Mining Incidents

Eagle Surface Mine: 48 MSHA citations Coal

Rockwell Mining LLC · Surface
Bolt, Wyoming County, WV  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 4609513

Eagle Surface Mine has $16K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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
2017
Latest incident
Jun 2017
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2016
48
citations
18
significant & substantial
$15,737
proposed penalties
$12,760
paid to date
81% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $2,977 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2016
19
inspections on record
430
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: 430 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Eagle Surface Mine has $16K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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.
$16K
proposed penalties
$13K
current assessed
$13K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
48 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $13K in penalties contested before the Commission, $10K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2019-03-11.
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.
37.5%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
37.5%
reasonably likely or greater
16.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 22.9% low, 77.1% moderate, 0.0% 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.
24 citations taken to the federal commission · 50% of citations on record
  • Settled 24 · 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 14 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
22%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$13K proposed, $10K 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 2018-07-17.
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
WEVA 2018-0589 Settlement Moran 2019 $9K → $7K
WEVA 2018-0091 Settlement Gill 2018 $5K → $4K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Eagle Surface Mine shows 98% of 45 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: 2018-10-16, 7 years ago
98%
within 1.5 mg/m3
45
samples
1.54
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.
28 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 17 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR20
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR12
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE6

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2018-01-17, 8 years ago
5.4
silica avg (%)
6
samples
9.2
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR4
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR2

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: 2018-01-04, 8 years ago
0%
over PEL
21
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR7
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE5
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR4
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
2018 100% 21
2017 92% 12
2016 100% 12
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2018 4.2 2
2017 9.2 1
2016 4.9 3
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2018 0% 6
2017 0% 5
2016 0% 10
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Eagle Surface Mine recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2018.

Injury rate, 2018
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
No reportable injury cases in any year shown. Employee-hours were reported in each of those years, so these are true zeros rather than missing data. Citations, listed in the compliance record above, are inspector-found violations and are counted separately from worker injuries.
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.34 and the all-US-mining average was 2.33 cases per 100 workers.
In West Virginia, coal mining averaged 4.77 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
2018 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2017 * 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. Eagle Creek Mining LLC 2016 to 2019
  2. Rockwell Mining LLC 2019 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)
2024 0
2023 0
2022 0
2021 0
2020 1 1,938
2019 0
2018 21 96,448
2017 18 82,546
2016 10 39,072
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Eagle Surface Mine sits in Wyoming County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 11.2% 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.
Wyoming County, West Virginia · Population 20,948
11.2%
Mining share of county employment
$48,038
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
2024 Q2 0 0 0
2024 Q1 0 0 0
2023 Q4 0 0 0
2023 Q3 0 0 0
2023 Q2 0 0 0
2023 Q1 0 0 0
2022 Q4 0 0 0
2022 Q3 0 0 0
Show 23 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2022 Q2 0 0 0
2022 Q1 0 0 0
2021 Q4 0 0 0
2021 Q3 0 0 0
2021 Q2 0 0 0
2021 Q1 0 0 0
2020 Q3 0 0 0
2020 Q2 0 0 0
2020 Q1 2,170 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 0 0 0
2019 Q2 610 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 0 3 0
2018 Q4 13,595 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 13,205 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 16,451 16 7 972.6
2018 Q1 12,696 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 14,976 1 0 66.8
2017 Q3 15,216 14 7 920.1
2017 Q2 13,647 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 8,168 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 12,073 8 1 662.6
2016 Q3 7,672 5 3 651.7
2016 Q2 255 1 0 3921.6
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2017 · 1 incident

June 15, 2017 WV · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Eagle Creek Mining LLC · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Setting a transmission in a 777 - boom kicked out, extended boom so it would work then transmission started to swing and while trying to keep boom from swinging with right hand felt pain in right shoulder - strain to shoulder.