Mining Incidents

Lick Branch Strip: 23 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by James River Coal Company
Meta, Pike County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519332

Lick Branch Strip has $16K in proposed MSHA penalties and $211 outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

Watch this mine

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at Lick Branch Strip.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2010
Latest incident
May 2010
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2009
23
citations
13
significant & substantial
$15,903
proposed penalties
$15,615
paid to date
98% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $288 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2009
9
inspections on record
289
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: 289 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Lick Branch Strip has $16K in proposed MSHA penalties and $211 outstanding across 1 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.
$16K
proposed penalties
$16K
current assessed
$16K
paid to date
$211
outstanding
23 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $308 in penalties contested before the Commission, $231 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2010-10-28.
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.
56.5%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
56.5%
reasonably likely or greater
8.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 4.3% low, 95.7% 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.
1 citations taken to the federal commission · 4% of citations on record
  • Settled 1 · 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 1 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
25%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$308 proposed, $231 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 2010-10-27.
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 2011-148 Settlement Lesnick 2011 $308 → $231
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at Lick Branch Strip shows 100% of 25 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: 2010-10-25, 15 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
25
samples
0.38
dust max (mg/m3)
25 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE6
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR5
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER5

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: 2010-10-25, 15 years ago
0%
over PEL
13
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE4
  • ROAD GRADER OPERATOR3
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR2
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
2010 100% 15
2009 100% 10
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2010 0% 9
2009 0% 4
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Lick Branch Strip recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2010.

Injury rate, 2010
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.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
No reportable injury cases in any year shown. Employee-hours were reported in each of those years, so these are true zeros rather than missing data. Citations, listed in the compliance record above, are inspector-found violations and are counted separately from worker injuries.
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.96 and the all-US-mining average was 3.20 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 4.85 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.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2010 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2009 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
* Fewer than 100,000 employee-hours that year; the rate is less stable.
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. James River Coal Service Company 2008 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)
2011 0
2010 18 82,233
2009 21 93,723
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Lick Branch Strip sits in Pike County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 5.1% 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.
Pike County, Kentucky · Population 57,466
5.1%
Mining share of county employment
$42,179
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 0 0 0
2010 Q4 6,125 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 10,482 3 1 286.2
2010 Q2 10,522 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 13,692 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 13,125 3 2 228.6
2009 Q3 14,358 1 0 69.6
2009 Q2 13,982 1 1 71.5
Show 1 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2009 Q1 9,516 1 0 105.1
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2010 · 1 incident

May 17, 2010 KY · Coal drill operator SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
James River Coal Service Company · Fall onto or against objects

He was replacing main pumps back in the boxes to take back to the shop, when he slipped and fell from his truck bed and struck the bumper in his back. He was in pain, so had to quit working.