FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES
601 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, NW, SUITE 9500
WASHINGTON, DC 20001-2021
TELEPHONE: 202-434-9958 / FAX: 202-434-9949
January 18, 2012
SECRETARY OF LABOR MINE SAFETY AND HEALTHÂ ADMINISTRATION (MSHA), Petitioner
v.
VINDEX ENERGY CORPORATION, Respondent |
: : : : : : : : : : |
CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDING
Docket No. YORK 2011-185 A.C. No. 18-00769-253489
Mine: Carlos Surface Mine |
ORDER ACCEPTING APPEARANCE
DECISION APPROVING SETTLEMENT
ORDER TO MODIFY
ORDER TO PAY
Before: Judge Lesnick
This case is before me upon a petition for assessment of a civil penalty under section 105(d) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. § 815(d).
The Secretary of Labor’s Conference and Litigation Representative (“CLR”) filed a notice of limited appearance with the penalty petition. It is ORDERED that the CLR be accepted to represent the Secretary. Cyprus Emerald Res. Corp., 16 FMSHRC 2359 (Nov. 1994).
The CLR has filed a motion to approve settlement. A reduction in the penalty from $8,893.00 to $3,996.00 is proposed, a reduction in the proposed penalty amount of approximately fifty-five percent. In support of this reduction, the CLR states that upon reviewing the gravity of the underlying violation as set forth in Citation No. 8028750, it was more appropriate to characterize the likelihood of injury or illness as “reasonably likely” rather than “highly likely” as originally alleged in the citation. I have considered the representations and documentation submitted in this case. Although the magnitude of the proposed reduction in penalty is large, I note that it is consistent with the Secretary’s Part 100 regulations found in 30 C.F.R. Under Part 100, changing the likelihood of injury or illness from “highly likely” to “reasonably likely” results in a ten point reduction in total points, specifically, from 116 to 106 points. 30 C.F.R. § 100.3(e), Table XI. After applying a ten percent reduction to reflect the operator’s “good faith,” the Part 100 formula results in a proposed penalty of $3,996, the amount agreed upon by the parties. 30 C.F.R. § 100.3(g), Table XIV.
I also find that the proposed change in the likelihood of injury or illness from “highly likely” to “reasonably likely” is adequately supported by the facts as set forth by the parties in the motion. The violation at issue here involved a mechanical portable screen that was moved at least once a shift, but which moved at an extremely slow rate of speed and posed far less of a danger of injury than originally found by the Secretary’s representative. Motion at [2-3].
My authority to review settlement agreements filed by the Secretary and mine operators is found at section 110(k) of the Act, which provides in relevant part: “No proposed penalty which has been contested before the Commission under section 105(a) shall be compromised, mitigated, or settled except with the approval of the Commission.” 30 U.S.C. § 820(k). The Commission has held that section 110(k) “directs the Commission and its judges to protect the public interest by ensuring that all settlements of contested penalties are consistent with the Mine Act’s objectives.” Knox County Stone Co., 3 FMSHRC 2478, 2479 (Nov. 1981).
Although I am not bound by the Secretary’s Part 100 regulations, Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Co., 9 FMSHRC 673, 678-679 (Apr. 1987), in the context of a settlement agreement, I find it appropriate to defer to the judgment of the parties in arriving at an agreement that is consistent with those regulations and for which the parties have provided an adequate factual basis for the change in the designated gravity of the underlying violation. I thus conclude that the proffered settlement is appropriate under the criteria set forth in section 110(i) of the Act and “consistent with the Mine Act’s objectives.” Knox County, 3 FMSHRC at 2479.
WHEREFORE, the motion for approval of settlement is GRANTED.
It is ORDERED that Citation No. 8028750 be MODIFIED to reduce the likelihood of injury or illness from “highly likely” to “reasonably likely.”
It is further ORDERED that the operator pay a penalty of $3,996.00 within thirty days of
this order.
Upon receipt of payment, this matter is DISMISSED.
/s/ Robert J. Lesnick
Robert J. Lesnick
Chief Administrative Law Judge
Distribution:
Robert W. Radosevich, Conference & Litigation Representative, U.S. Department of Labor, MSHA, 604 Cheat Road, Morgantown, WV 26508
Eric Metheny, Vindex Energy Corporation, 265A Glass Dr., Mt. Lake Park, MD 21550
/tjr
Robert W. Radosevich
Conference & Litigation Representative
U.S. Department of Labor, MSHA
604 Cheat Road
Morgantown, WV 26508
Vindex Energy Corporation
265A Glass Dr.