Patrick Peterson; Shain Stoddard: 1,438 MSHA citations controller
MSHA controller ID: 0167961
Watch this controller
Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any mine Patrick Peterson; Shain Stoddard controls.
- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 27
- Mines on record
- 1
- Years on record
- 2021–2025
Public-issuer link
Rhino Resource Partners LP discloses mines under this controller in its SEC Dodd-Frank Section 1503 (EX-95) mine-safety filings.
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2021
1,438
citations
207
significant & substantial
$1,176,361
proposed penalties
$291,522
paid to date
25% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $884,839 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2021
71
inspections on record
9,592
inspection hours
15.0
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.1,438 citations across 9,592 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: 2024-03-04.
On record since 2024.
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.$1.2M
proposed penalties
$891K
current assessed
$292K
paid to date
$599K
outstanding
1,268 assessments are final orders; 38 contested dockets.
Of $526K in penalties contested before the Commission, $241K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-11-18.
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.14.5%
significant & substantial
11.6%
high negligence or reckless
14.4%
reasonably likely or greater
10.2%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.1% none, 7.8% low, 80.6% moderate, 11.6% 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.4.33
total case rate
0.87
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.
| Year | total case rate | days-away | fatal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4.33 | 0.87 | 0.000 |
| 2024 | 2.99 | 1.20 | 0.000 |
| 2023 | 2.64 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| 2022 | 5.06 | 1.90 | 0.000 |
| 2021 * | 8.83 | 8.83 | 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: 2025-11-20
ⓘ
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.100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
1,458
samples
2.22
dust max (mg/m3)
5
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.328 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 1,130 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR607
- ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)369
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)37
Silica (quartz)
Last sampled: 2025-09-122.9
silica avg (%)
76
samples
29.6
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR36
- ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)24
- HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER3
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: 2025-11-03
ⓘ
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.1%
over PEL
189
samples
Most-sampled occupations
- CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR23
- ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)17
- SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)17
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.
314
citations taken to the federal commission · 22% of citations on record
- Settled 220 · 70%
- Stood as issued 2 · 1%
- Vacated or withdrawn 1 · 0%
- Still open 91 · 29%
68%
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 111 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
54%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$526K proposed, $241K 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 2026-03-29. 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 2025-0175 | Settlement | Simonton | 2026 | $87K → $32K |
| WEST 2024-0126 | Settlement | Simonton | 2025 | $50K → $28K |
| WEST 2025-0278 | Settlement | Simonton | 2026 | $42K → $33K |
| WEST 2023-0235 | Settlement | Simonton | 2023 | $37K → $8K |
| WEST 2024-0209 | Settlement | Simonton | 2025 | $36K → $12K |
| WEST 2024-0173 | Settlement | Lewis | 2025 | $35K → $7K |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- HANDLING OF MATERIALS 8 non-fatal
- SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON 6 non-fatal
- FALL OF FACE/RIB/PILLAR/SIDE/HIGHWALL 3 non-fatal
- HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) 3 non-fatal
- MACHINERY 3 non-fatal
- DISORDERS (PHYSICAL AGENTS) 1 non-fatal
Incident timeline
2025
5
2024
5
2023
5
2022
9
2021
3
Operators under this controller
Mines on record
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Patrick Peterson; Shain Stoddard 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.