Mining Incidents

Portable Crushing Plant #6: 209 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Alamosa, Kiowa County, CO  ·  Intermittent
MSHA Mine ID: 2902222

Portable Crushing Plant #6 has $87K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 15 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
4
Years on record
2003–2004
Latest incident
May 2004
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
209
citations
70
significant & substantial
$87,075
proposed penalties
$65,380
paid to date
75% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $21,695 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2002
56
inspections on record
812
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: 812 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Portable Crushing Plant #6 has $87K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 15 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.
$87K
proposed penalties
$65K
current assessed
$65K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
209 assessments are final orders; 15 contested dockets.
Of $78K in penalties contested before the Commission, $53K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-03-10.
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.
33.5%
significant & substantial
24.9%
high negligence or reckless
37.3%
reasonably likely or greater
54.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.5% none, 9.1% low, 65.6% moderate, 24.9% 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.
118 citations taken to the federal commission · 56% of citations on record
  • Settled 107 · 91%
  • Stood as issued 3 · 3%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 8 · 7%
91%
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 53 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
25%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$68K proposed, $51K 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 2018-06-06.
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
CENT 2018-0331 Settlement Miller 2018 $18K → $12K
CENT 2018-0217 Settlement Miller 2018 $11K → $8K
CENT 2016-0464 Settlement Lesnick 2017 $9K → $8K
CENT 2008-137M Settlement Zielinski 2008 $8K → $5K
CENT 2013-719M Settlement Miller 2014 $6K → $5K
CENT20030201M Settlement Manning 2004 $5K → $330
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
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.

Metal and nonmetal contaminants (personal samples)
Many samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.

Last sampled: 2013-08-21, 13 years ago
46%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
13
samples
13
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz136 over
Show the individual readings (13)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2013-07-09 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.99 0.72 1.38 Crusher Oper/Worker
2013-07-09 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.9 0.88 1.02 Front-end Loader Operator
2008-11-20 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.44 0.38 1.16 Laborer, Bullgang
2008-09-24 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 1.49 0.81 1.84 Front-end Loader Operator
2008-09-24 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 1.14 0.4 2.85 Front-end Loader Operator
2008-09-24 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 2.2 0.33 6.67 Laborer, Bullgang
2013-08-21 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.5 0.51 0.98 Crusher Oper/Worker
2010-08-11 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.33 1.12 0.29 Front-end Loader Operator
2010-08-11 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.46 1.28 0.36 Laborer, Bullgang
2010-08-11 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 1.23 1.62 0.76 Front-end Loader Operator
2010-08-11 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.45 1.35 0.33 Crusher Oper/Worker
2008-11-25 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.54 0.92 0.59 Front-end Loader Operator
2008-11-25 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.26 0.39 0.67 Front-end Loader Operator
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly. Metal/nonmetal contaminant figures come from MSHA's Personal Health Samples and Area Samples files (public record), updated weekly.

Portable Crushing Plant #6 recorded 8.46 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2003.

Injury rate, 2003
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.
8.46
total case rate
8.46
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 3.76 and the all-US-mining average was 4.43 cases per 100 workers.
In Colorado, metal and nonmetal mining averaged 5.53 cases per 100 workers that year.
Under 100,000 employee-hours were reported that year, so a single case moves the rate by two or more. Read the figure as approximate.
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. Southway Construction Company Inc 2001 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 5
2025 5
2018 8
2017 8
2016 5
2015 6
2014 3
2013 5
2012 5
2011 4
2010 5
2009 5
2008 5
2007 8
2006 5
2005 10
2004 9
2003 13
2002 11
2001 10
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Portable Crushing Plant #6 sits in Kiowa County, Colorado, where the Census mining category is 0.6% 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.
Kiowa County, Colorado · Population 1,356
0.6%
Mining share of county employment
$56,389
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 2,001 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 375 1 1 2666.7
2025 Q4 137 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 970 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 942 10 3 10615.7
2018 Q2 4,479 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 5,044 18 7 3568.6
2017 Q4 4,236 1 1 236.1
Show 64 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2017 Q3 4,403 23 12 5223.7
2017 Q2 5,721 8 3 1398.4
2017 Q1 4,041 1 0 247.5
2016 Q3 2,496 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 1,846 15 4 8125.7
2016 Q1 1,089 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 57 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 2,976 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 870 20 9 22988.5
2015 Q1 4,476 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 1,843 3 1 1627.8
2014 Q3 2,123 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 586 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 0 0 0
2013 Q4 1,442 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 2,669 6 1 2248.0
2013 Q2 2,692 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 2,486 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 2,075 5 0 2409.6
2012 Q3 1,579 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 1,916 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 598 15 8 25083.6
2011 Q4 2,261 1 0 442.3
2011 Q3 1,766 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 1,548 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 1,354 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 2,369 1 1 422.1
2010 Q3 3,157 5 2 1583.8
2010 Q2 2,533 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 3,423 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 529 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 3,726 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 1,525 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 2,079 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 3,188 11 4 3450.4
2008 Q3 2,813 3 0 1066.5
2008 Q2 2,448 3 2 1225.5
2008 Q1 3,025 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 2,447 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 3,242 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 3,606 1 0 277.3
2007 Q1 2,256 13 2 5762.4
2006 Q4 1,761 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 0 0 0
2006 Q2 3,969 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 2,656 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 2,243 6 0 2675.0
2005 Q3 1,975 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 3,346 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 3,557 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 2,780 0 0 0.0
2004 Q3 3,459 2 0 578.2
2004 Q2 4,527 7 0 1546.3
2004 Q1 4,249 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 5,552 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 8,433 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 5,313 13 4 2446.8
2003 Q1 4,351 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 4,869 9 0 1848.4
2002 Q3 5,675 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 4,929 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 4,370 8 5 1830.7
2001 Q4 4,930 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 6,337 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

4 on file

2004 · 1 incident

2003 · 3 incidents

June 14, 2003 CO · Metal/Non-Metal miner, nec HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Southway Construction Company Inc · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EE WAS HELPING CO-WORKER PUT ON A PATCH ON THE PRIMARY CRUSHER. THEY GOT READY TO MOVE THE BELT SO AS TO GET TO THE OUTER CLIPS. CO-WORKER TOLDEE AND OTHER EE'S TO WATCH OUT HE WAS GOING TO BUMP THE CONVEYOR. EE THOUGHT HE SAID TO PULL THE BELT BY HAND. WHEN CO-WORKER HIT THE BUTTON, EE GRABBED THE BELT AND THE BELT BROKE HIS RT. FINGER AND CUT HIS OTHER FINGER.

March 24, 2003 CO · Metal/Non-Metal
Southway Construction Company Inc · Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EE WAS SHOVELING UNDER THE JCI SCREEN HE SAID HEHIT THE BELT WITH THE SHOVEL & THE RETURN ROLLERGOT THE SHOVEL, SO HE TRIED TO GRAB THE SHOVEL &GOT HIS HAND CAUGHT IN THE RET ROLLER & PUT LEFT ARM UP AGAINST THE BELT TO PULL HIS HAND OUT, & GOT BELT BURNS ON LEFT HAND & ARM