Straight Creek #3: 69 MSHA citations
Coal
Stoney Fork,
Harlan County,
KY
·
Abandoned
MSHA Mine ID: 1519259
Straight Creek #3 has $33K in proposed MSHA penalties and $2K outstanding across 2 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.
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- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 1
- Years on record
- 2008
- Latest incident
- Sep 2008
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2008
38
significant & substantial
$32,946
proposed penalties
91% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $2,809 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2008
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: 361 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Straight Creek #3 has $33K in proposed MSHA penalties and $2K 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.
67 assessments are final orders; 2 contested dockets.
Of $5K in penalties contested before the Commission, $5K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2009-07-27.
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.
56.7%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
56.7%
reasonably likely or greater
20.9%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 4.5% low, 95.5% moderate, 0.0% 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.
2
citations taken to the federal commission · 3% of citations on record
-
Settled
1 · 50%
-
Stood as issued
1 · 50%
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 2 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
9%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$5K proposed, $5K 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 2009-05-07.
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 |
| KENT 2009-1020 |
Settlement |
Melick |
2011 |
$5K → $4K |
| KENT 2009-387 |
Default |
Lesnick |
2011 |
$499 → $499 |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
MSHA sampling at Straight Creek #3 shows 98% of 57 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: 2009-08-25, 17 years ago
40 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 17 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
- BULLDOZER OPERATOR27
- REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE12
- HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER11
Silica (quartz)
Last sampled: 2009-08-11, 17 years ago
Most-sampled occupations
- BULLDOZER OPERATOR4
- HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER2
- HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR1
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: 2009-07-29, 17 years ago
Most-sampled occupations
- BULLDOZER OPERATOR7
- REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE7
- HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER4
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 |
| 2009 |
100% |
22 |
| 2008 |
97% |
35 |
Silica (quartz) by year
| Year |
silica avg (%) |
samples |
| 2009 |
27.1 |
2 |
| 2008 |
24.4 |
5 |
Noise by year
| Year |
over PEL |
samples |
| 2009 |
0% |
5 |
| 2008 |
0% |
15 |
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
Straight Creek #3 recorded 0.00 reportable injury cases per 100 full-time workers in 2009.
Injury rate, 2009
ⓘ
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.
No reportable injury cases in any year shown. Employee-hours were reported in each of those years, so these are true zeros rather than missing data. Citations, listed in the compliance record above, are inspector-found violations and are counted separately from worker injuries.
Below average. The US coal mining average was 4.16 and the all-US-mining average was 3.36 cases per 100 workers.
In Kentucky, coal mining averaged 5.04 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.
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) |
| 2009 |
23 |
275,730 |
| 2008 |
28 |
171,855 |
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Straight Creek #3 sits in Harlan County, Kentucky, where the Census mining category is 4.3% 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.
Harlan County, Kentucky · Population 26,185
4.3%
Mining share of county employment
$37,198
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 |
| 2009 Q4 |
1,520 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
| 2009 Q3 |
13,512 |
3 |
3 |
222.0 |
| 2009 Q2 |
16,719 |
4 |
1 |
239.2 |
| 2009 Q1 |
20,509 |
18 |
7 |
877.7 |
| 2008 Q4 |
20,660 |
7 |
4 |
338.8 |
| 2008 Q3 |
14,084 |
27 |
17 |
1917.1 |
No fatalities recorded at this mine.
Reportable incidents
1 on file
2008 · 1 incident
September 24, 2008
KY · Coal
bulldozer operator, universal operator, heavy equipment operator, operating engineer
MACHINERY
Robert Clear Coal Corporation · Struck against a moving object
Employee operating dozer pshing/lifting dirt rock. Rock slipped and jerked dozer causing a jar/jerking motion.