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No. 2 Contour & Auger: 130 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by James C Justice III
Herndon, Wyoming County, WV  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 4609239

No. 2 Contour & Auger has $223K in proposed MSHA penalties and $120K outstanding across 17 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Years on record
2008–2021
Latest incident
Jan 2021
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2011
130
citations
42
significant & substantial
$222,923
proposed penalties
$60,795
paid to date
27% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $162,128 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Justice Highwall Mining Inc.'s full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2011
46
inspections on record
1,018
inspection hours
12.8
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.
130 citations across 1,018 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

No. 2 Contour & Auger has $223K in proposed MSHA penalties and $120K outstanding across 17 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.
$223K
proposed penalties
$180K
current assessed
$61K
paid to date
$120K
outstanding
116 assessments are final orders; 17 contested dockets.
Of $96K in penalties contested before the Commission, $53K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2024-04-03.
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.
35.9%
significant & substantial
18.8%
high negligence or reckless
35.9%
reasonably likely or greater
40.2%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 40.2% low, 41.0% moderate, 18.8% 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.
52 citations taken to the federal commission · 40% of citations on record
  • Settled 47 · 90%
  • Stood as issued 4 · 8%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 1 · 2%
86%
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 21 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
56%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$119K proposed, $53K 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 2022-12-20.
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.
Docket Decision Judge Year Proposed / upheld
WEVA 2021-0101 Settlement Bulluck 2021 $19K → $8K
WEVA 2023-0114 Settlement Bulluck 2023 $14K → $5K
WEVA 2022-0453 Settlement Paez 2023 $13K → $4K
WEVA 2022-0452 Settlement McCarthy 2023 $11K → $10K
WEVA 2021-0539 Settlement Moran 2022 $10K → $7K
WEVA 2022-0158 Settlement Lewis 2022 $5K → $5K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at No. 2 Contour & Auger shows 98% of 42 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: 2022-07-08, 4 years ago
98%
within 1.5 mg/m3
42
samples
1.74
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.
33 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 9 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR13
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR11
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE10

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2021-07-02, 5 years ago
9.4
silica avg (%)
10
samples
29.2
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR6
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR4
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2021-06-24, 5 years ago
0%
over PEL
25
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE8
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR7
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER5
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
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
2022 100% 2
2021 100% 6
2020 100% 5
2019 94% 17
2018 100% 7
2017 100% 5
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2021 3.6 1
2020 17.4 2
2019 9.5 5
2017 4.2 2
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2021 0% 5
2020 0% 5
2019 0% 5
2018 0% 5
2017 0% 5
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

No. 2 Contour & Auger recorded 0.00 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.
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 3.39 and the all-US-mining average was 2.32 cases per 100 workers.
In West Virginia, coal mining averaged 4.51 cases per 100 workers that year.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2019 0.00 0.00 0.000
2018 0.00 0.00 0.000
2017 * 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. Justice Highwall Mining Inc 2007 to 2013
  2. West Virginia Industrial Services 2013 to 2013
  3. Justice Highwall Mining Inc. 2013 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)
2026 0
2025 0
2024 10 10,245
2023 0
2022 26 13,743
2021 45 14,810
2020 15 4,778
2019 61 236,374
2018 57 140,411
2017 23 20,164
2016 0
2015 0
2014 0
2010 0
2009 0
2008 1
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

No. 2 Contour & Auger sits in Wyoming County, West Virginia, where the Census mining category is 11.2% 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.
Wyoming County, West Virginia · Population 20,948
11.2%
Mining share of county employment
$48,038
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
2026 Q2 0 0 0
2026 Q1 0 0 0
2025 Q4 0 0 0
2025 Q3 0 0 0
2025 Q2 0 0 0
2024 Q3 296 0 0 0.0
2024 Q2 1,297 1 0 771.0
2024 Q1 11,262 0 0 0.0
Show 40 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2023 Q4 0 0 0
2023 Q3 0 0 0
2022 Q4 0 0 0
2022 Q3 8,414 6 3 713.1
2022 Q1 15,103 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 35 5 3 142857.1
2021 Q3 14,769 10 8 677.1
2020 Q4 14,121 15 6 1062.2
2020 Q2 6,603 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 0 0 0
2019 Q4 17,793 6 0 337.2
2019 Q3 22,145 7 2 316.1
2019 Q2 36,861 2 1 54.3
2019 Q1 38,099 17 3 446.2
2018 Q4 41,993 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 29,245 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 23,755 6 3 252.6
2018 Q1 30,744 17 4 553.0
2017 Q4 32,449 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 26,082 5 0 191.7
2017 Q2 0 0 0
2017 Q1 0 0 0
2016 Q4 0 0 0
2016 Q3 0 0 0
2016 Q2 0 0 0
2016 Q1 0 0 0
2015 Q4 0 0 0
2015 Q3 0 0 0
2015 Q2 0 0 0
2015 Q1 0 0 0
2014 Q4 0 0 0
2014 Q3 0 0 0
2014 Q2 0 0 0
2010 Q2 0 0 0
2010 Q1 0 0 0
2009 Q4 0 0 0
2009 Q3 0 0 0
2009 Q1 0 0 0
2008 Q4 640 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 0 0 0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2021 · 1 incident

January 11, 2021 WV · Coal FIRE
Justice Highwall Mining Inc. · Accident type, without injuries

992 G loader was loading spoil. Operator saw a fire in the engine compartment and dismounted the loader

2008 · 1 incident