FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION
1331 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW, SUITE 520N
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004-1710
November 14, 2012
SECRETARY OF LABOR, MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (MSHA)
v.
LEFT FORK MINING COMPANY, INC. |
: : : : : : : : : |
Docket No. KENT 2011-858 A.C. No. 15-12564-250419
Docket No. KENT 2011-1377 A.C. No. 15-12564-261700 |
BEFORE: Jordan, Chairman; Young and Nakamura, Commissioners
ORDER
BY THE COMMISSION:
These matters arise under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. § 801 et seq. (2006) (“Mine Act”). On August 21, 2012, the Commission received from Left Fork Mining Company, Inc. (“Left Fork”) two motions seeking to reopen two penalty assessment proceedings and relieve it from the orders of default entered against it.
On August 17, 2011, and March 6, 2012, Chief Administrative Law Judge Lesnick issued two Orders to Show Cause which by their terms became Orders of Default if the operator did not file its answers within 30 days. These Show Cause Orders were issued in response to Left Fork’s failure to answer the Secretary of Labor’s May 18 and September 7, 2011, Petitions for Assessment of Civil Penalty.
Left Fork asserts that it timely answered the assessment petitions on May 23, and September 15, 2011. It submits U.S. Postal Service tracking notifications to that effect. Left Fork further states that it did not receive the show cause order in Docket No. KENT 2011-858, and timely answered the show cause order in Docket No. KENT 2011-1377 on April 5, 2012. The Secretary does not oppose the requests to reopen, and notes that she received Left Fork’s answers.
Having reviewed Left Fork’s requests and the Secretary’s responses, we conclude that the Default Orders have not become final orders of the Commission because the operator filed timely responses to the assessment petitions. Accordingly, these cases are 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, Chair
/s/Michael G. Young
Michael G. Young, Commissioner
/s/ Patrick K. Nakamura
Patrick K. Nakamura, Commissioner
Distribution:
John M. Williams, Esq.
Rajkovich, Williams, Kilpatrick & True, PLLC
3151 Beaumont Centre Circle, Suite 375
Lexington, KY 40513
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
1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W., Suite 520N
Washington, D.C. 20004