Mining Incidents

Horton Strips: 12 MSHA citations Coal

Black Cat Coal, LLC · Surface
Controlled by Kim Horton
Osceola Mills, Clearfield County, PA  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 3609965

Horton Strips has $1K in proposed MSHA penalties and $497 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 2012
12
citations
4
significant & substantial
$1,304
proposed penalties
$807
paid to date
62% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $497 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2012
27
inspections on record
486
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: 486 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Horton Strips has $1K in proposed MSHA penalties and $497 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
$807
paid to date
$497
outstanding
12 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2021-01-19.
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
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
33.3%
reasonably likely or greater
25.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 50.0% low, 50.0% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Horton Strips shows 100% of 31 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: 2022-03-15, 4 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
31
samples
0.33
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.
13 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 18 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR27
  • ROTARY BUCKET EXCAVATOR OPERATOR2
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR1

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2018-12-17, 7 years ago
6.2
silica avg (%)
1
samples
6.2
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR1

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: 2021-05-19, 5 years ago
0%
over PEL
12
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR9
  • ROTARY BUCKET EXCAVATOR OPERATOR2
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE1
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
2022 100% 1
2021 100% 4
2020 100% 6
2019 100% 5
2018 100% 3
2016 100% 1
2015 100% 6
2014 100% 1
2013 100% 3
2012 100% 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2021 0% 1
2020 0% 2
2019 0% 1
2018 0% 3
2015 0% 2
2013 0% 2
2012 0% 1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Horton Coal Company LLC 2011 to 2018
  2. Black Cat Coal, LLC 2018 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)
2022 1
2021 4 15,192
2020 5 13,870
2019 8 36,065
2018 2 3,647
2017 0
2016 3 1,893
2015 7 23,997
2014 3 8,247
2013 6 9,522
2012 4 3,229
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Horton Strips sits in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, where the Census mining category is 1.3% 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.
Clearfield County, Pennsylvania · Population 78,902
1.3%
Mining share of county employment
$60,181
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
2022 Q2 0 0 0
2022 Q1 474 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 412 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 990 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 922 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 1,883 1 0 531.1
2020 Q4 969 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 1,852 2 0 1079.9
Show 34 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2020 Q2 187 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 1,242 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 1,413 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 2,147 1 0 465.8
2019 Q2 1,883 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 1,859 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 1,282 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 31 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 0 0 0
2018 Q1 0 0 0
2017 Q4 0 0 0
2017 Q3 0 0 0
2017 Q2 0 0 0
2017 Q1 0 0 0
2016 Q4 0 0 0
2016 Q3 0 0 0
2016 Q2 361 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 149 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 219 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 1,903 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 1,180 1 0 847.5
2015 Q1 2,181 1 1 458.5
2014 Q4 669 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 0 0 0
2014 Q2 370 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 469 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 114 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 918 1 0 1089.3
2013 Q2 1,882 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 1,609 1 1 621.5
2012 Q4 32 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 1,685 3 2 1780.4
2012 Q2 2,034 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 447 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.