According to the Associated Press, Judge Gary Melick ruled last week that Peabody must pay about $US174,000 of the initially assessed fines of $230,000 stemming from safety violations at the operation near Equality.
He had handed down the decision for the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, which makes decisions on operator violation disputes.
Peabody spokesperson Beth Sutton told ILN Tuesday afternoon that it was reviewing the decisions and evaluating whether or not to pursue any further legal action.
She also noted that citations at Willow Lake have decreased this year.
“As a normal part of our safety management process, every single citation issued by the US Mine Safety and Health Administration is immediately addressed and resolved to MSHA's satisfaction prior to work re-commencing,” she said.
“The company has also taken aggressive steps to improve Willow Lake's safety, including an all-employee work stoppage to review safety practices among management, employees and MSHA representatives; enhanced dust control; expanded safety training and maintenance; and a continuous stem-to-stern review of all processes.
“Management continues to actively engage MSHA, the state of Illinois, the workforce and the union local to drive progress.”
MSHA asked the FMSHRC in June to fast-track the legal proceedings against the mine due to ongoing and repeated hazards.
The agency was arguing at that time that violations recorded at the operation between December 2008 and January 2009 included failure to provide adequate protection from roof, face and rib falls within the mine; failure to prevent excessive accumulations of combustible materials in active working areas; failure to conduct adequate on-shift examinations for hazardous conditions; and failure to properly maintain equipment according to MSHA regulations.
The federal oversight agency classified all 12 violations as significant and substantial (S&S), and have all stemmed from the operator’s “reckless disregard of, or indifference to, its safety and health responsibilities, intentional misconduct or a serious lack of reasonable care”
“Since these two violations were issued, Big Ridge has been cited for 78 additional violations of 75.202 and 13 additional violations of 75.1725(a), including citations issued to the mine operator as recently as last month,” MSHA assistant secretary for mine safety and health Joseph Main said in June.
Peabody responded to the agency’s comments immediately, and said it would welcome the expedited hearing request.
“It is ironic that we routinely ask for such hearings to discuss long-standing and legitimate challenges where we believe basic differences exist.
“However, in this instance MSHA's response seems based more on building publicity than resolutions,” the producer said at the time.
“We take exception to the inflammatory, unfounded and confrontational words used by MSHA,” the company said, pointing out that the past three years had been the safest in the company’s history and represented a 43% improvement in its safety rate globally.
According to Peabody statistics, the mine’s citations have dropped 17% year-to-date and its significant violations have declined 26% from the prior year.
