Centertown, Ohio County,
KY
·
Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1519669
Lewis Creek Underground Mine has $354K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 42 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
23
Years on record
2012–2014
Latest incident
Sep 2014
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2012
526
citations
76
significant & substantial
$353,660
proposed penalties
$273,305
paid to date
77% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $80,355 gap.
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.
526 citations across 4,315 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Imminent-danger orders
ⓘA Section 107(a) order removes miners from an area when an inspector finds an imminent danger. Each order is lifted once the condition is corrected, so this counts orders issued, not orders now in effect.
1
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2012-10-24.
On record since 2012.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, updated weekly.
Lewis Creek Underground Mine has $354K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 42 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.
$354K
proposed penalties
$273K
current assessed
$273K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
513 assessments are final orders; 42 contested dockets.
Of $315K in penalties contested before the Commission, $234K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2015-03-25.
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.
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.
174citations taken to the federal commission · 33% of citations on record
Settled
172 · 99%
Vacated or withdrawn
2 · 1%
78%
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 90 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
26%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$315K proposed, $234K 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 2015-06-02.
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.
MSHA sampling at Lewis Creek Underground Mine shows 95% of 404 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: 2015-03-23, 11 years ago
95%
within 1.5 mg/m3
404
samples
3.78
dust max (mg/m3)
2
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.
213 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 191 by the operator.
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.
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.
Lewis Creek Underground Mine reported liberating 0 metric tons of methane to EPA in 2015.
Methane emissions (EPA-reported)
ⓘMethane figures are what the operator reported to EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (subpart FF), collected at facility level. Only EPA facilities that resolve to a single MSHA mine record are shown, and the CO2-equivalent applies the GWP-25 factor EPA's published data uses.
Lewis Creek Underground Mine recorded 8.23 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2014.
Injury rate, 2014
ⓘ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.
8.23
total case rate
2.47
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.96 and the all-US-mining average was 2.93 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.63 cases per 100 workers that year.
Year
total case rate
days-away
fatal
2014
8.23
2.47
0.000
2013
8.68
4.34
0.000
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.
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)
2015
31
99,250
2014
98
637,949
2013
101
618,495
2012
29
8,863
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Lewis Creek Underground Mine sits in Ohio County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 1.0% 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.
Ohio County, Kentucky · Population 23,704
1.0%
Mining share of county employment
$54,369
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
2015 Q2
3,331
0
0
0.0
2015 Q1
30,008
18
1
599.8
2014 Q4
26,044
14
2
537.6
2014 Q3
46,322
53
10
1144.2
2014 Q2
85,122
87
16
1022.1
2014 Q1
85,653
126
9
1471.1
2013 Q4
77,709
92
6
1183.9
2013 Q3
75,231
51
9
677.9
Show 4 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2013 Q2
49,251
31
4
629.4
2013 Q1
28,199
25
4
886.6
2012 Q4
18,927
10
5
528.3
2012 Q3
6,329
3
0
474.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
23 on file
2014 · 12 incidents
September 11, 2014KY · Coallaborer, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scalerHANDLING OF MATERIALS
Loading supplies on roof bolter and went to put a box of glue on bolter and felt a sharp pain in his lower back. Finished his shift and went to doctor the next day. Doctor said he had a Lumbar strain. They give him light duty until he followed up with an ORTHOPEDIC surgeon.
June 28, 2014KY · Coalmaintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service techHANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Employee was loading some supplies underground and a small piece of draw rock fell and hit his left cheek causing a cut to the cheek. After work he went to the hospital, and got it cleaned out, they put 3 stitches in.
Roof Fall in the Third West Submain, in the last open cross-cut in # 8 entry on the #2 unit. The roof fall was about 18 feet wide and about 18 feet long and 7-8 foot high.
March 12, 2014KY · Coalroof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Employee was bolting in # 3 entry, went to drill his outside hole when a piece of draw rock fell and hit his right knee, resulting in a contusion on his right knee, doctor give him 2 days light duty.
February 21, 2014KY · Coalshuttle car operator, mantrip operator, ramcar operator, rail runner, buggy operatorHANDLING OF MATERIALS
EE was working on the miner with the mechanics and picked up a flex side for the miner off of the Diesel ride, he then walked about 8ft and put in the ram car bed and then got in the car and took it to the miner. He then felt pain in his lower back on the right side. It was about an hour after picking the flex side up that he felt the pain.
February 7, 2014KY · Coalmaintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service techHANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
EE was tighten a ram car wheel with a 3/4 ratchet and socket and it slipped loose, slipped and hit his head on the edge of the ram car. He had to have stitches in his forehead above his right eye brow.
January 29, 2014KY · Coalbeltman, conveyor man, conveyor belt worker, mobile bridge carrierman, feeder operator, conveyor riderSLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
EE was working on putting in a head drive. He was on a ladder, went to climb down when he got to second step his foot slipped and he fell and strained his left knee.
January 2, 2014KY · Coalmaintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service techHANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Employee was cutting a piece of plastic conduit with a belt knife and slipped and cut right leg. He went to hospital and had to have seven stitches put in his leg. No lost time on this accident.
2013 · 10 incidents
November 25, 2013KY · Coalmaintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service techHANDLING OF MATERIALS
EE was working on miner panel, Panel slipped and fell and caught right index finger between panel and right knee causing him to cut right index finger. Had to have stitches in his finger.
September 6, 2013KY · Coalroof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Employee was tramming a Ram Car back to the Continuous Miner. The Continuous Miner has just moved to a new location between crosscuts #7 and #8 entry when the Ram Car struck the tail of the miner causing his head to strike the canopy of the Ram Car.
August 12, 2013KY · Coalroof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Employee was roof bolting in the face area of 9 entry. As he was removing his drill steels from the roof bolt hole a piece of rock fell from the mine roof striking his hard hat causing the hard hat to cut the back of his head. He received three (3) small staples to the head. This did not become a Lost Time Accident until August 15, 2013.
August 2, 2013KY · Coallaborer, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, roof trimmer/scalerHANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED)
Employee moving roof bolter from #1 entry to #2 entry after traveling over high spot on mine floor, struck his head on canopy causing pain to neck area.
May 10, 2013KY · Coalroof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)MACHINERY
Employee was tramming a roof bolter around the corner of a coal pillar into the #9 entry. As he was turning the bolter he had his left hand on the hand hold which is located underneath the canopy. The canopy cut into the corner of the coal rib causing the coal rib to strike his left hand severing his pinky finger.
April 8, 2013KY · Coalroof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)MACHINERY
The employee was roof bolting in the face area in #7 entry on the #1 unit when the suction stopped up on his side of the roof bolter. As he was cleaning it out using a small metal rod he accident struck the rotation lever causing the rod to strike his head resulting in a laceration. He received 12 small staples to the affected area of his head.
There was an unplanned roof fall in the intersection of spad no. 2+40 in the no. 4 Entry of the North Mains. The fall blocked the primary escape way and it measured approximately 19'in length, 19' in width and 10'high.
Related mines
Other mines operated by Armstrong Coal Company, Inc.