FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION
601 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, NW
SUITE 9500
WASHINGTON, DC 20001
March 13, 2012
SECRETARY OF LABOR, MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (MSHA)
v.
THOMPSON CREEK MINING COMPANY |
: : : : : : : |
Docket No. WEST 2010-1633 A.C. No. 10-00531-225678 |
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 August 4, 2011, the Commission received from Thompson Creek Mining Company (“Thompson”) a motion seeking to reopen a penalty assessment proceeding and relieve it from the order of default entered against it.
On May 11, 2011, Chief Administrative Law Judge Lesnick issued an Order to Show Cause and Order of Default in response to Thompson’s failure to answer the Secretary’s October 7, 2010 Petition for Assessment of Civil Penalty. The judge ordered the operator to file its answer within 30 days or it would be in default. The Commission did not receive Thompson’s answer within 30 days, so the order of default became effective on June 10, 2011.
Thompson asserts that it timely responded to the Order to Show Cause. The Secretary does not oppose the request to reopen and notes that the Denver Regional Solicitor’s Office indicated that the operator’s October 25, 2010 answer is in the case file. However, the answer does not indicate that it was also sent to the Commission, as instructed in the penalty petition.
Having reviewed Thompson’s request and the Secretary’s response, in the interest of justice, we hereby reopen the proceeding and vacate the Order of Default. Accordingly, this case is remanded to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings pursuant to the Mine Act and the Commission’s Procedural Rules, 29 C.F.R. Part 2700.
/s/ Mary Lu Jordan
Mary Lu Jordan, Chairman
/s/ Michael F. Duffy
Michael F. Duffy, Commissioner
/s/Michael G. Young
Michael G. Young, Commissioner
/s/ Robert F. Cohen, Jr.
Robert F. Cohen, Jr., Commissioner
/s/ Patrick K. Nakamura
Patrick K. Nakamura, Commissioner
Distribution:
Rick Swindell
HR/Safety Representative
Thompson Creek Mining Co.
P.O. Box 62
Clayton, ID 83227
W. Christian Schumann, Esq.
Office of the Solicitor
U.S. Department of Labor
1100 Wilson Blvd., Room 2220
Arlington, VA 22209-2296
Melanie Garris
Office of Civil Penalty Compliance
MSHA
U.S. Dept. of Labor
1100 Wilson Blvd., 25th Floor
Arlington, VA 22209-3939
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