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Falls Creek Auger Crew - 1: 6 MSHA citations Coal

Spring Church, Armstrong County, PA  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 3609207

Falls Creek Auger Crew - 1 has $846 in proposed MSHA penalties and $10 outstanding across 1 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 2009
6
citations
2
significant & substantial
$846
proposed penalties
$836
paid to date
99% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $10 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Falls Creek Energy Co. Inc.'s full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2005
11
inspections on record
128
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: 128 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Falls Creek Auger Crew - 1 has $846 in proposed MSHA penalties and $10 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.
$846
proposed penalties
$846
current assessed
$836
paid to date
$10
outstanding
6 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $100 in penalties contested before the Commission, $100 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2010-08-05.
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.
33.3%
significant & substantial
50.0%
high negligence or reckless
33.3%
reasonably likely or greater
33.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 50.0% moderate, 50.0% 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.
1 citations taken to the federal commission · 17% of citations on record
  • Stood as issued 1 · 100%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$100 proposed, $100 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 2010-10-25.
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
PENN 2011-49 Dismissal Andrews 2011 $100 → $100
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Falls Creek Auger Crew - 1 shows 100% of 21 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: 2011-02-15, 15 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
21
samples
1.05
dust max (mg/m3)
14 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 7 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • AUGER HELPER14
  • AUGER OPERATOR7

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: 2011-02-15, 15 years ago
13%
over PEL
8
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • AUGER HELPER4
  • AUGER OPERATOR4
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
2011 100% 2
2010 100% 2
2009 100% 9
2008 100% 8
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2011 0% 2
2010 0% 2
2009 0% 2
2008 50% 2
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Falls Creek Energy Co. Inc. 2004 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)
2012 0
2011 1 875
2010 2 8,425
2009 2
2008 2
2007 1
2006 0
2005 0
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Falls Creek Auger Crew - 1 sits in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, where the Census mining category is 2.2% 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.
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania · Population 65,069
2.2%
Mining share of county employment
$64,295
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
2012 Q2 0 0 0
2012 Q1 0 0 0
2011 Q4 0 0 0
2011 Q3 0 0 0
2011 Q2 0 0 0
2011 Q1 283 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 342 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 395 4 0 10126.6
Show 22 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2010 Q2 833 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 1,092 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 0 0 0
2009 Q3 1,105 2 2 1810.0
2009 Q2 1,002 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 985 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 1,227 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 889 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 1,439 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 1,598 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 644 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 0 0 0
2007 Q2 0 0 0
2007 Q1 0 0 0
2006 Q4 0 0 0
2006 Q3 0 0 0
2006 Q2 0 0 0
2006 Q1 0 0 0
2005 Q4 0 0 0
2005 Q3 0 0 0
2005 Q2 0 0 0
2005 Q1 0 0 0

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.