Mining Incidents

Valley Sand & Gravel (Portable): 87 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Valley Excavating Sand & Gravel LLC · Surface
Controlled by Larry K Smith
Helena, Lewis And Clark County, MT  ·  Active
MSHA Mine ID: 2402271

Valley Sand & Gravel (Portable) has $14K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 1 contested dockets, plus health sampling and the full incident record.

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
0
Years on record
Latest incident
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2003
87
citations
19
significant & substantial
$13,955
proposed penalties
$13,955
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2002
33
inspections on record
429
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: 429 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Imminent-danger orders
A Section 107(a) order removes miners from an area when an inspector finds an imminent danger. Each order is lifted once the condition is corrected, so this counts orders issued, not orders now in effect.
1
Section 107(a) orders
Most recent order: 2011-06-24.
On record since 2011.
Source: MSHA imminent-danger order records, updated weekly.

Valley Sand & Gravel (Portable) has $14K in proposed MSHA penalties and $0 outstanding across 1 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.
$14K
proposed penalties
$14K
current assessed
$14K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
86 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $240 in penalties contested before the Commission, $240 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-04-22.
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.
22.1%
significant & substantial
3.5%
high negligence or reckless
22.1%
reasonably likely or greater
43.0%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 15.1% low, 81.4% moderate, 3.5% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
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 2004-128-M Dismissal Lesnick 2004 $240 → $240
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: 2025-04-22
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
11
samples
5
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz5
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg3
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz3
Show the individual readings (11)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2025-04-22 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.36 0.65 0.55 Front-end Loader Operator
2021-11-10 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Supervisor, Co. Official
2021-11-10 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2018-09-06 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2014-05-29 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.16 Front-end Loader Operator
2007-05-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.21 0.96 0.22 Front-end Loader Operator
2007-05-02 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.26 1.75 0.15 Crusher Oper/Worker
2007-05-02 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.24 Front-end Loader Operator
2005-10-26 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.44 2.09 0.21 Crusher Oper/Worker
2005-10-26 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.24 1.43 0.17 Front-end Loader Operator
2003-10-16 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.15 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.
Ownership history
  1. Valley Excavation, Sand & Gravel 2002 to 2008
  2. Valley Excavating Sand & Gravel LLC 2008 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 5
2025 4
2024 5
2023 4
2022 3
2021 3
2020 3
2019 2
2018 3
2017 3
2016 3
2015 3
2014 3
2013 3
2012 3
2011 3
2010 3
2009 3
2008 3
2007 4
2006 4
2005 2
2004 3
2003 3
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Valley Sand & Gravel (Portable) sits in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, where the Census mining category is 1.0% 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.
Lewis and Clark County, Montana · Population 72,580
1.0%
Mining share of county employment
$74,543
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 1,510 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 810 0 0 0.0
2025 Q4 1,360 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 1,510 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 1,370 1 0 729.9
2025 Q1 810 0 0 0.0
2024 Q4 1,320 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 1,265 0 0 0.0
Show 86 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 1,210 1 0 826.4
2024 Q1 970 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 720 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 670 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 910 3 0 3296.7
2023 Q1 410 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 0 0 0
2022 Q3 380 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 260 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 104 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 1,810 2 1 1105.0
2021 Q3 920 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 335 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 0 0 0
2020 Q4 320 2 0 6250.0
2020 Q3 350 2 0 5714.3
2020 Q2 3,000 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 0 0 0
2019 Q4 270 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 400 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 286 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 0 0 0
2018 Q4 285 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 450 4 0 8888.9
2018 Q2 344 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 16 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 249 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 468 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 331 2 0 6042.3
2017 Q1 2 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 305 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 466 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 376 10 2 26595.7
2016 Q1 2 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 301 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 475 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 356 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 44 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 339 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 536 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 342 2 1 5848.0
2014 Q1 2 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 347 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 845 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 401 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 180 9 0 50000.0
2012 Q4 408 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 1,018 1 0 982.3
2012 Q2 630 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 378 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 772 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 996 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 588 6 2 10204.1
2011 Q1 389 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 798 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 1,158 0 0 0.0
2010 Q2 575 2 0 3478.3
2010 Q1 420 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 683 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 1,337 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 565 7 2 12389.4
2009 Q1 111 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 753 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 1,072 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 1,437 6 3 4175.4
2008 Q1 1,209 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 2,834 0 0 0.0
2007 Q3 1,362 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 1,578 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 1,276 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 655 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 1,144 0 0 0.0
2006 Q2 1,324 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 796 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 786 5 1 6361.3
2005 Q3 310 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 566 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 6 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 249 12 5 48192.8
2004 Q3 477 0 0 0.0
2004 Q2 679 0 0 0.0
2004 Q1 357 0 0 0.0
2003 Q4 403 10 2 24813.9
2003 Q3 1,102 0 0 0.0
2003 Q2 884 0 0 0.0
2003 Q1 337 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.