Mining Incidents

Fay Penn #1: 12 MSHA citations Coal

Valhalla Mining Company LLC · Surface
Controlled by Steve J Patterson
Dunbar, Fayette County, PA  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 3610053

Fay Penn #1 has $1K in proposed MSHA penalties and $180 outstanding across 0 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 2015
12
citations
1
significant & substantial
$1,370
proposed penalties
$1,190
paid to date
87% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $180 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2015
29
inspections on record
530
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: 530 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Fay Penn #1 has $1K in proposed MSHA penalties and $180 outstanding across 0 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.
$1K
proposed penalties
$1K
current assessed
$1K
paid to date
$180
outstanding
12 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2023-10-31.
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.
8.3%
significant & substantial
16.7%
high negligence or reckless
8.3%
reasonably likely or greater
0.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 25.0% low, 58.3% moderate, 16.7% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Fay Penn #1 shows 100% of 38 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: 2023-08-08, 3 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
38
samples
0.53
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.
19 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 19 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR21
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER8
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE4

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: 2020-11-03, 5 years ago
0%
over PEL
6
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER2
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR1
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR1
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
2023 100% 4
2022 100% 6
2021 100% 4
2020 100% 2
2017 100% 8
2016 100% 10
2015 100% 4
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2020 0% 1
2017 0% 3
2015 0% 2
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Valhalla Mining Company LLC 2014 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)
2023 1 4,097
2022 1 8,830
2021 1 2,648
2020 0 843
2019 0
2018 0
2017 1 3,982
2016 2 2,119
2015 2 6,577
2014 2 11,367
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Fay Penn #1 sits in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, where the Census mining category is 2.8% 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.
Fayette County, Pennsylvania · Population 126,967
2.8%
Mining share of county employment
$56,093
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
2023 Q3 0 0 0
2023 Q2 900 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 1,300 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 1,300 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 1,350 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 1,008 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 200 1 0 5000.0
2021 Q4 500 0 0 0.0
Show 28 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2021 Q3 200 1 0 5000.0
2021 Q2 800 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 500 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 580 1 0 1724.1
2020 Q3 0 0 0
2020 Q2 0 0 0
2020 Q1 0 0 0
2019 Q4 0 0 0
2019 Q3 0 0 0
2019 Q1 0 0 0
2018 Q4 0 0 0
2018 Q3 0 0 0
2018 Q2 0 0 0
2018 Q1 0 0 0
2017 Q4 0 0 0
2017 Q3 0 2 0
2017 Q2 885 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 1,184 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 0 0 0
2016 Q3 500 1 0 2000.0
2016 Q2 548 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 1,000 4 1 4000.0
2015 Q4 1,199 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 775 1 0 1290.3
2015 Q2 0 0 0
2015 Q1 57 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 1,118 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 1,034 0 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.