Opinion ID: 522218
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Should Interim or Permanent Regulations be Applied?

Text: 48 Falcon argues that 30 U.S.C. Sec. 931(c) requires that Clemons' claim be evaluated under the permanent regulations set forth at 20 C.F.R. Part 718, rather than the interim regulations contained in 20 C.F.R. Part 727. It asserts that the Secretary should have promulgated the permanent regulations within six months of March 1, 1978, the effective date of the Black Lung Benefits Reform Act of 1977. The Secretary's failure to promulgate the permanent regulations until March 31, 1980, contends Falcon, should not prevent their application to any case filed after the expiration of the statutory deadline. The question of which regulations should be applied in this situation, however, was authoritatively resolved in Tennessee Consolidated Coal Co. v. Crisp, 866 F.2d 179 (6th Cir.1989). 10 49 Crisp filed his claim for black lung benefits on November 20, 1979. Because the claim was filed before the effective date of the Part 718 permanent regulations, March 31, 1980, the ALJ evaluated it under the interim regulations in Part 727. On appeal, the coal company argued that the Part 727 interim regulations were inapplicable to the case. Id. at 181. 50 The company initially supported its claim for retroactive application of Part 718 by relying on the six-month time limit in Sec. 421(c) of the Act for promulgating final regulations. Id.; see 30 U.S.C. Sec. 931(c). In Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Co. v. Warren, 841 F.2d 134, 136 (6th Cir.1987), however, we concluded that Sec. 421(c) controlled only final regulations promulgated pursuant to Part C of the Act. The Part 718 regulations were promulgated under Part A of the Act. See 30 U.S.C. Sec. 902(f)(1)(D). 51 The Secretary of Labor ... drafted the regulations to apply prospectively only, see 20 C.F.R. Secs. 718.2, 725.4(d) & 727.2(d), and the Benefits Review Board has on several occasions upheld the Secretary's action, e.g., McFarland v. Peabody Coal Co., 8 B.L.R. 1-163 (B.R.B.1985); Smith v. National Mines Corp., 7 B.L.R. 1-803 (B.R.B.1985). We conclude that the Secretary's reading of the Act is reasonable; under the statute and its legislative history, incorporation of the four month promulgation requirement in section 411(b) to mandate retroactive application of the Part 718 regulations is not appropriate. 30 U.S.C. Sec. 940. Accordingly, the final regulations in Part 718 may be applied strictly in a prospective fashion. 52 Crisp, 866 F.2d at 181-82. 53 The ALJ in the instant case, therefore, did not err in applying the Part 727 interim regulations. 54 Although we have decided this case on the legal issues previously discussed, we add that we have considerable doubt that the medical evidence supports the ALJ's finding of pneumoconiosis in this case. The rejected opinions of Drs. Anderson, Cornish, O'Neill, and Powell constitute strong and persuasive evidence that Clemons was not afflicted with pneumoconiosis, but rather attributed Clemons's respiratory and pulmonary problems to smoking. See Zimmerman v. Director, OWCP, 871 F.2d 564, 566 (6th Cir. 1989) (indicating that a miner seeking benefits must show that he or she is totally disabled not merely by a respiratory or pulmonary condition but by pneumoconiosis). The ALJ rejected these medical opinions because he felt that the doctors evaluated claimant's respiratory and pulmonary condition as if he had never engaged in coal mining and had not been exposed to the inhalation of coal and rock dust for a period of 20 years. The rejection of Dr. Anderson's opinion is particularly disturbing because he was a B reader, See Lawson v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 688 F.2d 436 (6th Cir.1982), and was [t]he only Board eligible specialist in internal medicine and pulmonary disease. Dr. Anderson was fully aware of Clemons' work history as a security guard at the mines. We need not decide this difficult issue, however, in light of our other basis for reversal. 55 We accordingly REVERSE the decision of the Board awarding benefits to Clemons against Falcon Coal Company, Inc. The ALJ's invocation of the interim presumption was improper because the claimant did not demonstrate at least ten years' work as a miner. Because the claimant did not work as a miner for Falcon, Falcon cannot be held liable for any black lung benefits which may be payable to Clemons. We REMAND for a determination of whether any other party, including the federal Trust Fund, can be held liable should Clemons be found eligible for benefits without the aid of the interim presumption.