Opinion ID: 732421
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Violation of Section 72.630(a)

Text: 23 Jim Walter challenges the ALJ's finding that it violated section 72.630(a) on three grounds. It maintains, first, that Greer was required to take air or dust samples before issuing the (d)(2) order; second, that the ALJ's determination is not supported by substantial evidence because Keith Burgess's testimony was discredited on cross-examination; and third, that it actually used water during the July 21 owl shift. 24
25 Jim Walter contends that the commentary to 30 C.F.R. § 72.630, see Air Quality: Health Standards for Abrasive Blasting and Drill Dust Control, 59 Fed.Reg. 8318, 8324-25 (1994), required Greer to take air or dust samples or to measure Jim Walter's air volume before issuing the (d)(2) order. The relevant portion of the commentary provides, with specific reference to section 72.630(d), that 26 MSHA will continue to determine compliance with this requirement under the final rule as it has enforced § 70.400-3; i.e., through the measurement of air quantity or other measures set forth in a mine's ventilation and methane and dust control plan. 27 Air Quality, 59 Fed.Reg. at 8325. 28 We have several problems with this argument: First, because section 72.630(d) deals exclusively with the use of ventilation to control rock dust, it is clear that the commentary is referring to methods for determining the efficacy of ventilation in controlling dust. Second, as the ALJ observed, neither the Secretary's Program Policy Manual (the official repository of the Secretary's interpretation of the regulations and of his enforcement practices) nor the regulations contain a single reference to air measurements or the collection of dust samples. Jim Walter Resources, 17 F.M.S.H.R.C. at 1444. Finally, we note that the sentence immediately following the passage on which Jim Walter relies reads as follows: MSHA does not intend that exposure samples be the routine method of determining compliance with this paragraph. Air Quality, 59 Fed.Reg. at 8325. Thus, the commentary itself explicitly recognizes that the taking of samples is not a prerequisite for determining whether section 72.630(a) has been violated.
29 One of the Secretary's key witnesses was Keith Burgess, who worked during the July 21, 1994, owl shift. The ALJ's decision relied heavily on his testimony to establish the existence of a violation: 30 Burgess' first hand testimony establishes the violation. Burgess worked on the owl shift, and I accept his assertion that drilling took place during the entire shift. I also accept his testimony that as many as four drills were used at one time, that the first was located at the headgate and the others were located downwind, along the longwall. In this regard, I note his assertion that when he stood back, he saw more than two drills in operation, and that none was fitted with water. The fact that water was not used is also attested by Burgess' statement that he saw dust coming toward him from an upwind drill, and by his testimony that [he was told that] the respirators were a replacement for using water when drilling. 31 Jim Walter Resources, 17 F.M.S.H.R.C. at 1443 (citations omitted). 32 Jim Walter argues that the ALJ ignored most, if not all, of Burgess's cross-examination testimony. Specifically, it contends that although Burgess testified on direct examination that he saw four drills operating simultaneously, on cross- examination he admitted that only two drills were operable. Jim Walter's interpretation, however, is not supported by the transcript. On cross-examination, Burgess testified that when the owl shift crew arrived, two functioning drills and [322 U.S.App.D.C. 319] one or two non-functioning drills were at the site in addition to the two drills that the owl shift crew brought with them--for a total of five or six drills, of which four were operable. Tr. at 197. 33 Jim Walter also maintains that Burgess admitted on cross-examination that while operating his drill, he never observed any others in operation. The company takes the statement out of context. Although Burgess testified that he could not see any other drills when he was operating his own, he also stated that when he was not engaged in drilling (i.e., when his attention was not focused on his own work), he could see more than one drill operating. Thus, while it may have been gilding the lily for the ALJ to find that as many as four drills were in operation at the same time, substantial evidence clearly supported the conclusion that two or more drills, at least one of which was located downwind from another, were operating simultaneously, which was all that was required to support the finding of a violation.
34 In challenging Greer's statement, in the (d)(2) order, that none of the drills were equipped with dust suppression devices, Jim Walter points out that Greer actually saw drilling with water on the morning of July 21 and that the production reports reveal that water was being used on the drills during the shifts preceding the July 21 owl shift. Jim Walter then argues that because water was used before and after the July 21 owl shift, the drills must have been at least equipped for the use of water during the owl shift, even if none was used, because the drills could not have been so rigged between the end of the owl shift and Greer's arrival at the start of the next one. Although Jim Walter charges the inspector with perjury, we are inclined to find its objections little more than a quibble. A fair reading of the (d)(2) order is that none of the drills employed water during the owl shift. Jim Walter does not seriously contest the key finding that substantial drilling occurred during that shift without the use of dust suppressors. 35