Mining Incidents

James J Wayland: 238 MSHA citations controller

MSHA controller ID: 0081953

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Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any mine James J Wayland controls.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
38
Mines on record
2
Years on record
2012–2023
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2011
238
citations
61
significant & substantial
$269,972
proposed penalties
$137,255
paid to date
51% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $132,717 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2011
80
inspections on record
4,905
inspection hours
4.9
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.
238 citations across 4,905 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.
$270K
proposed penalties
$137K
current assessed
$137K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
233 assessments are final orders; 44 contested dockets.
Of $233K in penalties contested before the Commission, $100K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-07-22.
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.
26.2%
significant & substantial
13.7%
high negligence or reckless
26.2%
reasonably likely or greater
18.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 10.3% low, 76.0% moderate, 12.9% high, 0.9% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2023
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.
14.74
total case rate
4.91
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.17 and the all-US-mining average was 2.10 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
2023 * 14.74 4.91 0.000
2022 * 8.23 2.74 0.000
2021 * 4.53 0.00 0.000
2020 5.05 0.00 0.000
2019 * 9.27 0.00 0.000
2018 * 6.72 2.24 0.000
2017 * 4.67 0.00 0.000
2016 * 10.34 0.00 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: 2026-03-29
99%
within 1.5 mg/m3
378
samples
4.70
dust max (mg/m3)
2
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.
226 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 152 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR162
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE32
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR26

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2024-09-12
7.8
silica avg (%)
20
samples
18.4
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR16
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR2
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE2

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: 2025-09-24
2%
over PEL
121
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR35
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE17
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER11
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.
131 citations taken to the federal commission · 55% of citations on record
  • Settled 130 · 99%
  • Stood as issued 1 · 1%
74%
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 46 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
57%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$233K proposed, $100K 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 2019-04-03. 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
WEST 2017-0525 Settlement Manning 2017 $82K → $8K
WEST 2014-0980 Settlement Manning 2015 $70K → $26K
WEST 2017-0184 Settlement Manning 2017 $14K → $9K
WEST 2015-0613 Settlement Manning 2015 $10K → $10K
WEST 2015-0397 Settlement Manning 2015 $9K → $9K
WEST 2014-1003 Settlement Manning 2015 $6K → $6K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2023
3
2022
3
2021
2
2020
3
2019
4
2018
3
2017
2
2016
5
2015
2
2014
7
2013
3
2012
1

Operators under this controller

Mines on record

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where James J Wayland 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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