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Kalispell Portable Plant: 37 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by Knife River Corporation
Columbia Falls, Flathead County, MT  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 2402095

Kalispell Portable Plant has $6K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 3 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2023
Latest incident
Apr 2023
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
37
citations
9
significant & substantial
$6,384
proposed penalties
$5,996
paid to date
94% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $388 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Knife River Missoula's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
41
inspections on record
450
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: 450 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Kalispell Portable Plant has $6K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 3 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.
$6K
proposed penalties
$6K
current assessed
$6K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
37 assessments are final orders; 3 contested dockets.
Of $1K in penalties contested before the Commission, $768 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-05-13.
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.
24.3%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
24.3%
reasonably likely or greater
29.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 24.3% low, 75.7% moderate, 0.0% 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.
3 citations taken to the federal commission · 8% of citations on record
  • Settled 3 · 100%
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 3 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
34%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$1K proposed, $768 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 2017-07-19.
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
WEST 2012-591M Settlement Simonton 2012 $900 → $512
WEST 2017-0590 Settlement Lesnick 2017 $148 → $148
WEST 2011-1450 Settlement Lesnick 2012 $108 → $108
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
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: 2022-09-28, 3 years ago
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
5
samples
1
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg4
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (5)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2022-09-28 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.19 0.32 0.59 Front-end Loader Operator
2022-09-28 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2018-07-18 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2014-07-23 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2009-08-18 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader 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.
Ownership history
  1. Polson Ready Mix Concrete Inc 1996 to 2000
  2. Polson Ready Mix Concrete Inc 2000 to 2001
  3. Kalispell Ready Mix 2002 to 2002
  4. Knife River Missoula 2002 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 4
2025 4
2024 4
2023 4
2022 4
2021 4
2020 3
2019 2
2018 2
2017 2
2016 8
2015 5
2014 1
2013 1
2012 1
2011 1
2010 2
2009 2
2008 3
2007 3
2006 7
2005 2
2004 3
2003 2
2002 2
2001 2
2000 3
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Kalispell Portable Plant sits in Flathead County, Montana, where the Census mining category is 0.7% 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.
Flathead County, Montana · Population 108,445
0.7%
Mining share of county employment
$71,327
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
2026 Q2 2,121 1 0 471.5
2026 Q1 715 0 0 0.0
2025 Q4 386 3 1 7772.0
2025 Q3 1,438 1 0 695.4
2025 Q2 1,490 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 402 1 0 2487.6
2024 Q4 857 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 1,041 0 0 0.0
Show 98 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 1,298 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 1,236 2 0 1618.1
2023 Q4 909 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 1,405 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 1,051 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 1,123 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 1,195 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 525 1 0 1904.8
2022 Q2 1,628 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 1,213 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 1,680 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 1,281 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 905 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 935 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 1,336 2 0 1497.0
2020 Q3 1,554 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 1,332 2 0 1501.5
2020 Q1 684 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 1,160 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 1,411 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 1,150 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 0 0 0
2018 Q4 564 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 864 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 714 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 36 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 850 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 1,306 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 1,095 2 1 1826.5
2017 Q1 0 0 0
2016 Q4 736 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 1,892 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 1,250 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 2,272 4 0 1760.6
2015 Q4 585 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 759 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 727 4 2 5502.1
2015 Q1 1,651 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 449 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 765 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 625 1 0 1600.0
2014 Q1 0 0 0
2013 Q4 412 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 610 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 511 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 434 1 0 2304.1
2012 Q4 0 0 0
2012 Q3 383 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 478 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 614 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 0 0 0
2011 Q3 486 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 249 2 2 8032.1
2011 Q1 0 0 0
2010 Q4 0 0 0
2010 Q3 648 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 683 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 561 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 625 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 989 1 1 1011.1
2009 Q2 495 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 0 0 0
2008 Q4 588 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 587 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 457 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 274 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 367 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 654 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 583 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 340 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 671 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 1,265 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 942 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 398 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 160 1 0 6250.0
2005 Q3 723 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 472 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 62 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 271 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 845 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 530 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 227 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 374 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 593 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 362 3 0 8287.3
2003 Q1 25 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 171 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 646 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 844 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 0 0 0
2001 Q4 299 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 740 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 1,641 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 51 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 643 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 616 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 894 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 500 3 1 6000.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2023 · 1 incident

April 14, 2023 MT · Metal/Non-Metal outside foreman, leadman MACHINERY
Knife River Missoula · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Employee found debris on the under belt scraper of the head pulley coming out of jaw crusher (7158) and attempted to clean it without de-energizing the piece of equipment first. This resulted in the belt grabbing the 3 foot pry bar and slamming EE's hand into the scraper and framework of the under belt. This resulted in 2 broken bones in the Right arm and hand.