Little Spring Creek Mine has $131K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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Fatalities
1
Total incidents
3
Years on record
2018–2019
Latest incident
Jul 2019
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2015
24
citations
9
significant & substantial
$130,778
proposed penalties
$33,132
paid to date
25% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $97,646 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.
Rate withheld: 750 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Little Spring Creek Mine has $131K 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.
$131K
proposed penalties
$33K
current assessed
$33K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
23 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $128K in penalties contested before the Commission, $30K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2019-07-17.
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.
3citations taken to the federal commission · 13% 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 Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.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%
76%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$128K proposed, $30K 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 2020-04-20.
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 Little Spring Creek Mine shows 100% of 173 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: 2020-02-27, 6 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
173
samples
0.68
dust max (mg/m3)
0
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.
72 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 101 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.
Little Spring Creek Mine recorded 2.12 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2019.
Injury rate, 2019
ⓘ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.
2.12
total case rate
2.12
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.39 and the all-US-mining average was 2.32 cases per 100 workers.
In Alabama, coal mining averaged 2.95 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
2019 *
2.12
2.12
0.000
2018
1.72
1.72
1.723
2017 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2016 *
0.00
0.00
0.000
2015 *
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.
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)
2023
0
2020
4
2019
32
106,271
2018
42
214,863
2017
34
180,409
2016
22
114,338
2015
19
112,171
2014
10
7,316
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Little Spring Creek Mine sits in Walker County, Alabama, where the Census mining category is 3.3% 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.
Walker County, Alabama · Population 64,886
3.3%
Mining share of county employment
$54,509
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
2023 Q1
0
0
0
2020 Q4
0
0
0
2020 Q2
0
0
0
2020 Q1
14,381
0
0
0.0
2019 Q4
15,527
0
0
0.0
2019 Q3
25,121
1
0
39.8
2019 Q2
24,294
3
3
123.5
2019 Q1
29,403
0
0
0.0
Show 17 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2018 Q4
26,347
2
0
75.9
2018 Q3
31,579
0
0
0.0
2018 Q2
26,582
2
2
75.2
2018 Q1
31,597
0
0
0.0
2017 Q4
28,860
2
2
69.3
2017 Q3
30,082
3
0
99.7
2017 Q2
23,004
0
0
0.0
2017 Q1
7,230
0
0
0.0
2016 Q4
10,423
2
0
191.9
2016 Q3
17,982
0
0
0.0
2016 Q2
17,843
2
0
112.1
2016 Q1
15,491
1
0
64.6
2015 Q4
17,415
0
0
0.0
2015 Q3
13,313
5
2
375.6
2015 Q2
10,073
0
0
0.0
2015 Q1
7,675
1
0
130.3
2014 Q4
3,957
0
0
0.0
Fatalities at this mine
1 recorded
December 11, 2018AL · Coalfront-end loader, scraper-loader operator, pan operator, payloader, scraper rig operatorFatality · FALL OF FACE/RIB/PILLAR/SIDE/HIGHWALL
Employee was dismounting a dozer the employee had been working on, and while dismounting the employee had stepped onto the pusharm step and slipped off between the track and pusharm. It had some oil residue on it, but the non-skid surface and grab irons were in place.
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