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Solvang Plant: 106 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Controlled by R G Petersen
Solvang, Santa Barbara County, CA  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 0401710

Solvang Plant has $31K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
9
Years on record
1984–2005
Latest incident
Sep 2005
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2001
106
citations
33
significant & substantial
$30,897
proposed penalties
$28,895
paid to date
94% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $2,002 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
See Buellflat Rock Co Inc's full MSHA compliance history →
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
60
inspections on record
988
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: 988 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Solvang Plant has $31K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 2 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.
$31K
proposed penalties
$29K
current assessed
$29K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
104 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $15K in penalties contested before the Commission, $13K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-05-06.
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.
31.1%
significant & substantial
17.9%
high negligence or reckless
31.1%
reasonably likely or greater
51.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 17.9% low, 64.2% moderate, 17.9% 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.
6 citations taken to the federal commission · 6% of citations on record
  • Settled 6 · 100%
100%
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 4 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
14%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$15K proposed, $13K 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 2010-06-16.
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
WEST 2010-1386M Settlement Manning 2011 $9K → $9K
WEST 2010-575M Settlement Bulluck 2011 $6K → $4K
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: 2025-03-12
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
17
samples
7
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg9
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz7
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz1
Show the individual readings (17)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2025-03-12 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2024-06-06 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2023-03-28 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2022-04-27 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2019-04-17 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Laborer, Bullgang
2015-02-04 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
2015-02-04 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Washer Operator
2012-10-31 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.13 Washer Operator
2012-10-31 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
2009-06-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.4 1 0.40 Washer Operator
2009-06-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.52 1.49 0.35 Crusher Oper/Worker
2005-08-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.16 1.74 0.09 Scraper Operator
2005-08-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.14 0.75 0.19 Crusher Oper/Worker
2005-08-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.13 0.75 0.17 Cleanup Man
2002-10-29 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.13 0.98 0.13 Crusher Oper/Worker
2002-10-29 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.15 0.62 0.24 Crusher Oper/Worker
2002-10-29 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Laborer, Bullgang
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.
Ownership history
  1. Buellflat Rock Co Inc 1950 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 7
2025 7
2024 6
2023 6
2022 6
2021 6
2020 6
2019 6
2018 6
2017 6
2016 6
2015 6
2014 5
2013 7
2012 7
2011 6
2010 5
2009 7
2008 8
2007 9
2006 9
2005 9
2004 8
2003 8
2002 7
2001 7
2000 7
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Solvang Plant sits in Santa Barbara County, California, where the Census mining category is 0.2% 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.
Santa Barbara County, California · Population 443,975
0.2%
Mining share of county employment
$95,977
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 3,136 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 3,047 0 0 0.0
2025 Q4 3,344 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 3,571 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 3,418 2 0 585.1
2025 Q1 2,754 5 0 1815.5
2024 Q4 2,064 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 2,539 0 0 0.0
Show 98 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 2,493 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 2,393 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 3,055 1 1 327.3
2023 Q3 2,628 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 2,431 1 0 411.4
2023 Q1 2,514 1 0 397.8
2022 Q4 3,073 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 3,007 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 2,792 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 3,009 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 3,237 1 0 308.9
2021 Q3 3,139 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 2,958 1 1 338.1
2021 Q1 3,117 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 3,431 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 3,152 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 2,922 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 3,096 5 1 1615.0
2019 Q4 3,254 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 3,064 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 3,048 1 0 328.1
2019 Q1 2,978 1 1 335.8
2018 Q4 3,321 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 3,086 1 0 324.0
2018 Q2 3,140 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 3,025 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 3,214 1 0 311.1
2017 Q3 3,084 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 3,159 3 0 949.7
2017 Q1 2,989 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 3,343 2 0 598.3
2016 Q3 3,098 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 2,996 1 0 333.8
2016 Q1 3,091 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 3,567 4 1 1121.4
2015 Q3 3,186 2 0 627.7
2015 Q2 3,265 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 2,622 1 0 381.4
2014 Q4 2,731 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 2,561 1 1 390.5
2014 Q2 2,561 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 3,112 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 3,088 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 3,151 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 3,003 2 2 666.0
2013 Q1 2,986 0 0 0.0
2012 Q4 3,286 4 2 1217.3
2012 Q3 3,293 2 2 607.3
2012 Q2 2,647 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 2,797 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 2,945 1 0 339.6
2011 Q3 2,270 1 0 440.5
2011 Q2 2,232 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 1,956 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 1,481 7 5 4726.5
2010 Q3 2,499 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 2,596 3 1 1155.6
2010 Q1 2,590 3 1 1158.3
2009 Q4 3,779 4 2 1058.5
2009 Q3 3,543 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 4,521 3 2 663.6
2009 Q1 3,042 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 3,492 7 4 2004.6
2008 Q3 3,712 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 3,835 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 3,294 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 3,782 2 0 528.8
2007 Q3 3,294 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 3,619 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 4,531 5 1 1103.5
2006 Q4 4,365 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 4,196 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 4,121 3 2 728.0
2006 Q1 4,065 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 4,323 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 4,511 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 4,176 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 3,668 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 3,810 3 0 787.4
2004 Q3 3,997 6 2 1501.1
2004 Q2 3,948 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 4,130 6 0 1452.8
2003 Q4 4,083 0 0 0.0
2003 Q3 4,028 1 0 248.3
2003 Q2 3,894 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 4,076 0 0 0.0
2002 Q4 3,808 1 0 262.6
2002 Q3 3,758 2 0 532.2
2002 Q2 3,646 0 0 0.0
2002 Q1 3,591 0 0 0.0
2001 Q4 3,602 0 0 0.0
2001 Q3 3,653 3 0 821.2
2001 Q2 3,734 0 0 0.0
2001 Q1 3,273 0 0 0.0
2000 Q4 3,681 0 0 0.0
2000 Q3 3,567 0 0 0.0
2000 Q2 4,014 0 0 0.0
2000 Q1 3,400 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

9 on file

2005 · 1 incident

September 16, 2005 CA · Metal/Non-Metal assayer, geologist, metallurgist, engineer, engineer management HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Buellflat Rock Co Inc · Over-exertion in lifting objects

Not known. Possibly working with belt splicing tool s or carrying hand tools up the stairs.

2004 · 1 incident

November 24, 2004 CA · Metal/Non-Metal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Buellflat Rock Co Inc · Struck by falling object

While removing the rear axle shaft from the wheel of a Caterpillar 623F Scraper, it suddenly became free knocking the worker down and landing on his left ankle, severely bruising left foot/ankle,

2000 · 1 incident

January 3, 2000 CA · Metal/Non-Metal warehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operator HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Buellflat Rock Co Inc · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

WHILE MOVING SCREEN, IT SLIPPED DOWN AND PINCHED MIDDLE FINGER ON RIGHT HAND. NOT REPORTED UNITL THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH INTERMITTENT SWELLING AND PAIN.

1987 · 1 incident

March 25, 1987 CA · Metal/Non-Metal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Buellflat Rock Co Inc · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

I.NAME IS A MEC2ANIC AND STEPPED BACKWARDS RESULTING IN TWISTING HIS KNEE

1986 · 2 incidents

July 16, 1986 CA · Metal/Non-Metal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Buellflat Rock Co Inc · Struck by... (Not Elsewhere Classified)

REPLACING A DOO9 ON CHUTE HE WAS INJURED WHILE TRYING TO FORCE THE DOOR IT SLIPPED & BROKE LITTLE FINGER

March 6, 1986 CA · Metal/Non-Metal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver POWERED HAULAGE
Buellflat Rock Co Inc · Struck against a moving object

DRIVING SOUTHBO6ND ON HWY 101 AT CONEJO GRADE SLOWING ON FREEWAY APPROACHING SCALES ROUGH PAVEMENT CAUSED TRUCK TO BOUNCE AND JAR DRIVERS BACK

1984 · 3 incidents

October 3, 1984 CA · Metal/Non-Metal bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Buellflat Rock Co Inc · Struck against stationary object

PULLING ON SCREEN AND HIT ELBOW WHEN THE SCREEN SUDDENLY CAME FREE AND HIT HIS ELBOW AGAINST SOME METAL. HE WAS THEN DOING SOME WELDING AND SLIPPED AND HIT ELBOW AGAIN

February 29, 1984 CA · Metal/Non-Metal POWERED HAULAGE
Buellflat Rock Co Inc · Struck against a moving object

DRIVING YARD TRUCK CAUSED SCOLIOSOS, BACK STRAIN INJURY QUESTIONABLE TO JOB RELATED.