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Barger Branch Job #14: 96 MSHA citations Coal

B&W Resources, Inc. · Surface
Controlled by Lipari Energy
Manchester, Clay County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519176

Barger Branch Job #14 has $14K in proposed MSHA penalties and $1K outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2012
Latest incident
Aug 2012
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2008
96
citations
39
significant & substantial
$14,150
proposed penalties
$12,850
paid to date
91% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,300 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See B&W Resources, Inc.'s full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2008
26
inspections on record
850
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: 850 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Barger Branch Job #14 has $14K in proposed MSHA penalties and $1K 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.
$14K
proposed penalties
$14K
current assessed
$13K
paid to date
$1K
outstanding
95 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $941 in penalties contested before the Commission, $941 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2014-05-21.
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.
41.1%
significant & substantial
2.1%
high negligence or reckless
41.1%
reasonably likely or greater
8.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 15.8% low, 82.1% moderate, 2.1% 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.
3 citations taken to the federal commission · 3% of citations on record
  • Settled 3 · 100%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$941 proposed, $941 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 2014-04-21.
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 2012-405 Settlement Lesnick 2013 $833 → $833
KENT 2014-0409 Settlement Andrews 2014 $108 → $108
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Barger Branch Job #14 shows 99% of 76 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: 2015-01-15, 11 years ago
99%
within 1.5 mg/m3
76
samples
3.00
dust max (mg/m3)
0
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.
73 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 3 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE22
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR21
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER18

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: 2014-05-06, 12 years ago
6%
over PEL
52
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR15
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER13
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE12
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
2015 100% 1
2014 100% 12
2013 90% 10
2012 100% 17
2011 100% 5
2010 100% 13
2009 100% 9
2008 100% 9
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2014 0% 10
2013 10% 10
2012 20% 10
2011 0% 5
2010 0% 5
2009 0% 5
2008 0% 7
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Barger Branch Job #14 recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2013.

Injury rate, 2013
ⓘ 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.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.94 and the all-US-mining average was 2.99 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.63 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.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2013 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2012 * 3.85 0.00 0.000
2010 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2009 * 0.00 0.00 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.
Ownership history
  1. Sand Hill Coal Processing Co 2008 to 2010
  2. B&W Resources, Inc. 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)
2015 0
2014 8 24,567
2013 16 137,766
2012 22 242,261
2011 9 34,888
2010 13 43,372
2009 11 31,627
2008 10 32,343
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Barger Branch Job #14 sits in Clay County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 0.9% 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.
Clay County, Kentucky · Population 20,105
0.9%
Mining share of county employment
$39,607
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
2015 Q1 0 0 0
2014 Q4 866 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 3,569 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 6,658 4 1 600.8
2014 Q1 6,927 1 0 144.4
2013 Q4 136 5 2 36764.7
2013 Q3 5,877 2 0 340.3
2013 Q2 15,957 0 0 0.0
Show 21 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2013 Q1 15,991 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 17,463 14 2 801.7
2012 Q3 11,194 2 0 178.7
2012 Q2 11,549 5 0 432.9
2012 Q1 11,742 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 297 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 4,307 2 0 464.4
2011 Q2 6,626 2 0 301.8
2011 Q1 7,328 2 1 272.9
2010 Q4 7,658 1 0 130.6
2010 Q3 10,832 8 2 738.6
2010 Q2 8,504 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 4,702 2 1 425.4
2009 Q4 4,357 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 4,389 2 0 455.7
2009 Q2 5,036 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 7,125 17 10 2386.0
2008 Q4 6,195 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 5,684 2 1 351.9
2008 Q2 5,398 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 1,457 4 1 2745.4
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2012 · 1 incident