Mining Incidents

Army Trail #1: 55 MSHA citations Coal

Noble Construction · Surface
Controlled by Richard E Noble
Hyden, Leslie County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519679

Army Trail #1 has $8K in proposed MSHA penalties and $6K outstanding across 3 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
2013
Latest incident
Apr 2013
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2012
55
citations
19
significant & substantial
$8,489
proposed penalties
$2,294
paid to date
27% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $6,195 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2012
8
inspections on record
223
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: 223 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Army Trail #1 has $8K in proposed MSHA penalties and $6K outstanding across 3 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.
$8K
proposed penalties
$8K
current assessed
$2K
paid to date
$6K
outstanding
53 assessments are final orders; 3 contested dockets.
Of $1K in penalties contested before the Commission, $217 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2013-10-02.
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.
35.8%
significant & substantial
5.7%
high negligence or reckless
35.8%
reasonably likely or greater
5.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 94.3% moderate, 5.7% 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.
4 citations taken to the federal commission · 7% of citations on record
  • Settled 2 · 50%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 2 · 50%
33%
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 3 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
81%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$1K proposed, $217 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 2013-11-26.
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 2014-96 Withdrawal McCarthy 2014 $952 → $0
KENT 2013-1058 Settlement McCarthy 2014 $117 → $117
KENT 2013-650 Settlement Miller 2013 $100 → $100
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Army Trail #1 shows 100% of 8 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: 2013-07-03, 13 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
8
samples
0.34
dust max (mg/m3)
8 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR3
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE2
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER1

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2013-07-11, 13 years ago
15.8
silica avg (%)
1
samples
15.8
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER 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: 2013-07-03, 13 years ago
0%
over PEL
8
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR3
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE2
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. T & T Energy, LLC 2012 to 2013
  2. Noble Construction 2013 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)
2013 15 22,182
2012 17 7,328
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Army Trail #1 sits in Leslie County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 10.6% 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.
Leslie County, Kentucky · Population 10,261
10.6%
Mining share of county employment
$40,176
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
2013 Q3 150 3 1 20000.0
2013 Q2 10,430 2 1 191.8
2013 Q1 9,411 35 12 3719.1
2012 Q4 7,745 2 1 258.2
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2013 · 2 incidents

April 24, 2013 KY · Coal front-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operator SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
T & T Energy, LLC · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

operator was getting down off his loader when he slipped and injured his right ankle, spraining it

April 6, 2013 KY · Coal POWERED HAULAGE
T & T Energy, LLC · Accident type, without injuries

Operator was attempting to pack a rock out of the pit when the rock shifted to the left side of the bucket causing the loader to turn over on its side. The operator was not injured in this accident. This is for reporting purposes only. The operator worked the rest of his shift and operated an excavator.