the Secretary's proposed citation…
Roy Farmer and others v. Island Creek Coal Company
Compensation claims dismissed
Miners sought compensation for time they were idled by two imminent-danger orders at Island Creek's VP-3 Mine. The Commission later affirmed the underlying decision vacating those orders and a related citation. Judge George A. Koutras lifted the stay on the compensation claims after that Commission…
Martin Sales & Processing
Summary default decision later vacated
Martin Sales & Processing failed to answer the Secretary's discovery requests and did not comply with orders directing it to respond. Judge George A. Koutras found the operator in default and entered summary default judgment for the Secretary on four consolidated dockets. The order directed…
Peabody Coal Company
Deep-cut ventilation dispute remanded for suitability determination
Peabody Coal operated two underground Kentucky coal mines that used deep-cut continuous mining. MSHA cited the company for operating without approved ventilation plans after requiring provisions for ventilating deep cuts during roof bolting. The Commission held that the provision was mine specific…
Island Creek Coal Company
Imminent-danger orders and ventilation citation vacated
Island Creek operated the gassy VP-3 underground mine, where inspectors measured explosive methane concentrations behind stoppings in a gob area. They issued two imminent-danger withdrawal orders and a citation alleging that the mine's ventilation plan was not being followed. The Commission…
Costain Coal, Inc.
Citations affirmed, S&S finding vacated in part
Costain Coal contested a citation for operating the Baker Mine without an approved methane and dust control plan and faced related civil penalty proceedings. The Judge approved settlements covering most of the other citations, affirmed the plan citation with a $50 penalty, and affirmed a separate…
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
Settlements approved, one citation vacated, and one roof-control citation affirmed
Peabody Coal Company operated the Camp No. 11 and Martwick underground coal mines. The judge approved settlements covering four violations, including ventilation, power connections, canopies and cabs, and fire-suppression equipment, for penalties totaling $565. For a roof-control citation at Camp…
Pittsburg and Midway Coal Mining Company
Most citations affirmed, one vacated, and S&S findings reduced
Pittsburg and Midway Coal Mining Company operated the Cimarron Mine and the York Canyon surface and underground mines. Judge John J. Morris affirmed most of the citations involving ventilation plans, guarding, mobile-equipment alarms, explosives work, and related conditions. He vacated one…
Energy West Mining Company
Several citations modified and one vacated
Energy West Mining Company faced civil penalty proceedings involving eight alleged violations at the Cottonwood Mine, with four enforcement documents litigated at hearing. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved the parties' resolution of two citations, affirmed one citation, modified two others by…
Wyoming Fuel Company
Imminent-danger rulings remanded
Wyoming Fuel Company operated the Golden Eagle underground coal mine, where MSHA issued citations and imminent-danger orders after inspectors found methane near sealed areas. The ALJ vacated the citations and orders, including a citation concerning work allegedly contrary to an imminent-danger…
VP-5 Mining Company
Methane citations and imminent-danger orders affirmed
VP-5 Mining Company operated a shaft coal mine in southwestern Virginia with a large mined-out area known as the East Gob. During inspections, MSHA found methane concentrations above the mine's ventilation-plan limits in several bleeder connectors, including readings from 4.0 to 5.2 percent. Judge…
Consolidation Coal Company
Unwarrantable-failure order modified and $750 penalty assessed
Consolidation Coal admitted a ventilation violation and its significant-and-substantial designation after an inspector found only 4,930 CFM of air where the mine's approved plan required 6,000 CFM. Judge Paul Merlin found that the evidence did not establish that the defective tubing or a misplaced…
Old Ben Coal Company
Coal-accumulation and seal citations dismissed
Old Ben Coal faced citations for coal and oil accumulations on diesel scoops and for the construction of underground seals at two mines. Judge Avram Weisberger held that the scoops were powered by diesel engines and were not electric equipment for purposes of the cited accumulation standard. He…
Consolidation Coal Company
Five citations settled for $538
Consolidation Coal faced five citations involving ventilation stoppings, an unmarked circuit breaker, a high-voltage cable on the mine floor, and excessive spacing between fire hose outlets. The parties agreed to remove the significant-and-substantial designations and settle the five citations for…
Zeigler Coal Company
Citation affirmed on summary decision
Zeigler Coal Company operated Mine No. 11. Judge Avram Weisberger granted the Secretary of Labor's motion for summary decision on Citation No. 3847634. He affirmed the citation as a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.316, consistent with a decision by Judge George A. Koutras in a related docket. The order…
Zeigler Coal Company
Citation affirmed on summary decision
Zeigler Coal Company operated the Spartan Mine. Judge Avram Weisberger granted the Secretary of Labor's motion for summary decision on Citation No. 3847637. He affirmed the citation as a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.316, consistent with a decision by Judge George A. Koutras in a related docket. The…
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…
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…
Peabody Coal Company
Ventilation-plan citations affirmed
Peabody Coal challenged two citations alleging that its Martwick and Camp No. 2 mines were operating without approved ventilation plans. The dispute concerned requirements for extending line brattice and maintaining at least 3,000 cubic feet per minute of air during roof bolting in deep cuts. Judge…
West Elk Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved and contest dismissed
West Elk Coal Company contested a citation concerning its mine ventilation system, and a related civil penalty proceeding concerned two alleged violations. After the hearing, the parties reached a settlement. Judge August F. Cetti approved the agreement, affirmed one citation with a $20 penalty…
LJ'S Coal Corporation
Multiple mine-safety violations adjudicated
LJ'S Coal Corporation faced consolidated proceedings involving roof control, accident reporting, fire suppression, dust-control planning, roadway berms, and underground electrical safety at its No. 3 and No. 4 Mines. Judge Avram Weisberger found several serious and significant-and-substantial…
Pyro Mining Company
Ventilation-plan citation vacated
Pyro Mining Company contested a citation alleging that it failed to follow its approved ventilation plan at the No. 9 Wheatcroft Mine. The plan said crosscuts should be positioned near the face of abandoned rooms “when practical,” with line curtains used as needed. The judge found that the…
R B Coal Company, Inc.
Water-pressure order affirmed, $1,000 penalty assessed
R B Coal operated an underground coal mine in Kentucky. The judge found that the mine violated its approved ventilation, methane, and dust control plan because a continuous miner could not maintain the required 75 psi water pressure. The judge also found that the violation was highly negligent…
Zeigler Coal Company
Abandoned-panel citation vacated
MSHA cited Zeigler Coal Company for allegedly failing to ventilate an abandoned panel at the Murdock Mine under 30 C.F.R. § 75.329-1(a). Judge George A. Koutras found that the standard applied only to abandoned areas already in existence by December 30, 1970, while this panel was developed in 1987…
Energy Mining Corporation and/or Utah Power & Light Company
Wilberg Mine settlement approved
These consolidated contest and civil penalty proceedings arose from the Wilberg Mine fire disaster in Utah. The ALJ approved a settlement resolving 24 alleged violations in three civil penalty dockets, reducing the outstanding total from $106,749 to a voluntary payment of $95,000. The order…
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…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Mine ventilation citations affirmed with $194 penalty
Energy Fuels Coal was cited for shutting down its main fan when the mine was idle, using a PVC pipe in a ventilation control, and a related condition involving the approved ventilation plan. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved a settlement modifying one citation's affected-person count from seven…
Energy Fuels Coal, Inc.
Coal-dust citation vacated and settlement citations modified
Energy Fuels Coal was assessed penalties for three citations at the Raton Creek Mine No. 1. Judge Michael A. Lasher, Jr. approved the parties' settlement of two citations, deleting their significant-and-substantial designations and assessing penalties of $68 and $42. He vacated the remaining…
Beaver Creek Coal Company
Stoppings citation reclassified and two citations affirmed
Beaver Creek Coal was cited after inspectors found damaged stoppings in a South mains belt entry used to separate an intake escapeway. The judge found that the condition violated the ventilation standard but that the evidence did not establish a reasonable likelihood of a major fire or explosion…
Mettiki Coal Company
Ventilation order vacated and other violations affirmed
Mettiki Coal Company faced consolidated proceedings involving ventilation, hoist-cable, and roof-control issues at the Mettiki Mine. Judge William Fauver vacated the order alleging that the mine's ventilation plan was violated because the cited areas carried intake air and complied with the plan…
Secretary of Labor v. Consolidation Coal Company
Mixed settlement order with one citation vacated
Consolidation Coal Company faced alleged violations at several West Virginia mines involving belt examinations, unsupported roof, obstructions, roof supports, fire sensors, haulage protection, ventilation, float coal dust, bleeder evaluation, combustible material, and preshift examinations. Judge…
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…
Secretary of Labor v. Smoot Coal Company
Multiple violations affirmed with S&S findings partly vacated
Smoot Coal operated the Smoot Mine and faced eleven alleged violations involving rock dusting, conveyor guarding, ventilation, electrical equipment, roof and rib conditions, escapeway drills, and coal accumulations. The company stipulated that the cited conditions existed, and Judge George A…
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.