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Significant And Substantial: The History And Continuing Evolution Of One Of The Mine Safety And Health Administration's Principal Enforcement Tools, Maxwell Multer

West Virginia Law Review

The cornerstone of the graduated enforcement scheme enacted to ensure safety in America's mines, significant and substantial has long been one of the Mine Safety and Health Administration's principal enforcement tools. In the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, Congress mandated that when a federal mine inspector issues a citation for a violation of a mandatory health or safety standard, the inspector must indicate whether the violation is one that "could significantly and substantially contribute to the cause and effect of a mine safety or health hazard." While Congress provided minimal guidance as to what it intended and …