Mining Incidents

No. 1: 210 MSHA citations Coal

MG Energy LLC · Underground
Controlled by Robert B Hughes
Biggs, Pike County, KY  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 1519394

No. 1 has $76K in proposed MSHA penalties and $76K outstanding across 3 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
1
Years on record
2011
Latest incident
May 2011
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2010
210
citations
59
significant & substantial
$76,412
proposed penalties
$100
paid to date
0% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $76,312 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2009
33
inspections on record
1,219
inspection hours
17.2
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.
210 citations across 1,219 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

No. 1 has $76K in proposed MSHA penalties and $76K outstanding across 3 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.
$76K
proposed penalties
$76K
current assessed
$100
paid to date
$76K
outstanding
201 assessments are final orders; 3 contested dockets.
Of $6K in penalties contested before the Commission, $6K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2012-11-15.
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.
29.4%
significant & substantial
7.0%
high negligence or reckless
29.4%
reasonably likely or greater
15.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 6.0% low, 87.1% moderate, 7.0% 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.
4 citations taken to the federal commission · 2% of citations on record
  • Stood as issued 4 · 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 4 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$6K proposed, $6K 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 2011-05-26.
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 2011-901 Default Andrews 2012 $4K → $4K
KENT 2011-1074 Default Andrews 2012 $2K → $2K
KENT 2011-1075 Default Andrews 2012 $224 → $224
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at No. 1 shows 97% of 91 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: 2012-11-19, 13 years ago
97%
within 1.5 mg/m3
91
samples
2.26
dust max (mg/m3)
44 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 47 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR44
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)9
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR6

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2012-08-29, 13 years ago
11.4
silica avg (%)
7
samples
18.2
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR3

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: 2012-11-19, 13 years ago
0%
over PEL
14
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR2
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (INTAKE SIDE)2
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)2
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
2012 97% 62
2011 96% 26
2010 100% 3
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2012 0% 8
2011 0% 6
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Sassy Coal Co., Inc. 2009 to 2010
  2. MG Energy LLC 2010 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)
2012 9 34,875
2011 8 18,840
2010 9 5,570
2009 0
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

No. 1 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
2012 Q4 2,800 7 0 2500.0
2012 Q3 3,335 19 1 5697.2
2012 Q2 3,280 18 6 5487.8
2012 Q1 3,840 15 9 3906.2
2011 Q4 960 24 8 25000.0
2011 Q3 1,440 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 1,440 41 13 28472.2
2011 Q1 3,860 35 8 9067.4
Show 3 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2010 Q4 2,370 24 7 10126.6
2010 Q3 2,304 26 7 11284.7
2009 Q2 0 0 0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

1 on file

2011 · 1 incident

May 10, 2011 KY · Coal discontinued 1/31/2014. several other codes cover scoop car operator FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
MG Energy LLC · Struck by falling object

At about 10:30am ee stated that a small piece of draw rock pushed him to the ground and hurt his neck and back. He said he was not and could not go to the emergency room. After driving his self home he called me and said his doctor said he could go.