Jody Dale Puckett: 998 MSHA citations controller
MSHA controller ID: 0069491
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Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any mine Jody Dale Puckett controls.
- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 9
- Mines on record
- 5
- Years on record
- 2009–2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2007
998
citations
326
significant & substantial
$553,049
proposed penalties
$63,333
paid to date
11% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $489,716 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2007
178
inspections on record
8,490
inspection hours
11.8
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.998 citations across 8,490 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Imminent-danger orders
ⓘ
A Section 107(a) order removes miners from an area when an inspector finds an imminent danger. Each order is lifted once the condition is corrected, so this counts orders issued, not orders now in effect.1
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2011-05-25.
On record since 2011.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, 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.$553K
proposed penalties
$551K
current assessed
$63K
paid to date
$488K
outstanding
882 assessments are final orders; 26 contested dockets.
Of $42K in penalties contested before the Commission, $40K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-06-30.
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.34.2%
significant & substantial
9.3%
high negligence or reckless
34.3%
reasonably likely or greater
10.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 3.2% low, 87.5% moderate, 9.3% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2025
ⓘ
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.6.28
total case rate
3.14
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.19 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 * | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| 2025 * | 6.28 | 3.14 | 0.000 |
| 2024 * | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| 2023 * | 4.69 | 4.69 | 0.000 |
| 2022 * | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| 2010 * | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| 2009 | 3.28 | 3.28 | 0.000 |
| 2008 | 0.00 | 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: 2026-08-13
ⓘ
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.93%
within 1.5 mg/m3
822
samples
15.39
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.398 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 424 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR306
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)78
- BULLDOZER OPERATOR47
Silica (quartz)
Last sampled: 2026-05-075.5
silica avg (%)
75
samples
18.7
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR29
- BULLDOZER OPERATOR6
- UTILITY MAN4
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: 2026-05-27
ⓘ
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.6%
over PEL
184
samples
Most-sampled occupations
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)26
- BULLDOZER OPERATOR19
- HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER19
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.
139
citations taken to the federal commission · 14% of citations on record
- Settled 38 · 27%
- Stood as issued 56 · 40%
- Still open 45 · 32%
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 60 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
4%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$42K proposed, $40K 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 2026-07-22. 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 2010-102 | Default | Lesnick | 2011 | $10K → $10K |
| KENT 2009-1240 | Default | Lesnick | 2011 | $10K → $10K |
| KENT 2010-911 | Default | Lesnick | 2011 | $6K → $6K |
| KENT 2009-1239 | Settlement | Lesnick | 2012 | $4K → $3K |
| KENT 2010-499 | Default | Lesnick | 2011 | $2K → $2K |
| KENT 2023-0094 | Settlement | Voisin | 2023 | $2K → $2K |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- POWERED HAULAGE 3 non-fatal
- SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON 2 non-fatal
- FALL OF ROOF OR BACK 1 non-fatal
- HANDLING OF MATERIALS 1 non-fatal
- MACHINERY 1 non-fatal
- OTHER 1 non-fatal
Incident timeline
2026
1
2025
2
2024
2
2023
1
2011
1
2009
2
Operators under this controller
Mines on record
- UG #1 KY
- 680-S1 KY
- SPURLOCK PLANT KY
- Viper Coal LLC 6# KY
- #2 KY
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Jody Dale Puckett 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.
The federal record itself stays free on this site. What costs money, and why.