What are Upper Cedar Grove Mine No 3's MSHA penalties?

Upper Cedar Grove Mine No 3 has $33K in proposed MSHA penalties on record, with $848 currently outstanding across 11 contested dockets.

What is the respirable coal dust exposure at Upper Cedar Grove Mine No 3?

MSHA sampling at Upper Cedar Grove Mine No 3 shows 93% of 106 respirable coal dust samples met the 1.5 mg/m3 standard.

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Upper Cedar Grove Mine No 3: 162 MSHA citations Coal

Glen Alum Operations, LLC · Underground

Controlled by Joe Valis; Rufus W West

Wharncliffe, Mingo County, WV · Abandoned and Sealed

MSHA Mine ID: 4608309

Upper Cedar Grove Mine No 3 has $33K in proposed MSHA penalties and $848 outstanding across 11 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities: 0
Total incidents: 24
Years on record: 1993–2011
Latest incident: Jan 2011

Compliance record

MSHA citations since 2005

162

citations

significant & substantial

$33,226

proposed penalties

$25,396

paid to date

76% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $7,830 gap.

Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.

See Glen Alum Operations, LLC's full MSHA compliance history →

Inspection activity

MSHA inspections since 2000

inspections on record

1,543

inspection hours

10.5

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.

162 citations across 1,543 inspection hours.

Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Penalty disposition

ⓘ

Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.

$33K

proposed penalties

$26K

current assessed

$25K

paid to date

$848

outstanding

159 assessments are final orders; 11 contested dockets.

Of $22K in penalties contested before the Commission, $15K was upheld in final decisions.

As of the most recent assessment on 2011-08-15.

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.

39.6%

significant & substantial

2.5%

high negligence or reckless

39.6%

reasonably likely or greater

27.0%

permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs

Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 1.9% low, 95.6% moderate, 2.5% 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.

57 citations taken to the federal commission · 35% of citations on record

Settled 57 · 100%

98%

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 41 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%

33%

Penalty reduction in decided contests

$22K proposed, $15K 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 2011-10-27.

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
WEVA 2011-2359	Settlement	Feldman	2014	$4K → $2K
WEVA 2012-132	Settlement	Feldman	2013	$3K → $3K
WEVA 2010-1294	Settlement	Tureck	2012	$3K → $2K
WEVA 2011-1317	Settlement	Feldman	2012	$2K → $2K
WEVA 2011-639	Settlement	Tureck	2012	$2K → $1K
WEVA 2011-2400	Settlement	Feldman	2012	$2K → $1K

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.

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: 2011-06-08, 15 years ago

93%

within 1.5 mg/m3

106

samples

5.73

dust max (mg/m3)

55 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 51 by the operator.

Most-sampled occupations

CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR42
SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)7
ROOF BOLTER (SINGLE HEAD)6

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2011-06-15, 15 years ago

6.6

silica avg (%)

samples

10.1

silica max (%)

Most-sampled occupations

CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR3

See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

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: 2010-10-27, 15 years ago

over PEL

samples

Most-sampled occupations

CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR3
ELECTRICIAN3
SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)3

See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.

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
2011	81%	21
2010	96%	46
2008	100%	12
2005	94%	18
2004	100%	1
2002	100%	6
2001	100%	2

Silica (quartz) by year

Year	silica avg (%)	samples
2011	7.2	2
2010	5.4	1

Noise by year

Year	over PEL	samples
2010	0%	15
2008	0%	5

Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.

Injury rate, 2010

ⓘ

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.

16.66

total case rate

16.66

days-away rate

0.000

fatality rate

Above average. The US coal mining average was 3.96 and the all-US-mining average was 3.20 cases per 100 workers.

In West Virginia, coal mining averaged 4.50 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.

Year	total case rate	days-away	fatal
2010 *	16.66	16.66	0.000
2008 *	16.97	16.97	0.000

* Fewer than 100,000 employee-hours that year; the rate is less stable.

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

New Land Leasing Company Inc 1993 to 1993
Westview Inc 1993 to 1994
Patton Inc 1994 to 2004
Appalachian Eagle Inc 2004 to 2007
KWV Operations LLC 2007 to 2011
Glen Alum Operations, LLC 2011 to present

Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.

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)
2013	0
2012	0
2011	7	10,599
2010	10	26,315
2009	3
2008	16	10,313
2007	4
2005	8	20,634
2003	1
2002	1
2001	6	32,462
2000	2	577

Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

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.

Mingo County, West Virginia · Population 22,979

15.0%

Mining share of county employment

$39,527

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
2013 Q2	0	0	0
2013 Q1	0	0	0
2012 Q4	0	0	0
2012 Q3	0	0	0
2012 Q2	0	0	0
2012 Q1	0	0	0
2011 Q4	1,072	0	0	0.0
2011 Q2	7,226	21	7	2906.2

Show 33 earlier quarters

Quarter	Hours worked	Citations	S&S	Per 1M hrs
2011 Q1	3,813	17	8	4458.4
2010 Q4	7,762	22	10	2834.3
2010 Q3	9,967	24	6	2407.9
2010 Q2	6,159	24	15	3896.7
2010 Q1	126	0	0	0.0
2009 Q4	655	1	0	1526.7
2009 Q3	754	0	0	0.0
2009 Q2	992	0	0	0.0
2009 Q1	1,613	0	0	0.0
2008 Q4	2,347	5	0	2130.4
2008 Q3	7,651	4	1	522.8
2008 Q2	11,900	26	8	2184.9
2008 Q1	1,672	0	0	0.0
2007 Q4	750	0	0	0.0
2007 Q3	2,696	0	0	0.0
2007 Q2	0	0	0
2005 Q4	8,823	5	1	566.7
2005 Q3	7,727	8	5	1035.3
2005 Q2	0	0	0
2005 Q1	0	2	0
2003 Q1	550	0	0	0.0
2002 Q4	838	0	0	0.0
2002 Q3	572	0	0	0.0
2002 Q2	735	0	0	0.0
2002 Q1	818	0	0	0.0
2001 Q4	1,350	0	0	0.0
2001 Q3	1,554	0	0	0.0
2001 Q2	3,175	0	0	0.0
2001 Q1	2,894	0	0	0.0
2000 Q4	203	0	0	0.0
2000 Q3	323	0	0	0.0
2000 Q2	48	0	0	0.0
2000 Q1	527	0	0	0.0

No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

24 on file

2011 · 1 incident

January 11, 2011 WV · Coal drill operator HANDLING OF MATERIALS

KWV Operations LLC · Over-exertion in pulling or pushing objects

Employee was helping pull the stacker belt together when he pulled a muscle in his lower back, right side.

2010 · 2 incidents

July 14, 2010 WV · Coal lw propman, propman helper, move crew if lw, move-up man, jacksetter, advanceman lw helper FALL OF FACE/RIB/PILLAR/SIDE/HIGHWALL

KWV Operations LLC · Struck by rolling or sliding object

Employee was shoveling the tailpiece when the rib rolled off hitting his right hand.

June 4, 2010 WV · Coal roof bolter, rock bolter, pinner, mobile roof support operator (mrs) MACHINERY

KWV Operations LLC · Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Employee was bolting top in the # 5 entry, a low spot, employee stated that he slipped and his right hand went in where the scissors were on the pot. Mashed hand and pinky finger. Metacarpal Gloves were worn.