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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North American Drillers, LLC
Vacated pump citation left no live controversy
MSHA cited North American Drillers for using a non-permissible pump to dewater a completed shaft, then vacated the citation and moved to dismiss the contest and penalty proceedings. The Commission held that vacatur did not automatically end its jurisdiction because section 105(d) permits it to…
Mach Mining, LLC
Shaft dewatering violations affirmed with reduced penalties
Mach Mining used a non-permissible electric pump below the collar of a water-filled bleeder shaft and lacked an approved plan describing how the shaft would be dewatered. Judge David F. Barbour held that dewatering was part of the shaft excavation process, so the pump had to be permissible under 30…
Summit Anthracite, Inc.
Nineteen mine-startup citations yield $1,569 penalty
MSHA issued Summit Anthracite 19 citations while the small Brockton Slope mine was installing and starting new systems. The violations covered a late quarterly report, vehicle and roadway safety, electrical installation and examination defects, plan compliance, guarding, housekeeping, fire…
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 When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.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.