Hard Rock Sand and Gravel has $60K in proposed MSHA penalties and $5K outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
5
Years on record
2022–2023
Latest incident
Jul 2023
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2016
109
citations
26
significant & substantial
$59,732
proposed penalties
$47,131
paid to date
79% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $12,601 gap.
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: 490 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Hard Rock Sand and Gravel has $60K in proposed MSHA penalties and $5K 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.
$60K
proposed penalties
$52K
current assessed
$47K
paid to date
$5K
outstanding
109 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $10K in penalties contested before the Commission, $2K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-04-30.
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.
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.
9citations taken to the federal commission · 8% of citations on record
Settled
9 · 100%
71%
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 Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.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 7 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
76%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$10K proposed, $2K 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 2024-11-24.
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.
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: 2025-07-10
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
9
samples
2
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
Respirable dust, <.1mg7
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz2
Show the individual readings (9)
Date
Contaminant
Concentration
Limit
Conc / limit
Occupation
2025-07-10
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Mechanic
2025-07-10
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
0.3
1.37
0.22
Front-end Loader Operator
2024-01-10
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2021-06-23
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2019-05-14
Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz
0.33
0.43
0.77
Rotary Bucket Ex. Operator
2019-05-14
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2015-09-23
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Truck Driver
2015-09-23
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Front-end Loader Operator
2015-09-23
Respirable dust, <.1mg
0
Backhoe Operator
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.
Hard Rock Sand and Gravel recorded 19.27 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2023.
Injury rate, 2023
ⓘ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.
19.27
total case rate
6.42
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.78 and the all-US-mining average was 2.10 cases per 100 workers.
In Louisiana, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 1.81 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
2023 *
19.27
6.42
0.000
2022 *
14.16
7.08
0.000
2021 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2020 *
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.
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year
Employees
2026
11
2025
8
2024
10
2023
17
2022
16
2021
11
2020
12
2019
9
2018
8
2017
7
2016
8
2015
9
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Hard Rock Sand and Gravel sits in Washington Parish, Louisiana, where the Census mining category is 1.7% 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.
Washington Parish, Louisiana · Population 45,238
1.7%
Mining share of county employment
$42,776
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
EE (Welder and Mechanic) was getting an air line off of a truck frame. EE needed to cut the line. EE was pulling the line up and holding it with left hand and cutting with right hand. EE was cutting away from self when the line unexpectedly separated. EE's left hand jerked back and hit something on the truck frame resulting in the laceration to EE's hand.
May 10, 2023LA · Metal/Non-Metallaborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitmanPOWERED HAULAGE
The miner was using the skid steer to load up trash and debris left on shore from the dredge to take to the dumpster. Miner had feet propped up on the skid steer steps, and simultaneously lowered the bucket which came down on miner's foot. Minor injuries (foot contusion) was sustained.
Employee was entering the cabin of the skid steer when foot slipped off the foot hold, causing right shin to hit the bucket. This caused a laceration that required sutures.
2022 · 2 incidents
September 14, 2022LA · Metal/Non-Metallaborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitmanHANDLING OF MATERIALS
Miner and injured Miner were doing housecleaning around the pit, other Miner tossed a builders square in the air and it hit injured Miner on the back of the arm cause a minor (per Urgent Care) laceration.
April 29, 2022LA · Metal/Non-Metallaborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitmanDISORDERS (PHYSICAL AGENTS)
Miner was performing general housekeeping around the wash plant. They needed to move a Spider Union (part of the Log washer) that was on the ground. As they lifted the piece they felt a sharp pain in their back, dizziness, and ill. EE sat in their car for approximately an hour, but didn't feel improvement. EE called the Plant manager who took them to the hospital.