American Mining Congress v. Mine Safety & Health Administration | |
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Court | United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit |
Full case name | American Mining Congress v. Mine Safety & Health Administration |
Argued | November 10, 1992 |
Decided | June 15, 1993 |
Citation(s) | 995 F.2d 1106; 302 U.S. App. D.C. 38, 1993 O.S.H.D. (CCH) ¶ 30,096 |
Holding | |
The Program Policy letters of the mine Safety and Health Administration which stated the agency's position that certain X - Ray readings were qualified as diagnoses of lung diseases within the meaning of agency regulations were interpretive rules under the Administrative Procedure Act. | |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | Stephen F. Williams, David B. Sentelle, A. Raymond Randolph |
Case opinions | |
Majority | Williams, joined by a unanimous court |
Laws applied | |
Administrative Procedure Act | |
Keywords | |
Administrative Law |
American Mining Congress v. Mine Safety & Health Administration, 995 F.2d 1106 (1993) is a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit concerning the issues of administrative law and agency oversight.
In this case, the American Mining Congress, a miners' organizations, petitioned for review of Program Policy Letters (PPL) of Mine Safety and Health Administration, stating agency's position that certain x-ray readings qualified as diagnoses of lung disease within meaning of agency reporting regulations. [1]
The Court was called upon to determine whether the PPL on the issue of x-rays was an interpretive rule, in which case it would be valid, or a legislative rule, in which case it would be invalid (for not being enacted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act). The Court used a four-part test to determine whether the rule was legislative (an affirmative answer to any one means the rule is legislative):
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