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Lea County Pits: 49 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by Lea County-NM
Eunice, Lea County, NM  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 2901648

Lea County Pits has $6K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 0 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
4
Years on record
1998–2013
Latest incident
May 2013
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
49
citations
4
significant & substantial
$5,547
proposed penalties
$5,547
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Lea County Road Department's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
48
inspections on record
555
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: 555 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Lea County Pits has $6K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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.
$6K
proposed penalties
$6K
current assessed
$6K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
44 assessments are final orders; 0 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-03-24.
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.
8.2%
significant & substantial
2.0%
high negligence or reckless
8.2%
reasonably likely or greater
24.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 8.2% low, 89.8% moderate, 2.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, 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: 2022-09-15, 3 years ago
10
samples
0
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg10
Show the individual readings (10)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2022-09-15 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Bulldozer Operator
2022-09-15 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2022-09-15 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2010-03-30 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2010-03-30 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Bulldozer Operator
2005-11-02 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2005-11-02 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
2005-11-02 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Utility Man
2000-08-22 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2000-08-22 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
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. Lea County Road Department 1950 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 4
2025 3
2024 4
2023 4
2022 4
2021 3
2020 3
2019 2
2018 3
2017 3
2016 3
2015 3
2014 3
2013 3
2012 5
2011 2
2010 4
2009 4
2008 3
2007 2
2006 3
2005 3
2004 2
2003 3
2002 3
2001 3
2000 3
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Lea County Pits sits in Lea County, New Mexico, where the Census mining category is 16.0% 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.
Lea County, New Mexico · Population 73,154
16.0%
Mining share of county employment
$68,750
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 1,760 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 1,450 6 1 4137.9
2025 Q4 1,340 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 1,450 2 0 1379.3
2025 Q2 850 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 1,208 4 1 3311.3
2024 Q4 1,520 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 1,051 3 0 2854.4
Show 98 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 640 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 1,610 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 840 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 220 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 1,300 3 0 2307.7
2023 Q1 1,920 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 1,620 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 1,740 1 0 574.7
2022 Q2 1,030 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 1,460 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 1,240 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 630 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 101 8 1 79207.9
2021 Q1 980 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 460 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 786 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 676 6 0 8875.7
2020 Q1 841 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 790 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 205 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 270 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 620 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 1,150 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 1,430 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 1,340 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 1,350 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 1,275 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 1,122 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 1,080 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 960 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 920 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 1,050 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 1,285 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 1,383 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 1,028 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 1,355 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 1,330 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 1,350 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 1,080 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 971 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 1,457 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 1,280 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 1,415 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 1,440 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 1,140 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 1,270 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 840 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 2,888 2 0 692.5
2012 Q2 2,180 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 2,570 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 1,824 1 0 548.2
2011 Q3 630 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 683 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 384 1 0 2604.2
2010 Q4 338 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 196 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 796 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 760 2 0 2631.6
2009 Q4 584 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 1,029 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 342 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 898 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 908 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 750 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 802 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 1,132 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 575 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 269 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 143 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 332 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 136 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 141 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 338 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 307 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 293 1 0 3413.0
2005 Q3 109 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 282 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 185 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 331 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 467 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 687 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 1,225 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 760 2 1 2631.6
2003 Q3 650 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 825 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 1,278 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 1,205 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 1,090 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 783 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 665 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 180 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 876 2 0 2283.1
2001 Q2 180 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 1,180 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 917 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 754 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 1,210 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 1,010 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

4 on file

2013 · 2 incidents

May 7, 2013 NM · Metal/Non-Metal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer MACHINERY
Lea County Road Department · Struck against a moving object

Operating the dozer at the site, while backing, hit something that jared the dozer and pulled a muscle in back.

April 15, 2013 NM · Metal/Non-Metal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Lea County Road Department · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

While removing a rock from the walkway and putting it back onto the screening area, the rock bounced back and smashed his finger on the right hand against the side of the screen. The screen was not in operation.

1998 · 2 incidents

March 30, 1998 NM · Metal/Non-Metal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer MACHINERY
Lea County Road Department · Struck by falling object

EE CRAWLED ONTO THE AXLES OF THE CONVEYOR AND BEGAN JUMPING UP AND DOWN TO TRY AND FREE THE POLES. HE WAS HIT ON TOP OF THE HEAD WITH THE CONVEYOR.

March 30, 1998 NM · Metal/Non-Metal belt foreman, maintenance foreman, maintenance supervisor MACHINERY
Lea County Road Department · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

EE CRAWLED ONTO THE AXLES OF THE CONVEYOR AND BEGAN JUMPING UP AND DOWN TO TRY AND FREE THE POLES.THE CONVEYOR FELL ON EE CAUSING MULTIPLE BONE FRACTURES TO HIS RIGHT LEG, BONE HIP, BONE ANKEL AND SKULL JAW RIBS. RIGHT LUNG TO BE PUNCTURED