Mining Incidents

Knife River Portable Plant #2: 22 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by MDU Resources Group Inc
Decorah, Woodbury County, IA  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1302184

Knife River Portable Plant #2 has $2K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
1995–2009
Latest incident
May 2009
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
22
citations
2
significant & substantial
$1,606
proposed penalties
$1,542
paid to date
96% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $64 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
22
inspections on record
171
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: 171 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Knife River Portable Plant #2 has $2K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 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.
$2K
proposed penalties
$2K
current assessed
$2K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
22 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $576 in penalties contested before the Commission, $212 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2010-07-22.
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.
9.1%
significant & substantial
4.5%
high negligence or reckless
9.1%
reasonably likely or greater
72.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 13.6% low, 81.8% moderate, 4.5% 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.
5 citations taken to the federal commission · 23% of citations on record
  • Settled 1 · 20%
  • Stood as issued 1 · 20%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 3 · 60%
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 1 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
63%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$576 proposed, $212 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 2010-09-30.
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
CENT 2011-1M Vacate Lesnick 2011 $400 → $100
CENT 2010-291M Settlement Bulluck 2011 $176 → $112
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Becker Gravel Company Inc 1991 to 2004
  2. Knife River Midwest LLC 2004 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2011 1
2010 4
2009 3
2008 4
2007 6
2006 6
2005 6
2004 7
2003 7
2002 7
2001 8
2000 7
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Knife River Portable Plant #2 sits in Woodbury County, Iowa, where the Census mining category is 0.0% 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.
Woodbury County, Iowa · Population 105,760
0.0%
Mining share of county employment
$70,147
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
2011 Q1 1 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 1,739 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 2,217 1 0 451.1
2010 Q2 1,567 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 1 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 994 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 1,872 3 2 1602.6
2009 Q2 2,092 0 0 0.0
Show 37 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2009 Q1 0 0 0
2008 Q4 1,092 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 2,029 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 1,220 2 0 1639.3
2008 Q1 0 0 0
2007 Q4 2,983 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 1,564 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 2,274 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 2,080 4 0 1923.1
2006 Q4 2,752 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 2,051 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 3,720 1 0 268.8
2006 Q1 1,247 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 576 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 3,397 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 4,042 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 602 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 2,107 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 3,074 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 4,128 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 2,322 1 0 430.7
2003 Q4 3,483 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 4,128 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 2,890 4 0 1384.1
2003 Q1 1,806 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 2,838 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 2,408 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 4,128 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 1,806 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 1,161 3 0 2584.0
2001 Q3 5,224 0 0 0.0
2001 Q2 6,644 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 3,483 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 1,806 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 4,128 3 0 726.7
2000 Q2 3,483 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 3,483 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2009 · 1 incident

May 14, 2009 IA · Metal/Non-Metal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Knife River Midwest LLC · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

Dislodging a large stone from the crusher jaw. Metal pry bar that was being used, kicked back and pinched finger between the pry bar and metal frame of machine.

1995 · 1 incident

June 8, 1995 IA · Metal/Non-Metal warehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operator POWERED HAULAGE
Becker Gravel Company Inc · Caught in, under or between running or meshing objects

EMPLOYEE WAS ADJUSTING THE BELT ON THE ROCK CRUSHER CONVEYOR AND APPARENTLY CAUGHT HAND IN PULLEY THEN ARM WAS PULLED INTO MOVING PARTS, CAUSING LOSS OF LEFT ARM.