Mining Incidents

DM-2: 331 MSHA citations Coal

McDowell, Floyd County, KY  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1518472

DM-2 has $307K in proposed MSHA penalties and $295K outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
3
Years on record
2007–2009
Latest incident
Feb 2009
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
331
citations
153
significant & substantial
$307,486
proposed penalties
$10,937
paid to date
4% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $296,549 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2001
75
inspections on record
1,877
inspection hours
17.6
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.
331 citations across 1,877 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

DM-2 has $307K in proposed MSHA penalties and $295K outstanding across 1 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.
$307K
proposed penalties
$306K
current assessed
$11K
paid to date
$295K
outstanding
319 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $9K in penalties contested before the Commission, $7K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2013-09-05.
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.
48.0%
significant & substantial
7.5%
high negligence or reckless
48.0%
reasonably likely or greater
11.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 7.2% low, 85.3% moderate, 7.2% high, 0.3% 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 · 2% 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%
20%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$9K proposed, $7K 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 2009-12-08.
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 2010-320 Settlement Lesnick 2010 $9K → $7K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at DM-2 shows 88% of 126 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: 2009-08-28, 16 years ago
88%
within 1.5 mg/m3
126
samples
4.62
dust max (mg/m3)
69 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 57 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CUTTING MACHINE OPERATOR40
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR19
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR16

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2009-06-18, 17 years ago
6.2
silica avg (%)
8
samples
10.6
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR6
  • CUTTING MACHINE 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: 2009-06-10, 17 years ago
0%
over PEL
20
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR6
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)3
  • COAL DRILL OPERATOR2
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
2009 92% 36
2007 95% 20
2006 80% 46
2004 92% 12
2002 92% 12
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2009 5.7 5
2007 1.8 1
2004 9.4 2
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2009 0% 5
2006 0% 10
2004 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Big I Mining, Inc. 2001 to 2004
  2. Hubble Mining Company, LLC 2004 to 2004
  3. Double C Enterprises 2004 to 2005
  4. Foggy Mountain Coal Co. Inc 2005 to 2007
  5. Frasure Creek Mining LLC 2007 to 2008
  6. Fools Gold Energy Corporation 2008 to 2009
  7. Frasure Creek Mining Co. L. L. C. 2009 to 2012
  8. Viper Coal LLC 2012 to 2013
  9. Frasure Creek Mining, LLC 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)
2014 0
2013 0
2010 0
2009 30 109,600
2008 2
2007 12 32,422
2006 10 75,870
2004 5 9,204
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

DM-2 sits in Floyd County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 4.4% 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.
Floyd County, Kentucky · Population 35,342
4.4%
Mining share of county employment
$41,582
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
2014 Q2 0 0 0
2014 Q1 0 0 0
2013 Q4 0 0 0
2013 Q3 0 6 0
2013 Q2 0 1 0
2010 Q4 0 3 0
2010 Q3 0 0 0
2010 Q2 0 1 0
Show 15 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2010 Q1 0 1 0
2009 Q4 0 0 0
2009 Q2 23,056 26 8 1127.7
2009 Q1 29,952 55 26 1836.3
2008 Q2 224 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 437 4 0 9153.3
2007 Q2 4,944 11 4 2224.9
2007 Q1 3,299 22 14 6668.7
2006 Q4 4,944 12 2 2427.2
2006 Q3 4,818 53 30 11000.4
2006 Q2 3,467 43 23 12402.7
2006 Q1 1,646 37 20 22478.7
2004 Q4 3,978 11 3 2765.2
2004 Q3 795 12 6 15094.3
2004 Q2 0 0 0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

3 on file

2009 · 1 incident

February 25, 2009 KY · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech MACHINERY
Fools Gold Energy Corporation · Absorption of radiations, caustics, toxic and noxious substances

Welding cutter head hyd/jack 14-15 joy cont/miner. Punctured hole in hyd/jack. Oil spray on both hands and face causing 2nd and 3rd degree burns.

2007 · 2 incidents

April 19, 2007 KY · Coal beltman, conveyor man, conveyor belt worker, mobile bridge carrierman, feeder operator, conveyor rider HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Foggy Mountain Coal Co. Inc · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Working on belt and he got hit with crib block while moving them away.

February 23, 2007 KY · Coal section foreman, bullgang foreman, labor foreman, leadman, shift boss MACHINERY
Foggy Mountain Coal Co. Inc · Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EE was crawling beside a cutter machine checking for a leak and the tire pinched his right leg.