Mining Incidents

Wash Plant: 41 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Northern Aggregate Inc. · Surface
Bemidji, Hubbard County, MN  ·  Intermittent
MSHA Mine ID: 2103539

Wash Plant has $7K 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 2006
41
citations
10
significant & substantial
$6,784
proposed penalties
$6,784
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2006
26
inspections on record
181
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: 181 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Wash Plant has $7K 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.
$7K
proposed penalties
$7K
current assessed
$7K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
41 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $2K in penalties contested before the Commission, $2K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-09-23.
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.
24.4%
significant & substantial
7.3%
high negligence or reckless
24.4%
reasonably likely or greater
48.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 24.4% low, 68.3% moderate, 7.3% 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.
1 citations taken to the federal commission · 2% of citations on record
  • Stood as issued 1 · 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 1 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$2K proposed, $2K 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 2014-12-03.
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
LAKE 2015-0151 Default Lesnick 2015 $2K → $2K
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: 2025-09-24
3
samples
0
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz2
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg1
Show the individual readings (3)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2025-09-24 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Washer Operator
2011-08-03 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.39 Washer Operator
2009-08-05 Unlisted Particulate, respirable, <1% Qtz 0.53 Washer 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. Northern Aggregate Inc. 2006 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 1
2025 2
2021 1
2020 1
2019 1
2018 1
2017 1
2016 2
2015 2
2014 2
2013 1
2012 1
2011 1
2010 1
2009 1
2008 1
2007 0
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Wash Plant sits in Hubbard County, Minnesota, where the Census mining category is 0.1% 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.
Hubbard County, Minnesota · Population 21,700
0.1%
Mining share of county employment
$70,622
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 255 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 0 0 0
2025 Q4 232 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 261 3 0 11494.3
2021 Q2 490 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 0 0 0
2020 Q4 444 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 173 9 1 52023.1
Show 51 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2020 Q1 0 0 0
2019 Q4 94 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 1,076 4 2 3717.5
2019 Q2 134 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 0 0 0
2018 Q4 224 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 449 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 71 4 1 56338.0
2018 Q1 0 0 0
2017 Q4 401 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 1,284 1 0 778.8
2017 Q2 938 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 0 0 0
2016 Q4 1,019 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 867 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 516 1 0 1938.0
2016 Q1 0 0 0
2015 Q4 1,083 0 0 0.0
2015 Q3 579 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 523 0 0 0.0
2015 Q1 0 0 0
2014 Q4 273 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 2,564 4 2 1560.1
2014 Q2 601 0 0 0.0
2014 Q1 0 0 0
2013 Q4 233 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 373 0 0 0.0
2013 Q2 287 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 0 0 0
2012 Q4 373 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 641 4 0 6240.2
2012 Q2 584 2 0 3424.7
2012 Q1 0 0 0
2011 Q4 393 0 0 0.0
2011 Q3 358 2 1 5586.6
2011 Q2 515 0 0 0.0
2011 Q1 0 0 0
2010 Q4 457 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 246 1 0 4065.0
2010 Q2 644 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 0 0 0
2009 Q4 157 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 676 2 2 2958.6
2009 Q2 642 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 0 0 0
2008 Q4 323 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 841 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 558 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 0 0 0
2007 Q4 0 0 0
2007 Q3 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.