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#2: 301 MSHA citations Coal

Viper Coal LLC · Underground
Controlled by Jody Dale Puckett
Kite, Knott County, KY  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1519261

#2 has $117K in proposed MSHA penalties and $79K outstanding across 8 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
2009
Latest incident
Apr 2009
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2008
301
citations
105
significant & substantial
$116,782
proposed penalties
$36,442
paid to date
31% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $80,340 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Viper Coal LLC's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2008
20
inspections on record
1,390
inspection hours
21.7
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.
301 citations across 1,390 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

#2 has $117K in proposed MSHA penalties and $79K outstanding across 8 contested dockets.

Penalty disposition
ⓘ Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.
$117K
proposed penalties
$115K
current assessed
$36K
paid to date
$79K
outstanding
294 assessments are final orders; 8 contested dockets.
Of $36K in penalties contested before the Commission, $34K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2010-05-04.
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.
35.7%
significant & substantial
8.2%
high negligence or reckless
36.1%
reasonably likely or greater
9.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 2.7% low, 89.1% moderate, 8.2% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, 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.
64 citations taken to the federal commission · 21% of citations on record
  • Settled 11 · 17%
  • Stood as issued 53 · 83%
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 41 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
4%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$36K proposed, $34K 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 2010-06-23.
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 mine 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 2009-1473 Settlement Lesnick 2011 $2K → $1K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at #2 shows 97% of 91 respirable coal dust samples met the 1.5 mg/m3 standard.

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: 2010-02-04, 16 years ago
97%
within 1.5 mg/m3
91
samples
1.94
dust max (mg/m3)
46 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 45 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR41
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)11
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR6

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2010-02-10, 16 years ago
9.8
silica avg (%)
5
samples
14.6
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR4
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: 2010-02-09, 16 years ago
15%
over PEL
20
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)5
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)4
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR3
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Health sampling trend
ⓘ 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 by year
ⓘ 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.
Year within 1.5 mg/m3 samples
2010 88% 16
2009 98% 62
2008 100% 13
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2010 11.1 1
2009 5.7 1
2008 10.7 3
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2010 0% 7
2009 23% 13
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

#2 recorded 11.83 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2009.

Injury rate, 2009
ⓘ 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.
11.83
total case rate
11.83
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 4.16 and the all-US-mining average was 3.36 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 5.04 cases per 100 workers that year.
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.
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.
Ownership history
  1. Viper Coal LLC 2008 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
ⓘ Coal production is reported quarterly and lags the current period; the most recent quarters may be incomplete.
Year Employees Coal produced (tons)
2010 6 3,886
2009 18 34,863
2008 10 12,523
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

#2 sits in Knott County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 2.8% of county employment.

Local economic context
ⓘ County figures come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 5-year pooled estimates, so the 2023 vintage covers 2019 through 2023. The Census category is 'mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction', which is broader than MSHA jurisdiction and includes oil and gas workers no mine employs. These figures describe the surrounding county, not this mine, and are not a factor in any specific incident.
Knott County, Kentucky · Population 14,046
2.8%
Mining share of county employment
$37,736
Median household income
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates.
Quarterly safety rates
ⓘ Citations per million reported employee-hours. Rates begin in 2000, when MSHA's quarterly employment data starts; earlier incidents are counted but cannot be rate-adjusted. Quarters under 100,000 reported hours are greyed: too few hours for a stable rate.
Citations per million employee-hours, as reported to MSHA
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2010 Q2 0 4 1
2010 Q1 3,840 14 5 3645.8
2009 Q4 12,000 34 11 2833.3
2009 Q3 5,760 46 14 7986.1
2009 Q2 8,364 73 27 8727.9
2009 Q1 7,680 75 30 9765.6
2008 Q4 11,520 28 10 2430.6
2008 Q3 0 17 2
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2009 · 2 incidents

April 1, 2009 KY · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) MACHINERY
Viper Coal LLC · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Cut finger while bolting requires stitches in finger employee said he would be back to work monday 4/6/09.

February 20, 2009 KY · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech OTHER
Viper Coal LLC · (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee was found laying on the ground unconcious. Ambulance was called and employee was taken to hospital.