Mining Incidents

OAM #30: 7 MSHA citations Coal

Controlled by Matthew T Orr
Williamsburg, Whitley County, KY  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519585

OAM #30 has $839 in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 1 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 2013
7
citations
0
significant & substantial
$839
proposed penalties
$787
paid to date
94% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $52 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2011
19
inspections on record
270
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: 270 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

OAM #30 has $839 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.
$839
proposed penalties
$787
current assessed
$787
paid to date
$0
outstanding
7 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $176 in penalties contested before the Commission, $124 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2020-02-20.
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.
0.0%
significant & substantial
14.3%
high negligence or reckless
14.3%
reasonably likely or greater
14.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 14.3% low, 71.4% moderate, 14.3% 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.
1 citations taken to the federal commission · 14% of citations on record
  • Settled 1 · 100%
0%
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%
30%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$176 proposed, $124 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 2016-01-12.
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
VA 2016-0081 Settlement Lesnick 2016 $176 → $124
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at OAM #30 shows 100% of 15 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: 2020-02-20, 6 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
15
samples
0.15
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.
15 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 0 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • AUGER OPERATOR8
  • AUGER HELPER6
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE1

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: 2020-02-20, 6 years ago
7%
over PEL
14
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • AUGER HELPER7
  • AUGER OPERATOR6
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE1
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
2020 100% 2
2017 100% 3
2016 100% 3
2015 100% 4
2013 100% 2
2012 100% 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2020 0% 2
2017 0% 2
2016 0% 3
2015 25% 4
2013 0% 2
2012 0% 1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Green Hill Mining Inc 2011 to 2019
  2. Orr Auger Mining, LLC 2020 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)
2020 2 5,126
2017 2 9,774
2016 2 10,388
2015 2 6,767
2014 2 2,755
2013 1 5,127
2012 2 43,611
2011 2 7,900
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

OAM #30 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
2020 Q2 348 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 448 2 0 4464.3
2017 Q3 459 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 964 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 743 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 565 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 565 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 646 0 0 0.0
Show 19 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2016 Q1 230 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 1,122 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 429 1 0 2331.0
2015 Q2 92 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 524 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 630 1 0 1587.3
2014 Q2 358 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 146 2 0 13698.6
2013 Q4 1,124 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 0 0 0
2013 Q2 17 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 821 1 0 1218.0
2012 Q4 513 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 1,322 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 1,517 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 1,432 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 1,116 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 99 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 338 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.