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OMM: 260 MSHA citations Coal

Estep Coal Company Inc · Underground
Controlled by James Wayne Estep
McClure, Dickenson County, VA  ·  Abandoned and Sealed
MSHA Mine ID: 4407306

OMM has $115K in proposed MSHA penalties and $45K outstanding across 4 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
260
citations
78
significant & substantial
$114,870
proposed penalties
$66,812
paid to date
58% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $48,058 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Estep Coal Company Inc's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2013
65
inspections on record
2,364
inspection hours
11.0
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.
260 citations across 2,364 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

OMM has $115K in proposed MSHA penalties and $45K outstanding across 4 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.
$115K
proposed penalties
$112K
current assessed
$67K
paid to date
$45K
outstanding
253 assessments are final orders; 4 contested dockets.
Of $7K in penalties contested before the Commission, $4K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2019-11-13.
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.
30.8%
significant & substantial
14.2%
high negligence or reckless
30.8%
reasonably likely or greater
39.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 8.3% low, 77.5% moderate, 14.2% 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.
6 citations taken to the federal commission · 2% of citations on record
  • Settled 6 · 100%
60%
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 5 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
47%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$7K proposed, $4K 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 2019-10-09.
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 2020-0003 Settlement 2020 $3K → $2K
VA 2019-0071 Settlement Paez 2019 $2K → $330
VA 2019-0072 Settlement Paez 2019 $1K → $1K
VA 2019-0076 Settlement Paez 2019 $196 → $137
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

MSHA sampling at OMM shows 99% of 301 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: 2019-11-11, 6 years ago
99%
within 1.5 mg/m3
301
samples
1.99
dust max (mg/m3)
1
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.
84 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 217 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR116
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)74
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)20

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2019-08-05, 7 years ago
6.5
silica avg (%)
20
samples
12.8
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR11
  • ROOF BOLTER (TWIN HEAD) (RETURN SIDE)9
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: 2019-01-09, 7 years ago
0%
over PEL
23
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR3
  • SECTION FOREMAN3
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)3
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
2019 100% 117
2018 100% 86
2017 98% 91
2016 100% 7
Silica (quartz) by year
Year silica avg (%) samples
2019 5.3 4
2018 6.5 6
2017 7.0 9
2016 5.7 1
Noise by year
Year over PEL samples
2019 0% 1
2018 0% 6
2017 0% 16
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Dickenson Russell Coal Company, LLC 2013 to 2013
  2. Estep Coal Company 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)
2019 15 68,687
2018 3 41,228
2017 15 76,093
2016 8 10,000
2015 0
2014 0
2013 0
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

OMM sits in Dickenson County, Virginia, where the Census mining category is 9.8% 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.
Dickenson County, Virginia · Population 13,920
9.8%
Mining share of county employment
$43,831
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
2019 Q2 7,931 13 2 1639.1
2019 Q1 7,275 23 5 3161.5
2018 Q4 1,374 27 9 19650.7
2018 Q3 0 18 8
2018 Q2 0 14 6
2017 Q4 6,141 21 2 3419.6
2017 Q3 6,944 12 4 1728.1
2017 Q2 8,263 18 5 2178.4
Show 9 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2016 Q4 3,886 22 5 5661.3
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 Q1 0 0 0
2013 Q4 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.