Mining Incidents

BERGDALE PIT: 36 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by Justin Higman
Hawarden, Union County, SD  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 3901439

BERGDALE PIT has $17K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 6 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 2000
36
citations
7
significant & substantial
$17,109
proposed penalties
$7,245
paid to date
42% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $9,864 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
11
inspections on record
118
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: 118 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

BERGDALE PIT has $17K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 6 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.
$17K
proposed penalties
$7K
current assessed
$7K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
30 assessments are final orders; 6 contested dockets.
Of $17K in penalties contested before the Commission, $6K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2002-10-08.
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.
23.3%
significant & substantial
3.3%
high negligence or reckless
33.3%
reasonably likely or greater
43.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 96.7% moderate, 3.3% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
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
CENT20030142M Settlement Melick 2003 $7K → $3K
CENT20030011M Settlement Melick 2003 $5K → $741
CENT20020082M Settlement Schroeder 2002 $3K → $2K
CENT20030115M Settlement Melick 2003 $2K → $611
CENT20030184M Settlement Melick 2003 $399 → $300
CENT20010140M Settlement Manning 2002 $90 → $40
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Higman Sand & Gravel Inc 2000 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2003 0
2002 1
2001 1
2000 1
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

BERGDALE PIT sits in Union County, South Dakota, where the Census mining category is 0.2% 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.
Union County, South Dakota · Population 16,916
0.2%
Mining share of county employment
$84,137
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
2003 Q4 0 0 0
2003 Q3 0 0 0
2003 Q2 0 0 0
2003 Q1 0 0 0
2002 Q4 0 2 1
2002 Q3 713 12 2 16830.3
2002 Q2 776 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 667 0 0 0.0
Show 6 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2001 Q4 720 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 713 8 0 11220.2
2001 Q2 676 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 0 0 0
2000 Q4 447 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 424 14 4 33018.9

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.