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MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company: 6 recorded fatalities controller

MSHA controller ID: C02046

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Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any mine MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company controls.

Fatalities
6
Total incidents
2,441
Mines on record
29
Years on record
1983–2015
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
2,191
citations
398
significant & substantial
$819,141
proposed penalties
$624,216
paid to date
76% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $194,925 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
579
inspections on record
40,498
inspection hours
5.4
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.
2,191 citations across 40,498 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.
$819K
proposed penalties
$624K
current assessed
$624K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
2,141 assessments are final orders; 57 contested dockets.
Of $406K in penalties contested before the Commission, $211K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2015-05-27.
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.
18.4%
significant & substantial
3.6%
high negligence or reckless
18.2%
reasonably likely or greater
12.2%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 6.9% low, 89.5% moderate, 3.5% high, 0.1% 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.
5.07
total case rate
1.69
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.76 and the all-US-mining average was 2.72 cases per 100 workers.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2015 5.07 1.69 0.000
2014 5.09 4.07 0.000
2013 4.37 2.35 0.000
2012 5.58 4.03 0.000
2011 3.68 2.46 0.000
2010 2.77 1.23 0.000
2009 4.42 2.52 0.000
2008 3.23 1.17 0.000
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: 2015-03-11, 11 years ago
91%
within 1.5 mg/m3
4,486
samples
14.36
dust max (mg/m3)
1
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.
2,278 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 2,208 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR1,449
  • JACK SETTER (LONGWALL)597
  • DRIVER157

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2015-01-13, 11 years ago
8.2
silica avg (%)
378
samples
54.3
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR176
  • JACK SETTER (LONGWALL)74
  • LONGWALL OPERATOR (TAILGATE SIDE)6
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2015-02-26, 11 years ago
9%
over PEL
539
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • MECHANIC69
  • BELT MAN/CONVEYOR MAN40
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR32
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
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.
136 citations taken to the federal commission · 6% of citations on record
  • Settled 126 · 93%
  • Stood as issued 10 · 7%
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 100 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
49%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$379K proposed, $195K 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 2014-12-17. 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 2009-233 Settlement Manning 2011 $130K → $40K
WEST 2008-859 Settlement Barbour 2009 $26K → $13K
WEST 2008-1252 Settlement Miller 2010 $20K → $7K
WEST 2011-110 Settlement Manning 2012 $18K → $18K
WEST 2013-1083 Settlement Gill 2014 $17K → $9K
WEST 2008-633 Settlement Manning 2009 $15K → $4K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2015
3
2014
11
2013
13
2012
21
2011
12
2010
10
2009
16
2008
15
2007
22
2006
25
2005
20
2004
14
2003
23
2002
19
2001
30
2000
54
1999
68
1998
77
1997
98
1996
61
1995
84
1994
90 (1f)
1993
99
1992
139
1991
157 (2f)
1990
194
1989
286
1988
216
1987
204
1986
163 (3f)
1985
71
1984
50
1983
76

Operators under this controller

Mines on record

Fatalities under this controller

6 recorded
December 26, 1991 MT · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech Fatality · FIRE
Spring Creek Coal Company · Contact with hot objects or substances

EE WAS WORKING SWING SHIFT (3:PM TO 11:30PM) PERFORMING MAITENANCE WORK ON THE DRAG SCRAPER LOCATED ON THE 4TH FLOOR OF THE TRUCK DUMP. AT 9:58PM, HE NOTICED SOME SMOLDERING COAL. AT 10:01 P M WITH WATER HOSE IN HAND HE STARTED HOSING DOWN WITH WATER THE SMOLDERING COAL. CAUSING A FLASH BACK. RESULTING IN FIRST AND SECOND DEGREE BURNS TO HIS RIGHT HAND AND FOREARM.

January 16, 1991 MT · Coal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver Fatality · SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Spring Creek Coal Company · Fall to lower level, (Not Elsewhere Classified)

WHILE LOWERING PORTABLE WHEEL MOUNTED WATER PUMP IN NO 2 DRAGLINE PIT INJ WORKING NEAR EDGE OF HIGHWALL SLIPPED AND FELL TO BOTTOM ABOUT 160 FT. WATER PUMP USING 3 WIRE ROPES ATTACHED TO FR ONT END LOADER AND 2 SCRAPERS PUMP BEEN LOWEREDNEARLY TO BOTTOM OF PIT WHEN ACCIDENT OCC

August 4, 1986 UT · Coal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer Fatality · MACHINERY
Energy West Mining Company · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

TRUCK DRIVER FA7ALLY INJURED AS RESULT OF BEING STRUCK BY ROAD GRADER.I.NAME HAD BEEN OPERATING TRACTOR PULLING WATER WAGON.STOPPED TO ADJUST WATER SPRAYS AT REAR OF WATER WAGON.I.NAME OPERATI NG GRADER,DIDNT3SEE I.NAME.FRONT END OF GRADER STRUCK I.NAME PINNING HIM AGAINST REAR END OF WATER WAGON.

April 15, 1986 WA · Coal front-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operator Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Centralia Mining Company · Struck against a moving object

SCRAPER WENT OF0 MAIN HAUL ROAD & DOWN 25' EMBANKMENT OVERTURNING ON OPERATOR

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company 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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