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Hubbs Creek Surface Mine: 81 MSHA citations Coal

Mountainside Coal · Surface
Controlled by Damian Caldwell
Barbourville, Knox County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519552

Hubbs Creek Surface Mine has $24K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 6 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2012
Latest incident
Mar 2012
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2011
81
citations
20
significant & substantial
$23,932
proposed penalties
$20,884
paid to date
87% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $3,048 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Mountainside Coal's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2011
14
inspections on record
347
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: 347 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Hubbs Creek Surface Mine has $24K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 6 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.
$24K
proposed penalties
$21K
current assessed
$21K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
79 assessments are final orders; 6 contested dockets.
Of $17K in penalties contested before the Commission, $14K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2013-05-23.
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.
25.3%
significant & substantial
5.1%
high negligence or reckless
25.3%
reasonably likely or greater
7.6%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 12.7% low, 82.3% moderate, 5.1% 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.
31 citations taken to the federal commission · 38% of citations on record
  • Settled 25 · 81%
  • Stood as issued 6 · 19%
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 14 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
18%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$17K proposed, $14K 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 2014-04-11.
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 2012-1519 Settlement Miller 2013 $5K → $4K
KENT 2013-1004 Default Lesnick 2013 $5K → $5K
KENT 2013-739 Settlement Lesnick 2015 $4K → $2K
KENT 2012-1114 Settlement Andrews 2013 $1K → $1K
KENT 2012-458 Settlement Miller 2012 $1K → $821
KENT 2013-912 Settlement Zielinski 2014 $499 → $399
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Hubbs Creek Surface Mine shows 100% of 30 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: 2013-05-23, 13 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
30
samples
1.15
dust max (mg/m3)
28 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 2 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE10
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER7
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR6

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2012-11-27, 13 years ago
8.5
silica avg (%)
1
samples
8.5
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE1
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2013-05-23, 13 years ago
0%
over PEL
25
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER7
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR4
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE4
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
2013 100% 7
2012 100% 18
2011 100% 5
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2013 0% 5
2012 0% 15
2011 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Hubbs Creek Surface Mine recorded 3.36 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2012.

Injury rate, 2012
ⓘ 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.
3.36
total case rate
3.36
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.74 and the all-US-mining average was 2.96 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.35 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.
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. Mountainside Coal 2011 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)
2013 13 19,610
2012 21 48,002
2011 10 21,159
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Hubbs Creek Surface Mine sits in Knox County, Kentucky, 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.
Knox County, Kentucky · Population 30,034
2.8%
Mining share of county employment
$33,153
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
2013 Q2 11,362 12 5 1056.2
2013 Q1 6,277 1 1 159.3
2012 Q4 8,161 15 3 1838.0
2012 Q3 17,151 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 19,743 16 4 810.4
2012 Q1 14,460 16 3 1106.5
2011 Q4 6,759 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 8,351 13 3 1556.7
Show 1 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2011 Q2 1,080 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2012 · 1 incident

March 6, 2012 KY · Coal mechanic helper HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Mountainside Coal · Struck by falling object

Employee placed his right hand in a pinch point area of the roller and boggie pins while trying to install a chain before performing work on the roller.