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Before contesting a citation in a Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission proceeding, most mine operators participate in a MSHA conference. See 30 C.F.R. 100.6. Although a MSHA conference is not a perquisite to a FMSHRC contest proceeding, it is an opportunity to ask MSHA to reconsider the issuance of a citation or order. The advantages of a MSHA conference are that the proceeding is informal and usually low cost. The disadvantages are that MSHA conference officer is generally strongly biased towards the views of the MSHA inspector who issued the citation or order. In addition, the MSHA conference procedures, even including the opportunity to get a conference in the first place, are committed to the MSHA District Manager's discretion. On the balance, however,a MSHA conference is usually a worth the effort, provided that the mine operator has a sound conference strategy.
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