Mining Incidents

Saluda River Plant: 39 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Cooper Sand & Gravel Co Inc · Surface
Controlled by Steve Cooper
Belton, Greenville County, SC  ·  Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 3800577

Saluda River Plant has $6K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 6 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

Watch this mine

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at Saluda River Plant.

Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
39
citations
2
significant & substantial
$5,979
proposed penalties
$1,853
paid to date
31% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $4,126 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2001
19
inspections on record
265
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: 265 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Saluda River Plant has $6K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 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.
$6K
proposed penalties
$2K
current assessed
$2K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
25 assessments are final orders; 6 contested dockets.
Of $6K in penalties contested before the Commission, $1K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2012-08-13.
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.
8.0%
significant & substantial
28.0%
high negligence or reckless
24.0%
reasonably likely or greater
72.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 4.0% low, 68.0% moderate, 28.0% 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.
26 citations taken to the federal commission · 67% of citations on record
  • Settled 16 · 62%
  • Stood as issued 9 · 35%
  • Vacated or withdrawn 1 · 4%
43%
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 7 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
79%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$6K proposed, $1K 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 2013-07-25.
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
SE 2004-76-M Settlement Bulluck 2006 $2K → $823
SE 2004-202M Settlement Bulluck 2006 $2K → $300
SE 2007-113M Dismissal Zielinski 2007 $990 → $60
SE 2007-28M Dismissal Zielinski 2007 $740 → $120
SE 2004-90-M Dismissal Bulluck 2006 $120 → $60
SE 2013-520M Withdrawal Harner 2013 $100 → $0
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Ownership history
  1. Cooper Sand & Gravel Co Inc 1980 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2019 0
2018 0
2017 1
2016 1
2015 2
2014 2
2013 1
2012 2
2011 0
2010 2
2009 0
2008 1
2007 2
2006 2
2005 2
2003 2
2002 2
2001 1
2000 1
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Saluda River Plant sits in Greenville County, South Carolina, 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.
Greenville County, South Carolina · Population 537,575
0.0%
Mining share of county employment
$74,624
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 Q1 0 0 0
2018 Q4 0 0 0
2018 Q3 0 0 0
2018 Q2 0 0 0
2018 Q1 0 0 0
2017 Q4 0 0 0
2017 Q3 0 0 0
2017 Q2 16 0 0 0.0
Show 55 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2017 Q1 16 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 0 0 0
2016 Q3 8 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 0 0 0
2016 Q1 0 0 0
2015 Q4 0 0 0
2015 Q3 40 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 80 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 60 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 60 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 80 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 80 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 64 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 0 0 0
2013 Q3 80 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 80 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 0 0 0
2012 Q4 0 0 0
2012 Q3 88 1 0 11363.6
2012 Q2 204 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 64 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 0 1 0
2010 Q4 90 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 0 0 0
2009 Q2 0 0 0
2009 Q1 0 0 0
2008 Q4 0 0 0
2008 Q3 0 0 0
2008 Q2 90 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 162 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 180 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 162 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 160 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 0 0 0
2006 Q4 0 2 0
2006 Q3 80 10 2 125000.0
2006 Q2 90 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 390 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 32 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 100 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 174 10 0 57471.3
2003 Q3 818 14 0 17114.9
2003 Q2 784 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 874 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 424 0 0 0.0
2002 Q3 400 0 0 0.0
2002 Q2 838 1 0 1193.3
2002 Q1 318 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 0 0 0
2001 Q2 0 0 0
2001 Q1 176 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 0 0 0
2000 Q3 0 0 0
2000 Q2 352 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 304 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.