CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey’s office is leading a coalition of 20 states to fight for a West Virginia trucking company – and all others that could be harmed by what the AG calls lingering Biden-era overreach.
KC Transport has been battling the federal government since 2019 when it was cited by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, even though they are miles away from any mine. The facility in Emmett, which is in Logan County, repairs trucks which are occasionally hired to haul coal.
MSHA investigators fined the company for failing to put blocks around truck wheels during repairs. MSHA never had been to the trucking facility before but said they were entitled to inspect the company, calling them a mine, subject to federal MSHA regulations.
J.B. McCuskey
| West Virginia Attorney General
“This trucking company has been put through the wringer by ridiculous overreach of the previous administration,” McCuskey said in a press release. “Their disdain for coal was apparent, and they were taking any steps necessary to punish those in the industry – even those not down in the mines.
“I am proud to lead this coalition to help settle this case once and for all, and to protect others in the industry from ever having to go through this again.”
The coalition of attorneys general filed an amicus brief to challenge a specific case – Humphrey’s Executor – which has been used in the tumultuous legal case against KC Transport. The coalition argues Humphrey’s Executor has allowed agencies to operate largely out of reach of the President, making them and their actions untouchable. The amicus brief argues this must change.
In the April 22 filing, the coalition of AGs says the states have a strong interest in the case because of the federal separation of powers “protects our states’ sovereignty and our citizens’ liberty.”
“When the federal branches creep outside their established lanes, they almost always do so at the expense of state power,” the brief states. “And state interests aside, maintaining a vigorous federalism is crucial to maintaining the liberties of individual Americans — our citizens.
“Amici thus write to urge the Court to protect these interests fundamental to American democracy.”
The coalition says two federal executive agencies have come to court to settle a fight over the statutory definition of a mine “with one of these ‘expert’ agencies claiming West Virginia trucks are mines.”
“When two executive-branch officials squabble over implementation questions like this one, the president can usually make a final decision and, if necessary, remove the official who refuses to comply,” the brief states. “But Humphrey’s Executor invited the judiciary to intrude into this process by greenlighting Congress to create positions wielding executive power unto themselves.
“These ‘independent agencies’ are largely untouchable by the president, becoming a veritable fourth branch of government. … And it undermines core democratic accountability concerns.”
KC Transport is a family-owned, independent trucking company serving a wide array of customers from its five locations in southern West Virginia and Virginia. Its truck fleets provide a variety of hauling services, including coal, earth, and gravel. The MSHA inspector citations carried civil penalties of $3,908 and $4,343.
KC Transport contested the citation, arguing before an Administrative Law Judge with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission that its trucks and repair shop are not a mine under the Mine Act. The ALJ disagreed, claiming the trucks and the repair shop were too connected to the mining process to be excluded from MSHA oversight.
On appeal, a divided Federal Mine Safety Commission reversed the ALJ’s decision and vacated the two citations. The Labor Secretary in turn appealed to the D.C. Circuit Court, arguing even though the trucks being repaired were not hauling coal or driving on a haul road, just being parked at a repair shop makes both the trucks and the maintenance yard a “mine” subject to federal regulation.
The D.C. Circuit — in a divided decision — threw out the Commission’s ruling. Thus, at all levels — the ALJ, the Commission, the D.C. Circuit — everyone rejected the secretary’s broad reading of the Mine Act. But rather than decide how far beyond the physical confines of mines the Labor Department may regulate, the court tasked the Labor Secretary with deciding its own limits.
Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas joined the West Virginia-led brief.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit case number 22-1071