The following terms shall have the following meaning when used in these rules:

Adjudication Officer, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 504(b)(1)(D), means the Commission's administrative law judge who presided at the underlying adversary adjudication between the applicant and the Secretary of Labor. For the sake of clarity, references hereafter shall be to “administrative law judge”.

The Act means the Equal Access to Justice Act 5 U.S.C. 504;

The Commission means the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, created as an independent agency under 30 U.S.C. 823;

The Mine Act means the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. 801 et seq;

The Secretary means the Secretary of Labor or his designee.