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J ~. . <br /> <br />IBi,11 93-458 <br /> <br />OPINICA7 BY AGYII~ISIRATIVE JUDGE GRADTP <br />Counsel for the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforce- <br />ment (OSN1) has filed a petition for reconsideration of our decision in <br />the above-captioned case, cited as Raaderhorn Coal Co. v. O3J[, 129 IHLA <br />22 (1994). Petiti~er has also requested that this matter be recrmsidened <br />by the entire Boar'~i en banc. <br />our decisi,rn in this case affi~aed a ruling of the Admini~-trative Law <br />,nom, issued after a hearing, granting temporary relief frtim enforcene'nnt <br />of notice of violation (NOV) No. 93-020-370-ODl issued by o~44. In rpvi.Ew- <br />ing this giant of relief under the Surfaoe Mining Control and Reclamation <br />A~ of 1977 (ShCltA), we noted that: <br />Pursuant to sec^..ion 525(c) of ShY'JiA and its :rq~lementing <br />regulations, the Secretary of the Interior, and his delegated <br />representatives, are authorized to grant temporary relief from <br />an Nw pending a decision on an application for review of that <br />NDV, where, among other things, the applicant for such relief <br />shows that "there is a substantial likelihood that the find- <br />ings and decision of the administrative law judge in the mat- <br />ters to which the application relates will be favorzble to the <br />applicant.•• 93 CFR 4.1263(b); 30 U.S.C. § 1275(c) (1988); see <br />Shamrock Coal Co. v. O9~1, 81 IBLA+ 374, 376 (1984 ), appeal d~- <br />missed, Shamrock Coal Co. v. Hodel, No. 84-238 (E.D. Ky. May 13, <br />1987). in addition, there must be a showing that granting the <br />application for temporary relief will not have an adverse affect <br />on public health r¢ safety or cause significant, imminent envi- <br />zn[mrstal haaa to land, air, ar water resouzees. See 30 U.S.C. <br />§ 1275(c) (1988); 43 CFR 4.1263(c). <br />129 IBLA at 27. After finding fro;¢ the record that there was no issue <br />that ten~orary relief would not adversely affect the public health or <br />safety cs cause significant, imminent environmental harm to land, air, or <br />water reaotn-ces, the Board went on to review the question of substantial <br />likelihood of auxess on the merits. <br />Notwithstanding the ambiguity in the language of the administrative <br />Law Judge'e ruling fran the bench at the conclusion of the hearing which <br />was challenged on appeal by OSM, we ptnceed~ to examine the meaning of <br />the teen and apply it to the evidence of record. In deciding this issue <br />we found that: <br />'fie statute and regulations do not define the term "sub- <br />stantial likelihood" and we have not been presented with citation <br />to any prior Board precedent on This issue. We hunk the stan- <br />dard for this tern must be defined in a manner consistent with <br />132 rata 37 <br />