Mining Incidents

Merrill Pit: 15 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by Park County-CO
Jefferson, Park County, CO  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 0504597

Merrill Pit has $2K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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 Merrill Pit.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2003
15
citations
4
significant & substantial
$1,772
proposed penalties
$1,772
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
30
inspections on record
196
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: 196 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Merrill Pit has $2K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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.
$2K
proposed penalties
$2K
current assessed
$2K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
15 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $180 in penalties contested before the Commission, $180 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2024-08-14.
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.
26.7%
significant & substantial
6.7%
high negligence or reckless
26.7%
reasonably likely or greater
33.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 93.3% moderate, 6.7% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
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
WEST 2005-40M Dismissal Lesnick 2005 $180 → $180
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Park County Road & Bridge 1997 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2022 7
2021 6
2020 11
2019 0
2018 1
2017 1
2016 8
2015 2
2014 3
2013 1
2012 3
2011 2
2010 4
2009 4
2007 3
2006 0
2005 1
2004 0
2003 2
2002 5
2001 0
2000 1
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Merrill Pit sits in Park County, Colorado, where the Census mining category is 0.7% 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.
Park County, Colorado · Population 17,739
0.7%
Mining share of county employment
$95,450
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
2022 Q3 355 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 754 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 273 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 133 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 0 0 0
2020 Q4 189 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 180 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 0 0 0
Show 69 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2018 Q4 0 0 0
2018 Q3 2 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 0 0 0
2018 Q1 2 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 3 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 0 0 0
2017 Q2 5 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 3 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 183 2 0 10929.0
2016 Q3 15 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 300 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 38 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 10 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 8 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 6 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 36 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 36 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 108 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 108 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 24 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 1,920 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 0 0 0
2013 Q2 0 1 0
2013 Q1 0 0 0
2012 Q4 306 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 2 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 75 1 0 13333.3
2012 Q1 34 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 50 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 2 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 2 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 3 1 0 333333.3
2010 Q4 202 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 21 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 320 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 20 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 190 2 2 10526.3
2009 Q3 10 3 2 300000.0
2009 Q2 418 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 250 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 0 0 0
2007 Q1 76 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 0 0 0
2006 Q3 0 0 0
2006 Q2 0 0 0
2006 Q1 0 0 0
2005 Q4 0 0 0
2005 Q3 0 0 0
2005 Q2 0 0 0
2005 Q1 233 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 0 0 0
2004 Q3 0 1 0
2004 Q2 0 0 0
2004 Q1 0 0 0
2003 Q4 60 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 150 2 0 13333.3
2003 Q2 200 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 0 0 0
2002 Q4 568 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 203 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 176 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 758 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 0 0 0
2001 Q2 0 0 0
2001 Q1 0 0 0
2000 Q4 149 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 0 0 0
2000 Q2 60 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 0 0 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.