FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION
601 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, NW
SUITE 9500
WASHINGTON, DC 20001
December 14, 2010
SECRETARY OF LABOR, MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (MSHA) v. MOSAIC POTASH CARLSBAD INC. |
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BEFORE: Jordan, Chairman; Duffy, Young, Cohen, and Nakamura, Commissioners
ORDER
BY THE COMMISSION:
This matter arises under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. § 801 et seq. (2006) (“Mine Act”). On September 10, 2010, the Commission received from Mosaic Potash Carlsbad Inc. (“Mosaic”) a motion to reopen a penalty assessment that may have become a final order of the Commission pursuant to section 105(a) of the Mine Act, 30 U.S.C. § 815(a).
Under section 105(a) of the Mine Act, an operator who wishes to contest a proposed penalty must notify the Secretary of Labor no later than 30 days after receiving the proposed penalty assessment. If the operator fails to notify the Secretary, the proposed penalty assessment is deemed a final order of the Commission. 30 U.S.C. § 815(a).
The Secretary submits that upon reviewing the records in this proceeding, she has discovered that the proposed penalty assessment for Citation No. 6571486 was delivered on August 12, 2010, and that the motion to reopen was post-marked September 9, 2010, which falls within the 30-day time period for contesting a proposed assessment. She states that the Civil Penalty Compliance Office of the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration has accepted Mosaic’s motion to reopen as a timely contest and has added the citation to an active civil penalty proceeding (Docket No. CENT 2010-1166-M).
Having reviewed Mosaic’s request and the Secretary’s response, we find the request to reopen to be moot. The proposed penalty assessment did not become a final order of the Commission. Accordingly, the request to reopen is dismissed as moot.
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Mary Lu Jordan, Chairman
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Michael F. Duffy, Commissioner
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Michael G. Young, Commissioner
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Robert F. Cohen, Jr., Commissioner
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Patrick K. Nakamura, Commissioner
Distribution:
Charles C. High, Jr., Esq.
Kemp Smith, LLP
P.O. Box 2800
El Paso, TX 79999-2800
W. Christian Schumann, Esq.
Office of the Solicitor
U.S. Department of Labor
1100 Wilson Blvd., Room 2220
Arlington, VA 22209-2296
Melanie Garris, Acting Chief
Office of the Penalty Compliance
U. S. Dept. Of Labor, MSHA
1100 Wilson Blvd. 25th Floor
Arlington, VA 22209
Chief Administrative Law Judge Robert J. Lesnick
Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission
601 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Suite 9500
Washington, D.C. 20001-2021