New York Paralegal Blog

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that its order charging Pine Ridge Coal Co. LLC of Seth, W.Va., with committing an unwarrantable failure to comply with the law has been upheld by Administrative Law Judge Thomas McCarthy. The order stemmed from the operator's violation of 30 C.F.R. § 50.10, which requires mine operators to notify MSHA of any reportable roof falls without delay – but within no more than 15 minutes – once the operator knows or should know that a reportable accident has occurred. Pine Ridge waited four days to notify MSHA of the roof collapse that took place at the Big Mountain Number 16 mine located in Boone County, W.Va., and notified MSHA only after the fall was discovered by an MSHA inspector and the violation cited. McCarthy found that the operator's delay was unreasonable and resulted from reckless disregard for its obligations under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. The...

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission has upheld civil penalties assessed against Stillhouse Mining LLC for four flagrant violations of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. The violations were found during a Dec. 3, 2006, inspection of the company's Mine No. 1 operation near Cumberland, Ky. The initial inspection was prompted by an anonymous phone call from a miner to an MSHA field office supervisor about weak roof conditions at the mine. During the course of that inspection, enforcement personnel issued a citation for failing to follow mandated procedures after the shutoff of the mine fan. In addition, three orders were issued to the mine operator for intentionally changing the mine ventilation by shutting off and turning back on the mine fan, failing to follow roof control plans and failing to conduct an adequate pre-shift examination.

Action against Massey-owned mine never before initiated in agency's history ARLINGTON, Va. — In an unprecedented legal move, the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky a motion for preliminary injunction against Freedom Energy Mining Co.'s Mine No. 1. Located in Pike County, Ky., Freedom's Mine No. 1 is owned by Massey Energy Co. Section 108(a)(2) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 provides for injunctive relief against noncompliant mine operators who habitually violate health and safety standards. In this particular case, Section 108(a)(2) calls for an injunction because Freedom Energy is engaged in a pattern of violation of the mandatory health and safety standards of the Mine Act, which constitutes a continuous hazard to the health and safety of the miners at Mine No. 1.