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F.S. Lopke - Buck Plant: 37 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Nichols, NY, Tioga County, NY  ·  Intermittent
MSHA Mine ID: 3003822

F.S. Lopke - Buck Plant has $7K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
2024–2025
Latest incident
Apr 2025
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2012
37
citations
6
significant & substantial
$6,980
proposed penalties
$5,967
paid to date
85% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,013 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See F.S. Lopke Contracting, Inc.'s full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2012
23
inspections on record
376
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: 376 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

F.S. Lopke - Buck Plant has $7K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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.
$7K
proposed penalties
$6K
current assessed
$6K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
37 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $1K in penalties contested before the Commission, $436 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-05-13.
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.
16.2%
significant & substantial
5.4%
high negligence or reckless
16.2%
reasonably likely or greater
64.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 27.0% low, 67.6% moderate, 5.4% 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.
1 citations taken to the federal commission · 3% of citations on record
  • Settled 1 · 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 1 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
70%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$1K proposed, $436 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 2012-12-12.
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
YORK 2013-53M Settlement Lesnick 2013 $1K → $436
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
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.

Metal and nonmetal contaminants (personal samples)
ⓘ Many samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.

Last sampled: 2026-05-13
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
19
samples
4
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg9
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz6
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz4
Show the individual readings (19)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2026-05-13 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Utility Man
2026-05-13 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2026-05-13 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.17 Front-end Loader Operator
2023-04-27 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
2023-04-27 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.23 0.65 0.35 Utility Man
2023-04-27 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2019-04-24 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.12 Truck Driver
2019-04-24 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Dragline Operator
2019-04-24 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Mechanic
2019-04-24 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.33 Front-end Loader Operator
2017-07-12 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.17 Truck Driver
2017-07-12 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.16 Truck Driver
2017-07-12 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.17 1.08 0.16 Front-end Loader Operator
2017-07-12 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.13 0.8 0.16 Scraper Operator
2012-09-26 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Backhoe Operator
2012-09-26 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.21 Truck Driver
2012-09-26 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
2012-09-26 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.24 0.5 0.48 Laborer, Bullgang
2012-09-26 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Truck Driver
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly. Metal/nonmetal contaminant figures come from MSHA's Personal Health Samples and Area Samples files (public record), updated weekly.

F.S. Lopke - Buck Plant recorded 9.12 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2025.

Injury rate, 2025
ⓘ 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.
9.12
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.65 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
In New York, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 2.08 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
2025 * 9.12 0.00 0.000
2024 * 7.28 7.28 0.000
2023 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2022 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2021 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2019 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
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. F.S. Lopke Contracting, Inc. 2011 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 8
2025 8
2024 9
2023 13
2022 11
2021 11
2020 8
2019 10
2018 9
2017 8
2016 8
2015 8
2014 8
2013 9
2012 11
2011 15
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

F.S. Lopke - Buck Plant sits in Tioga County, New York, where the Census mining category is 0.3% 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.
Tioga County, New York · Population 48,106
0.3%
Mining share of county employment
$71,791
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
2026 Q2 7,669 4 1 521.6
2026 Q1 699 0 0 0.0
2025 Q4 6,562 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 6,989 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 7,514 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 865 0 0 0.0
2024 Q4 6,180 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 10,322 7 0 678.2
Show 52 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 8,680 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 2,280 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 8,389 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 11,299 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 10,229 1 1 97.8
2023 Q1 3,307 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 7,598 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 10,906 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 9,221 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 1,889 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 8,276 1 1 120.8
2021 Q3 10,042 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 8,116 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 741 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 5,886 1 0 169.9
2020 Q3 6,665 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 5,974 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 620 1 0 1612.9
2019 Q4 6,299 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 9,852 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 9,077 3 0 330.5
2019 Q1 773 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 5,607 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 9,441 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 8,390 2 0 238.4
2018 Q1 973 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 6,261 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 9,527 3 0 314.9
2017 Q2 8,044 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 132 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 5,916 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 7,280 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 6,715 1 0 148.9
2016 Q1 915 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 4,804 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 7,546 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 6,527 1 0 153.2
2015 Q1 598 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 4,262 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 7,260 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 6,007 1 0 166.5
2014 Q1 936 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 5,362 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 6,912 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 6,599 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 2,907 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 4,604 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 9,537 7 2 734.0
2012 Q2 8,953 4 1 446.8
2012 Q1 3,161 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 11,091 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 7,975 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2025 · 1 incident

April 22, 2025 NY · Metal/Non-Metal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer DISORDERS (REPEATED TRAUMA)
F.S. Lopke Contracting, Inc. · (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Hearing test were conducted on 4/22/25. Hearing Test results received 4/29/25: Left ear has moderately severe hearing loss at some high frequencies. Required placement on MSHA log

2024 · 1 incident

July 10, 2024 NY · Metal/Non-Metal front-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operator POWERED HAULAGE
F.S. Lopke Contracting, Inc. · Struck against a moving object

Loader operator was backing away from stockpile & was looking behind self and tire went in a rut and the way EE's body was turned & when EE hit the rut it tweaked EE's back.