Mining Incidents

M 119: 26 MSHA citations Coal

Rockholds, Whitley County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519606

M 119 has $7K in proposed MSHA penalties and $3K outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2011
26
citations
5
significant & substantial
$7,434
proposed penalties
$4,854
paid to date
65% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $2,580 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2011
17
inspections on record
314
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: 314 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

M 119 has $7K in proposed MSHA penalties and $3K 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.
$7K
proposed penalties
$7K
current assessed
$5K
paid to date
$3K
outstanding
24 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $3K in penalties contested before the Commission, $3K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2017-11-27.
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.
20.8%
significant & substantial
16.7%
high negligence or reckless
20.8%
reasonably likely or greater
16.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 83.3% moderate, 16.7% 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.
6 citations taken to the federal commission · 23% of citations on record
  • Settled 6 · 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%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$3K proposed, $3K 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 2018-02-12.
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 2012-204 Settlement Feldman 2013 $2K → $2K
KENT 2018-0140 Settlement Lesnick 2018 $580 → $580
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at M 119 shows 100% of 19 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: 2016-08-09, 10 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
19
samples
0.71
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.
19 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • GROUNDMAN7
  • AUGER OPERATOR5
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER4

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: 2016-08-09, 10 years ago
0%
over PEL
20
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • GROUNDMAN7
  • AUGER OPERATOR5
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER4
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
2016 100% 4
2015 100% 12
2014 100% 3
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2016 0% 5
2015 0% 12
2014 0% 3
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Frasure Creek Mining, LLC 2011 to 2014
  2. Contract Highwall Mining, LLC 2014 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)
2017 2 12,327
2016 6 27,033
2015 8 87,790
2014 5 36,654
2013 0
2012 2
2011 8 4,781
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

M 119 sits in Whitley County, Kentucky, 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.
Whitley County, Kentucky · Population 36,755
0.0%
Mining share of county employment
$41,719
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
2017 Q3 4,253 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 0 0 0
2017 Q1 0 0 0
2016 Q4 0 0 0
2016 Q3 2,142 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 3,835 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 3,713 4 0 1077.3
2015 Q3 2,745 0 0 0.0
Show 13 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2015 Q2 4,128 5 0 1211.2
2015 Q1 1,357 2 0 1473.8
2014 Q4 4,880 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 922 1 1 1084.6
2014 Q2 5,969 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 0 0 0
2013 Q4 0 0 0
2013 Q3 0 0 0
2013 Q2 0 0 0
2013 Q1 0 0 0
2012 Q2 0 0 0
2012 Q1 117 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 4,085 5 3 1224.0

No reportable incidents on file.

MSHA has no recorded reportable accidents for this mine in the current dataset. New reports appear here within a week of being filed.