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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Coal River Mining, LLC
Incomplete weekly examination brings $34,652 penalty
Coal River Mining could not reach an evaluation point because oxygen was low, yet it allowed miners to enter the Fork Creek No. 1 Mine without completing the required weekly examination. Judge Kenneth Andrews found that none of the attempted checks included all required methane, oxygen…
Williams Brothers Coal Co., Inc.
Six citations affirmed, three vacated, and $501 penalty assessed
MSHA charged Williams Brothers Coal Company with ten violations at its underground No. 3 Mine involving fire-fighting equipment, roof control, ventilation, electrical equipment, and other safety conditions. Judge Jerold Feldman affirmed six citations, vacated three, and ordered the company to pay…
RAG Emerald Resources Corp.
Pre-shift examination violation affirmed, $55 penalty assessed
The case concerned work at RAG Emerald Resources Corp.'s Emerald No. 1 Mine. MSHA alleged that the company assigned certified persons to work in return air courses, escapeways, and bleeder entries before those areas received the required pre-shift examination. The issue was whether supplemental…
Consolidation Coal Company
Water-accumulation order affirmed
Consolidation Coal Company challenged an order issued at its Dilworth Mine for a hazardous accumulation of muddy water in a mine entry. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the water was a hazardous condition under 30 C.F.R. § 75.364 because it extended across the entry, obscured the floor, and could…
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.