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Wyodak Resources Development Corp. v. State Board Of Equalization8/14/2000
everance tax underpayments.
Wyodak appealed from this assessment to the State Board of Equalization, arguing that the costs should be classified as indirect mining costs. The State Board of Equalization affirmed the classification of the costs as direct mining costs, and Wyodak appealed to the district court. The district court certified the case to the Wyoming Supreme Court pursuant to W.R.A.P. 12.09(b).
STANDARD OF REVIEW
When an administrative decision is certified to the Wyoming Supreme Court pursuant to W.R.A.P. 12.09(b), we apply the appellate standards which are applicable to the court of the first instance. Petroleum Inc. v. State ex rel. State Board of Equalization, 983 P.2d 1237, 1239 (Wyo. 1999). Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-3-114(c) (LEXIS 1999) governs judicial review of administrative decisions. W.R.A.P. 12.09(a); Everheart v. S & L Industrial, 957 P.2d 847, 851 (Wyo. 1998). If substantial evidence supports an agency's findings, we will not substitute our judgment for that of the agency. Peter Kiewit Sons' Co. v. Sheridan County Board of Commissioners (In re Dunning), 982 P.2d 704, 707 (Wyo. 1999). If the agency's conclusions of law are in accordance with the law, this Court will affirm them. Corman v. State ex rel. Wyoming Workers' Compensation Division, 909 P.2d 966, 970 (Wyo. 1996). When an agency has not invoked or properly applied the correct rule of law, we will correct the error. Petroleum Inc., 983 P.2d at 1239.
DISCUSSION
The single issue to be resolved in this case is whether the expenses associated with the movement of State Highway 51 should be classified as direct or indirect costs in the computation of the taxable value of Wyodak's coal production. Of significant impact on our analysis of this case is the 1988 agreement Wyodak entered into with the State Highway Commission regarding the extraction of the coal beneath and surrounding the right-of-way. That agreement provided in pertinent part:
Under the terms of the right-of-way easement the grant is subject to a condition and reservation of the grantor, the successor in interest of which is the Company, wherein the grantor reserved the right to own and mine the coal by either underground or surface operations as located under and around State Highway 51 and right-of-way; provided, the right to mine is on the condition that the grantor at its own cost and expense shall first provide a detour satisfactory to the State for use by the public as a highway in lieu of the portion of said right-of-way which would be rendered unsafe or unfair for public highway purposes because of the mining operations, and that upon completion of such operations, the grantor is to replace the highway at a similar or same location.
The legislature provided significant guidance for the determination of whether costs incurred by a coal producer are direct or indirect mining costs when it enacted Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-2-209(d) (Michie 1997) (repealed & recreated at § 39-14-103(b)(vii)(A-D) & § 39-14-101(a)(viii) in 1998). Under this statute, which applied to all mineral production on or after January 1, 1990, the terms "direct costs" and "indirect costs" were specifically defined. Before its repeal and recreation in 1998, § 39-2-209(d) provided in pertinent part:
(d) For coal sold away from the mouth of the mine pursuant to a bona fide arms-length sale, the department shall calculate the fair cash market value of coal by multiplying the sales value of extracted coal, less transportation to market provided by a third party to the extent included in sales value, all royalties, ad valorem production taxes, severance taxes, black lung excise taxes and abandoned min
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