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H-4: 67 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Jeffery A Hoops
Neon, Letcher County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519181

H-4 has $99K in proposed MSHA penalties and $36K outstanding across 12 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
8
Years on record
2009–2014
Latest incident
Nov 2014
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2008
67
citations
28
significant & substantial
$99,139
proposed penalties
$30,378
paid to date
31% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $68,761 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Revelation Energy, LLC's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2008
37
inspections on record
1,008
inspection hours
6.7
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.
67 citations across 1,008 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

H-4 has $99K in proposed MSHA penalties and $36K outstanding across 12 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.
$99K
proposed penalties
$66K
current assessed
$30K
paid to date
$36K
outstanding
67 assessments are final orders; 12 contested dockets.
Of $91K in penalties contested before the Commission, $58K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2015-09-16.
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.
41.8%
significant & substantial
13.4%
high negligence or reckless
41.8%
reasonably likely or greater
25.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 11.9% low, 74.6% moderate, 13.4% 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.
27 citations taken to the federal commission · 40% of citations on record
  • Settled 21 · 78%
  • Stood as issued 6 · 22%
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 13 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
36%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$91K proposed, $58K 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 2015-12-30.
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 2014-0729 Settlement Andrews 2014 $48K → $28K
KENT 2014-0563 Settlement Andrews 2014 $13K → $9K
KENT 2015-0494 Settlement Simonton 2017 $11K → $6K
KENT 2014-152 Settlement Lesnick 2014 $5K → $4K
KENT 2015-0322 Settlement Simonton 2015 $4K → $3K
KENT 2014-72 Settlement Simonton 2014 $3K → $2K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at H-4 shows 100% of 52 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: 2015-01-28, 11 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
52
samples
1.00
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.
52 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER17
  • AUGER OPERATOR10
  • GROUNDMAN7

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: 2015-01-28, 11 years ago
0%
over PEL
36
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER11
  • GROUNDMAN8
  • AUGER OPERATOR7
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
2015 100% 4
2014 100% 8
2013 100% 8
2012 100% 4
2011 100% 4
2010 100% 16
2008 100% 8
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2015 0% 3
2014 0% 4
2013 0% 4
2012 0% 4
2010 0% 12
2008 0% 9
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

H-4 recorded 17.36 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2014.

Injury rate, 2014
ⓘ 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.
17.36
total case rate
8.68
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.96 and the all-US-mining average was 2.93 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.63 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
2014 * 17.36 8.68 0.000
2013 * 12.24 6.12 0.000
2011 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2010 * 6.43 0.00 0.000
2009 * 8.15 8.15 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. Aspen Highwall Mining LP 2008 to 2009
  2. Bundy Auger Mining Inc 2009 to 2012
  3. Alpha Highwall Mining, LLC 2012 to 2013
  4. Revelation Energy, 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)
2015 5 120,930
2014 7 254,347
2013 12 238,499
2012 7 114,648
2011 16 406,181
2010 14 272,102
2009 12 144,828
2008 9 142,480
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

H-4 sits in Letcher County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 3.5% 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.
Letcher County, Kentucky · Population 21,146
3.5%
Mining share of county employment
$40,501
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
2015 Q3 75 3 0 40000.0
2015 Q2 3,185 3 1 941.9
2015 Q1 6,494 4 0 616.0
2014 Q4 5,839 2 2 342.5
2014 Q3 5,863 12 4 2046.7
2014 Q2 5,368 2 2 372.6
2014 Q1 5,974 9 3 1506.5
2013 Q4 7,309 3 3 410.5
Show 23 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2013 Q3 8,620 4 2 464.0
2013 Q2 9,630 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 7,114 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 6,106 2 1 327.5
2012 Q3 5,862 4 1 682.4
2012 Q2 705 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 0 0 0
2011 Q4 5,705 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 9,938 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 10,029 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 8,820 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 10,445 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 6,213 2 0 321.9
2010 Q2 7,496 2 2 266.8
2010 Q1 6,928 1 1 144.3
2009 Q4 5,203 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 6,721 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 5,060 1 1 197.6
2009 Q1 7,567 2 0 264.3
2008 Q4 5,638 1 0 177.4
2008 Q3 5,899 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 5,557 3 1 539.9
2008 Q1 1,851 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

8 on file

2014 · 2 incidents

November 5, 2014 KY · Coal outside foreman, leadman HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Revelation Energy, LLC · Struck by flying object

While working and welding on HWM head, he used a hammer causing piece of metal to strike him in the right eye.

February 8, 2014 KY · Coal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer STEPPING OR KNEELING ON OBJECT
Revelation Energy, LLC · Struck against stationary object

While stepping off HWM, he was struck in the tooth with a hose that was laying at the base of the miner, instantly chipping tooth

2013 · 2 incidents

October 2, 2013 KY · Coal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer FIRE
Revelation Energy, LLC · Contact with hot objects or substances

Employee was in loader to move coal, lit a cigarette inside cab and a burst of flames burnt arms, previously was cleaning loader

May 23, 2013 KY · Coal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Alpha Highwall Mining, LLC · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

While using chain binder, and removed step ladder from porch, chain slipped and hit right hand cutting index finger.

2012 · 2 incidents

August 6, 2012 KY · Coal front-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operator ELECTRICAL
Alpha Highwall Mining, LLC · Absorption of radiations, caustics, toxic and noxious substances

While doing daily check on batteries, he got battery acid on face and in his eyes

August 1, 2012 KY · Coal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Alpha Highwall Mining, LLC · Struck by flying object

While putting a chain back together using a hammer, pieces of metal had embedded in skin on chest/shoulder

2010 · 1 incident

September 11, 2010 KY · Coal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Bundy Auger Mining Inc · Struck by flying object

Employee was removing bits from the head of the highwall miner. When his hammer struck the bit removal tool, a piece of metal flew from the tool & struck his left hand.

2009 · 1 incident

February 23, 2009 KY · Coal electrician, lineman SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Aspen Highwall Mining LP · Fall to the walkway or working surface

While attempting to set latch pins on the Highwall Miner, EE pulled a muscle in his back while swinging a sledge hammer. He then fell backwards, causing a compression fracture to a vertebra in the middle part of his back.