Date: April 26, 1995
Case No.: 94-MSA-6
In The Matter of:
CYPRUS MOUNTAIN COALS CORPORATION
STAR FIRE MINE, (I.D. No. 15-13936)
Petitioner
and
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
Party In Interest
Before: J. MICHAEL O'NEILL
Administrative Law Judge
DECISION AND ORDER
This matter is before me on a request for hearing on a
petition for modification of a safety standard pursuant to
section 101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977,
30 U.S.C. §811(c). The parties submitted an Agreement
Containing Consent Findings on April 24, 1995. That document is
attached to, and incorporated in, this Decision and Order.
The Administrator for Coal Mine Safety and Health, on
further consideration of the petition for modification and
additional testing, has determined that the alternative method
proposed by the petitioner for the storage of blended oil and
ammonium nitrate prior to use in blasting holes, will at all
times guarantee no less than the same measure of protection
afforded by the standard, on compliance with detailed terms and
conditions which are incorporated in the Agreement Containing
Consent Findings. The parties have agree to waive their right
to a hearing and all further procedural steps. Their agreement
incorporates all mandates of the regulation at 30 C.F.R.
§44.27(b).
Upon consideration of the record, I grant the
petition for
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modification of the standard at 30 C.F.R. §75.360(b)(5),
subject to the terms and conditions stated in the Agreement, and
approve the agreement.
J. MICHAEL O'NEILL
Administrative Law Judge