Mining Incidents

No 2 Slope: 75 MSHA citations Coal

S & J Coal Company · Underground
Controlled by Kerry Harris
Lincoln, Schuylkill County, PA  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 3608299

No 2 Slope has $48K in proposed MSHA penalties and $10K outstanding across 6 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 2002
75
citations
31
significant & substantial
$48,270
proposed penalties
$5,364
paid to date
11% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $42,906 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2001
128
inspections on record
2,090
inspection hours
3.6
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.
75 citations across 2,090 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

No 2 Slope has $48K in proposed MSHA penalties and $10K outstanding across 6 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.
$48K
proposed penalties
$16K
current assessed
$5K
paid to date
$10K
outstanding
71 assessments are final orders; 6 contested dockets.
Of $44K in penalties contested before the Commission, $11K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2011-10-11.
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.
42.5%
significant & substantial
6.8%
high negligence or reckless
42.5%
reasonably likely or greater
13.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 9.6% low, 83.6% moderate, 6.8% 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.
17 citations taken to the federal commission · 23% of citations on record
  • Settled 6 · 35%
  • Stood as issued 11 · 65%
93%
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 15 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
74%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$44K proposed, $11K 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 2008-09-16.
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
PENN 2008-132 Settlement Feldman 2009 $42K → $9K
PENN 2006-258 Default Lesnick 2007 $1K → $1K
PENN 2008-142 Settlement Feldman 2009 $243 → $243
PENN 2008-19 Default Lesnick 2009 $200 → $200
PENN20030024 Settlement Feldman 2003 $165 → $90
PENN20020182 Settlement Barbour 2002 $110 → $50
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at No 2 Slope shows 100% of 283 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: 2011-10-11, 14 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
283
samples
1.89
dust max (mg/m3)
135 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 148 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HAND LOADERS184
  • LABORER37
  • HOIST ENGINEER/OPERATOR16

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2005-04-22, 21 years ago
2.9
silica avg (%)
4
samples
4.3
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HAND LOADERS4

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: 2011-04-19, 15 years ago
0%
over PEL
38
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • LABORER14
  • HOIST ENGINEER/OPERATOR10
  • HAND LOADERS7
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
2011 100% 43
2008 100% 5
2007 100% 46
2006 100% 43
2005 100% 41
2004 100% 46
2003 97% 32
2002 100% 27
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2005 3.1 1
2004 4.3 1
2003 2.0 1
2002 2.2 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2011 0% 4
2008 0% 4
2007 0% 14
2006 0% 3
2005 0% 4
2004 0% 7
2003 0% 2
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Little Buck Coal Company 1991 to 2010
  2. S & J Coal Company 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)
2011 4
2010 0
2009 1
2008 2 406
2007 5 3,452
2006 6 4,840
2005 5 5,827
2004 5 6,911
2003 5 4,021
2002 4 4,441
2001 4 1,313
2000 3
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

No 2 Slope sits in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, where the Census mining category is 1.1% 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.
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania · Population 143,259
1.1%
Mining share of county employment
$66,901
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
2011 Q3 1,680 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 2,160 2 0 925.9
2011 Q1 455 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 0 0 0
2009 Q4 20 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 0 0 0
2009 Q2 0 0 0
2009 Q1 60 0 0 0.0
Show 32 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2008 Q4 40 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 30 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 20 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 690 2 0 2898.6
2007 Q4 1,670 3 0 1796.4
2007 Q3 1,712 2 1 1168.2
2007 Q2 2,450 10 6 4081.6
2007 Q1 2,240 1 0 446.4
2006 Q4 2,180 1 0 458.7
2006 Q3 1,890 2 1 1058.2
2006 Q2 2,350 10 8 4255.3
2006 Q1 2,160 5 3 2314.8
2005 Q4 3,370 6 3 1780.4
2005 Q3 2,450 2 0 816.3
2005 Q2 710 5 3 7042.3
2005 Q1 1,500 1 0 666.7
2004 Q4 700 1 0 1428.6
2004 Q3 725 1 0 1379.3
2004 Q2 580 3 1 5172.4
2004 Q1 570 5 3 8771.9
2003 Q4 590 3 0 5084.7
2003 Q3 800 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 2,440 1 1 409.8
2003 Q1 1,800 2 1 1111.1
2002 Q4 1,870 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 2,120 3 0 1415.1
2002 Q2 150 2 0 13333.3
2002 Q1 960 1 0 1041.7
2001 Q4 640 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 27 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 55 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 30 0 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.