Mining Incidents

#4: 99 MSHA citations Coal

Emlyn Coal Processing LLC · Surface
Controlled by Bart Montanari
Corbin, Whitley County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519369

#4 has $28K in proposed MSHA penalties and $10K outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2009
99
citations
61
significant & substantial
$27,898
proposed penalties
$16,891
paid to date
61% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $11,007 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2009
20
inspections on record
445
inspection hours
n/a
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.
Rate withheld: 445 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

#4 has $28K in proposed MSHA penalties and $10K outstanding across 2 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.
$28K
proposed penalties
$27K
current assessed
$17K
paid to date
$10K
outstanding
92 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $7K in penalties contested before the Commission, $6K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2012-03-21.
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.
66.3%
significant & substantial
5.4%
high negligence or reckless
66.3%
reasonably likely or greater
13.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 5.4% low, 89.1% moderate, 5.4% 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.
8 citations taken to the federal commission · 8% of citations on record
  • Settled 8 · 100%
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 7 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
13%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$7K proposed, $6K 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 2011-06-07.
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 2011-1124 Settlement Lesnick 2011 $4K → $4K
KENT 2010-145 Settlement Moran 2012 $3K → $2K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at #4 shows 100% of 34 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: 2012-01-23, 14 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
34
samples
1.14
dust max (mg/m3)
22 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 12 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR14
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR9
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR3

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2012-01-30, 14 years ago
19.1
silica avg (%)
6
samples
31.7
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR3
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR1
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR1

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: 2012-01-23, 14 years ago
0%
over PEL
22
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR8
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR3
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR3
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
2012 100% 4
2011 100% 15
2010 100% 7
2009 100% 8
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2012 15.6 2
2010 18.1 1
2009 21.8 3
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2012 0% 4
2011 0% 5
2010 0% 5
2009 0% 8
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Monties Resources LLC 2009 to 2009
  2. Corn Creek LLC 2009 to 2010
  3. Emlyn Coal Processing LLC 2010 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)
2012 6 1,859
2011 6 19,647
2010 8 7,367
2009 8 6,381
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

#4 sits in Whitley County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 0.0% 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.
Whitley County, Kentucky · Population 36,755
0.0%
Mining share of county employment
$41,719
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
2012 Q1 2,755 4 4 1451.9
2011 Q4 3,621 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 4,717 5 3 1060.0
2011 Q2 4,157 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 2,691 7 6 2601.3
2010 Q4 2,878 6 3 2084.8
2010 Q3 2,960 22 15 7432.4
2010 Q2 3,058 13 8 4251.1
Show 2 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2009 Q2 1,083 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 4,757 23 13 4835.0

No reportable incidents on file.

MSHA has no recorded reportable accidents for this mine in the current dataset. New reports appear here within a week of being filed.