D.A.S. SAND & GRAVEL, INC. Petitioner,
v.
Elaine L. CHAO, United States Secretary of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, and Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, Respondents.
Docket No. 03-40668.
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.
Argued: May 10, 2004.
Decided: May 26, 2004.
Amended: October 14, 2004.
David A. Scheer, Newark, NY, for Petitioner.
Robin A. Rosenbluth, Senior Attorney (Howard M. Radzely, Solicitor of Labor, on the brief, Edward P. Clair, Associate Solicitor, W. Christian Schumann, Counsel, Appellate Litigation, of counsel), Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor, Arlington, VA, for Respondents Chao and Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Thomas Stock, Federal Mine Safety and Health Commission, Washington, D.C., for Respondent Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission.
Before: FEINBERG, MESKILL, and CABRANES, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM.
The principal questions presented by this appeal are (1) whether, in enacting the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977 ("the Mine Act" or "the Act"), Pub. L. No. 95-164, 91 Stat. 1290, codified at 30 U.S.C. § 801 et seq., Congress intended to regulate mines like that operated by petitioner, the products of which are sold only to intrastate purchasers; and (2) if so, whether Congress has the authority under the Commerce Clause to regulate such mines.
BACKGROUND
The Mine Act charges the Secretary of Labor with promulgating mandatory safety and health standards for the nation's mines and enforcing those standards by means of regular inspections. See 30 U.S.C. §§ 811, 813. Section 4 of the statute provides that regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor under the Act apply to "[e]ach coal or other mine, the products of which enter commerce, or the operations or products of which affect commerce...." Id. § 803. The Act defines "commerce" as "trade, traffic, commerce, transportation, or communication among the several States. . . ." Id. § 802(b).
After inspectors of the Mine Safety and Health Administration within the Department of Labor inspected the mine operated by petitioner D.A.S. Sand & Gravel, Inc. ("DAS") and cited it for several regulatory violations under the Act, DAS contested the citations before an Administrative Law Judge of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission ("the Commission").1
DAS argued primarily that Section 4 of the Act does not apply to mines like that operated by DAS — a New York mine the products of which are undisputedly sold only to purchasers within the State of New York. See Secretary of Labor v. D.A.S. Sand & Gravel, Inc.,
DISCUSSION
I. Congressional Intent
DAS argues, first, that the Commission misinterpreted the Mine Act by holding that the Act applies to mines the products of which are sold entirely intrastate, such as the mine operated by DAS. Petitioner claims that, because the Act defines "commerce" as occurring "among the several States ...," id. § 802(b), and DAS, the operator of a New York mine, sells the mine's products entirely within the State of New York, the mine operated by DAS does not qualify as a mine "the products of which enter commerce, or the operations or products of which affect commerce," id. § 803.
When we review an agency's interpretation of a statute, we must first determine "whether Congress has directly spoken to the precise question at issue." Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.,
Turning first to the plain language of the statute, it is well established that "the statutory term `affecting ... commerce,' ... when unqualified, signal[s] Congress' intent to invoke its full authority under the Commerce Clause." Jones v. United States,
The language and design of the Mine Act as a whole support our interpretation of Section 4. In Section 2 of the Act, Congress articulated findings that led to the Act's adoption, including "an urgent need to ... improv[e] the working conditions and practices in the Nation's coal or other mines," because "the disruption of production and the loss of income" caused by mining accidents and mining-related illnesses "unduly impede[] and burden[] commerce." 30 U.S.C. § 801(c), (f). Moreover, Congress found that "the existence of unsafe and unhealthful conditions and practices in the Nation's coal or other mines is a serious impediment to the growth of the coal or other mining industry...." Id. § 801(d). The Supreme Court has stated that "[t]hese congressional findings [contained in the preamble to the Mine Act] were based on extensive evidence showing that the mining industry was among the most hazardous of the Nation's industries." Donovan v. Dewey,
These provisions support the position of the administrative law judge that the Act evinces Congress's intent "to regulate the business of mining because of the nature of mining activity and not because of the business economics that determine the geographic service area of a particular mine." D.A.S.,
Finally, the legislative history of the Mine Act corroborates our interpretation of Section 4. The Senate Report accompanying the bill that would become the Mine Act reads, in relevant part:
[I]t is the Committee's intention that what is considered to be a mine and to be regulated under this Act be given the broadest possibl[e] interpretation, and it is the intent of this Committee that doubts be resolved in favor of inclusion of a facility within the coverage of the Act.
S.Rep. No. 95-181, at 14 (May 15, 1977), reprinted in 1997 U.S.C.C.A.N. 3401, 3414.
Accordingly, having considered "the particular statutory language [of Section 4], as well as the language and design of the statute as a whole, and ... the legislative history," Abraham,
II. Commerce Clause Power
Because we hold that Congress intended to regulate mines to the full extent of its authority under the Commerce Clause, we turn now to the question whether the Commerce Clause permits Congress to regulate DAS's mine, whose products are sold entirely intrastate.
Petitioner argues that regulation of mines the products of which are sold entirely intrastate is beyond the power of Congress under the Commerce Clause. However, the Supreme Court has long held that the Commerce Clause does not preclude Congress from regulating the activities of an economic actor whose products do not themselves enter interstate commerce, where the activities of such local actors taken together have the potential to affect an interstate market the regulation of which is within Congress's power. See Wickard v. Filburn,
Because we hold that the Commerce Clause grants Congress the authority to regulate DAS's mine, and because we hold that Congress intended to wield its regulatory authority to the full extent provided it by the Commerce Clause, the mine is within the scope of Section 4 of the Mine Act, and is therefore subject to regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we hold (1) that Section 4 of the Mine Act unambiguously expresses Congress's intent to regulate the mining industry to the full extent of its power under the Commerce Clause, and (2) that Congress's power under the Commerce Clause includes the power to regulate mines whose products are sold entirely intrastate, such as that operated by DAS. Accordingly, we affirm the Decision of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission.
Notes:
Notes
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is an adjudicatory body independent of the Department of Labor that adjudicates claims challenging the Department of Labor's enforcement of the Mine ActSee 30 U.S.C. § 823; see also Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc. v. Dir., Office of Workers' Comp. Programs, Dep't of Labor,
The Act provides that an aggrieved party may seek a second level of review from the Commission after an initial adverse decision, but that such a second review is discretionary. 30 U.S.C. § 823(d). Unless a petition for discretionary review has been granted, the original administrative law judge's decision becomes a final decision of the Commission forty days after its issuanceId.