ORCHARD BRANCH OWL MINE has $65K in proposed MSHA penalties and $30K outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
11
Years on record
2023–2026
Latest incident
Apr 2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2023
195
citations
39
significant & substantial
$65,383
proposed penalties
$35,380
paid to date
54% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $30,003 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2019
49
inspections on record
3,632
inspection hours
5.4
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.
195 citations across 3,632 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
ORCHARD BRANCH OWL MINE has $65K in proposed MSHA penalties and $30K 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.
$65K
proposed penalties
$65K
current assessed
$35K
paid to date
$30K
outstanding
186 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-05-05.
Source: MSHA assessed-violations and conference/litigation data, updated weekly.
MSHA sampling at ORCHARD BRANCH OWL MINE shows respirable coal dust averaging 0.43 mg/m3 (100% compliant) across 820 samples.
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.
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
2025 Q4
32,798
14
0
426.9
2025 Q3
31,391
7
0
223.0
2025 Q2
27,887
5
0
179.3
2025 Q1
49,492
13
1
262.7
2024 Q4
44,587
17
4
381.3
2024 Q3
55,493
29
4
522.6
2024 Q2
38,274
14
4
365.8
2024 Q1
11,454
18
4
1571.5
Show 15 earlier quartersHide earlier quarters
Quarter
Hours worked
Citations
S&S
Per 1M hrs
2023 Q4
22,112
22
5
994.9
2023 Q3
20,194
21
8
1039.9
2023 Q2
13,603
15
5
1102.7
2022 Q3
0
0
0
2022 Q2
0
0
0
2022 Q1
0
0
0
2021 Q4
0
0
0
2021 Q3
0
0
0
2021 Q2
0
0
0
2021 Q1
0
0
0
2020 Q4
0
0
0
2020 Q3
0
0
0
2020 Q2
0
0
0
2020 Q1
0
0
0
2019 Q4
0
0
0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
11 on file
2026 · 2 incidents
April 13, 2026KY · Coalroof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Employee was setting conveyor tail piece and was placing a crib block under the leg of the tail piece when the tail piece shifted and pinched the employees left thumb. The injury required 3 stitches to close wound.
Employee was traveling down decline from the portals to the shop area of the underground mine when a mechanical failure occurred in the rear end of the battery personnel carrier EE was operating, which caused excessive speed before overturning the battery powered personnel carrier.
2025 · 2 incidents
April 1, 2025KY · Coalshuttle car operator, mantrip operator, ramcar operator, rail runner, buggy operatorHANDLING OF MATERIALS
Employee was moving a piece of rock from a shuttle car. Employee was swinging the rock when their hand made contact with the canopy of the shuttle car causing the rock to cut their hand just below right hand. 5 stitches to close the wound.
February 25, 2025KY · Coalroof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)MACHINERY
Employee was installing rib bolts and placed hand on canopy while raising and crushed EE's left pinky between the canopy and a cable bolt head. This injury resulted in stitches and compound fracture of the tip of EE's finger.
2024 · 6 incidents
December 28, 2024KY · Coalroof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)MACHINERY
Employee was bolting top and was attempting get drill still out of hole and a piece of sharp rock fell from around the drill hole and cut their forearm. Employee received 4 stitches to close wound.
September 23, 2024KY · Coalroof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs)FALL OF ROOF OR BACK
Employee was installing rib bolt, was inserting glue into hole when a piece of sharp draw rock fell from mine roof striking employee's left hand causing a laceration and fracture.
EE was loading supplies on a roof bolting machine, when a piece of rock fell from the rib (44inches long, 8 inches wide and 6 inches thick) striking EE on the right leg resulting in a laceration and 3 fractures to the lower leg (below EE's knee).
August 21, 2024KY · Coalsection foreman, bullgang foreman, labor foreman, leadman, shift bossSLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Employee stated that they slipped on slick mine floor while working on belt structure and stuck the tip of a pick hammer into their leg. The injury required 2 stitches to close wound.
While dumping SC a rock in road hit side of SC & cut ring finger off.
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
The full compliance file on ORCHARD BRANCH OWL MINE
A dated report covering the 26-year penalty trail, line-item violation pattern, contest and
docket posture, rate-normalized peer benchmark, and full fatality history. Delivered as a PDF
with the underlying data as CSV.