Mining Incidents

Clearwater Natural Resources LP: 1 recorded fatality controller

MSHA controller ID: 0051889

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Fatalities
1
Total incidents
45
Mines on record
17
Years on record
2005–2009
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2005
703
citations
307
significant & substantial
$509,953
proposed penalties
$376,707
paid to date
74% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $133,246 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2005
165
inspections on record
7,275
inspection hours
9.7
citations per 100 inspection hours
This rate is recorded citations divided by MSHA inspection hours, per 100 hours. It reflects inspection effort, not mine size or production.
703 citations across 7,275 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Penalty disposition
Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.
$510K
proposed penalties
$454K
current assessed
$377K
paid to date
$77K
outstanding
698 assessments are final orders; 19 contested dockets.
Of $261K in penalties contested before the Commission, $205K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2009-12-17.
Source: MSHA assessed-violations and conference/litigation data, updated weekly.
Violation severity profile
Shares are computed over citations that carry the MSHA gravity and negligence coding; a small share of records are uncoded.
44.0%
significant & substantial
1.4%
high negligence or reckless
44.0%
reasonably likely or greater
17.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.3% none, 17.3% low, 80.9% moderate, 1.4% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2015
This rate is reportable injury cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers per year, computed as 200,000 times cases divided by MSHA operator-reported employee-hours. Cases are injuries MSHA graded degree 01 through 07; accident-only events that hurt no one are excluded, and so are contractor injuries, whose hours do not attach to a single mine. Rates begin in 2000, when quarterly employment reporting starts, and are withheld below 20,000 hours in a year.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.76 and the all-US-mining average was 2.72 cases per 100 workers.
Under 100,000 employee-hours were reported that year, so a single case moves the rate by two or more. Read the figure as approximate.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2015 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2014 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2013 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2012 0.00 0.00 0.000
2011 0.00 0.00 0.000
2010 0.00 0.00 0.000
2009 6.98 6.98 0.000
2008 6.70 4.46 0.000
* Fewer than 100,000 employee-hours that year; the rate is less stable.
Source: injury cases from MSHA accident and injury records; employee-hours from MSHA quarterly employment reports. Rate is cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers, operator employees only.
Health sampling
A sample is a point in time compliance measurement, not an individual exposure history. These figures describe MSHA sampling records and do not establish causation or personal dose.

Respirable coal dust
Respirable coal dust and silica figures cover coal facilities. Dust compliance is measured against the current 1.5 mg/m3 standard; samples predating the 2014 standard are included, so compliance rates are a coarse historical signal.

Last sampled: 2014-12-30, 11 years ago
98%
within 1.5 mg/m3
431
samples
3.38
dust max (mg/m3)
0
over MSHA ECV
The excessive concentration value (ECV) is MSHA's own per-sample enforcement threshold, which builds in measurement uncertainty; a sample over its ECV can trigger a citation. The count covers only samples MSHA assigned an ECV.
389 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 42 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR121
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE89
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER80

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2014-04-29, 12 years ago
19.6
silica avg (%)
24
samples
45.5
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR13
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR8
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR2

Noise
The share counts noise samples whose measured dose exceeded the 90 dBA permissible exposure limit. It describes the sampled workplace, not what reached the miner's ear: hearing conservation programs and the hearing protection worn during the shift are recorded separately and are not reflected here.

Last sampled: 2014-04-24, 12 years ago
5%
over PEL
188
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR53
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER38
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE34
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
When citations were contested
Contesting a citation before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is a lawful right. These figures state the public outcomes of that process, from MSHA's Contested Violations file.
91 citations taken to the federal commission · 13% of citations on record
  • Settled 77 · 85%
  • Stood as issued 14 · 15%
100%
S&S designation survived the contest
Counts a Significant & Substantial citation as surviving when a settlement or judge's decision kept the designation, or the contest was dismissed or defaulted so the citation stands as issued. Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.
of 67 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
21%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$261K proposed, $205K after decisions · industry: 39%
Source: MSHA Contested Violations file (public record), updated weekly. A dismissed or defaulted contest leaves the citation standing as issued; a vacated or withdrawn citation is removed from the violation record. Latest contest filed 2008-11-26. Vacated and withdrawn citations are removed from the file this view attributes through, so that outcome is slightly undercounted here.
Contested penalties
A reduction or dismissal at the Commission is a lawful outcome of contesting a proposed penalty. Figures are the proposed amount and the amount upheld in the docket's decision.
Largest penalties this controller contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, with the outcome on record.
Docket Decision Judge Year Proposed / upheld
KENT 2007-312 Settlement Zielinski 2008 $110K → $88K
KENT 2009-319 Settlement Paez 2010 $48K → $33K
KENT 2008-1344 Settlement Lesnick 2009 $40K → $32K
KENT 2007-385 Settlement Lesnick 2008 $14K → $12K
KENT 2008-162 Settlement Lesnick 2008 $12K → $9K
KENT 2008-1341 Settlement Lesnick 2009 $10K → $9K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2009
6
2008
13
2007
7
2006
15 (1f)
2005
4

Operators under this controller

Mines on record

Fatalities under this controller

1 recorded
May 23, 2006 KY · Coal blaster, shooter, shotfirer, explosive worker, powder gang/monkey Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Miller Bros Coal LLC · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

EMPLOYEE WAS OPERATING A WATER TRUCK WHEN HE LOST CONTROL OF THE TRUCK AND OVERTURNED. THE ACCIDENT IS STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION. THE VICTIM WAS TRAPPED UNDER THE TRUCK. THE VICTIM WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE SCENE. THE BODY WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE BREATHITT COUNTY CORONER & THEN TO FRANKFORT FOR AUTOPSY.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Clearwater Natural Resources LP stands on silica, penalties, and injury rate

MSHA's standard limits respirable silica to 50 micrograms per cubic metre, but MSHA publishes dust and quartz as separate files and never the silica figure itself. We derive it per sample, score it against the limit, and set the operator's injury rate against a benchmark built from the full MSHA operator record. With the 26-year penalty trail, contest posture, and fatality history. Delivered as a PDF with the underlying data as CSV.

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