FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION
1331 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW, SUITE 520N
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004-1710
April 4, 2013
SECRETARY OF LABOR, MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (MSHA) v. EAGLE CREEK MINING, LLC |
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Docket No. WEVA 2010-34 A.C. No. 46-09138-195569 |
BEFORE: Jordan, Chairman; Young 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 July 20, 2012, the Commission received from Eagle Creek Mining, LLC (“Eagle Creek”) a motion seeking to reopen a penalty assessment proceeding and relieve it from the default order entered against it.
On December 21, 2011, Chief Administrative Law Judge Lesnick issued an Order to Show Cause which by its terms became a Default Order if the operator did not file an answer within 30 days. This Order to Show Cause was issued in response to Eagle Creek’s perceived failure to answer the Secretary’s November 3, 2010 Petition for Assessment of Civil Penalty.
Eagle Creek asserts that it timely answered the penalty petition on December 2, 2010. Eagle Creek’s counsel submits a copy of the answer date-stamped by the Commission as received on December 7, 2010. Eagle Creek further states that it was unaware that its answer was not docketed until it received a letter from the Department of Treasury on June 12, 2012. The Secretary does not oppose the request to reopen, but notes that she did not receive Eagle Creek’s answer to the penalty petition.
Having reviewed Eagle Creek’s request and the Secretary’s response, we conclude that this case should be reopened because the operator filed a timely response to the penalty petition. 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, Commissioner
/s/ Michael G. Young
Michael G. Young, Commissioner
/s/ Patrick K. Nakamura
Patrick K. Nakamura, Commissioner
Distribution:
Billy R. Shelton, Esq.
Jones, Walters, Turner & Shelton PLLC
151 N. Eagle Creek Drive, Suite 310
Lexington, KY 40509
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. 20004-1710