Mining Incidents

Whitewater #71: 24 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal

Grand Junction, Mesa County, CO  ·  Intermittent
MSHA Mine ID: 0504796

Whitewater #71 has $3K 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
2
Years on record
2024–2026
Latest incident
Jun 2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2004
24
citations
4
significant & substantial
$3,424
proposed penalties
$3,424
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2004
32
inspections on record
389
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: 389 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.

Whitewater #71 has $3K 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.
$3K
proposed penalties
$3K
current assessed
$3K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
24 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $100 in penalties contested before the Commission, $100 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2025-01-30.
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.
16.7%
significant & substantial
4.2%
high negligence or reckless
16.7%
reasonably likely or greater
20.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 95.8% moderate, 4.2% 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 · 4% of citations on record
  • Settled 1 · 100%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$100 proposed, $100 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 2011-07-19.
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 2011-1255M Settlement Lesnick 2012 $100 → $100
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: 2025-11-06
0%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
10
samples
4
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Respirable dust, <.1mg6
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz4
Show the individual readings (10)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Occupation
2025-11-06 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2025-11-06 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2025-11-06 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.18 0.53 0.34 Crusher Oper/Worker
2024-06-11 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2022-04-19 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Crusher Oper/Worker
2022-04-19 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.22 0.43 0.51 Front-end Loader Operator
2017-06-28 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator
2017-06-28 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.59 0.61 0.97 Crusher Oper/Worker
2011-11-22 Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz 0.2 0.56 0.36 Laborer, Bullgang
2011-11-22 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 Front-end Loader Operator

Area samples (mill and shop air)

Last sampled: 2015-10-28, 10 years ago
2
samples
Show the individual readings (2)
Date Contaminant Concentration Limit Conc / limit Area sampled
2015-10-28 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 SF ORE PROCESSING
2015-10-28 Respirable dust, <.1mg 0 SF ORE PROCESSING
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. Whitewater Building Materials Corp 2004 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
Year Employees
2026 9
2025 8
2024 8
2023 8
2022 7
2021 5
2020 5
2019 6
2018 7
2017 3
2016 3
2015 2
2014 2
2013 2
2012 2
2011 2
2010 2
2009 3
2008 3
2007 3
2006 3
2005 2
2004 1
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.

Whitewater #71 sits in Mesa County, Colorado, where the Census mining category is 2.0% 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.
Mesa County, Colorado · Population 157,316
2.0%
Mining share of county employment
$71,485
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 1,713 0 0 0.0
2026 Q1 1,568 0 0 0.0
2025 Q4 1,741 0 0 0.0
2025 Q3 1,499 0 0 0.0
2025 Q2 1,241 0 0 0.0
2025 Q1 2,193 4 1 1824.0
2024 Q4 1,407 0 0 0.0
2024 Q3 1,390 0 0 0.0
Show 79 earlier quarters
Quarter Hours worked Citations S&S Per 1M hrs
2024 Q2 1,413 0 0 0.0
2024 Q1 2,359 0 0 0.0
2023 Q4 2,278 0 0 0.0
2023 Q3 1,380 0 0 0.0
2023 Q2 1,125 0 0 0.0
2023 Q1 1,916 0 0 0.0
2022 Q4 1,282 0 0 0.0
2022 Q3 720 0 0 0.0
2022 Q2 984 0 0 0.0
2022 Q1 1,757 0 0 0.0
2021 Q4 665 0 0 0.0
2021 Q3 613 0 0 0.0
2021 Q2 1,087 0 0 0.0
2021 Q1 2,294 0 0 0.0
2020 Q4 1,177 0 0 0.0
2020 Q3 537 0 0 0.0
2020 Q2 715 0 0 0.0
2020 Q1 1,298 0 0 0.0
2019 Q4 1,293 0 0 0.0
2019 Q3 672 0 0 0.0
2019 Q2 683 0 0 0.0
2019 Q1 1,750 0 0 0.0
2018 Q4 1,379 0 0 0.0
2018 Q3 973 0 0 0.0
2018 Q2 686 0 0 0.0
2018 Q1 1,693 0 0 0.0
2017 Q4 719 0 0 0.0
2017 Q3 702 0 0 0.0
2017 Q2 1,136 0 0 0.0
2017 Q1 272 0 0 0.0
2016 Q4 128 0 0 0.0
2016 Q3 272 0 0 0.0
2016 Q2 1,455 0 0 0.0
2016 Q1 352 0 0 0.0
2015 Q4 128 3 0 23437.5
2015 Q3 80 0 0 0.0
2015 Q2 128 2 0 15625.0
2015 Q1 160 0 0 0.0
2014 Q4 144 0 0 0.0
2014 Q3 96 0 0 0.0
2014 Q2 96 2 1 20833.3
2014 Q1 104 0 0 0.0
2013 Q4 103 0 0 0.0
2013 Q3 76 2 0 26315.8
2013 Q2 549 0 0 0.0
2013 Q1 443 1 0 2257.3
2012 Q4 486 0 0 0.0
2012 Q3 584 0 0 0.0
2012 Q2 529 0 0 0.0
2012 Q1 534 0 0 0.0
2011 Q4 631 4 2 6339.1
2011 Q3 546 0 0 0.0
2011 Q2 552 1 0 1811.6
2011 Q1 442 0 0 0.0
2010 Q4 437 0 0 0.0
2010 Q3 571 1 0 1751.3
2010 Q2 559 0 0 0.0
2010 Q1 450 0 0 0.0
2009 Q4 929 0 0 0.0
2009 Q3 938 0 0 0.0
2009 Q2 1,252 0 0 0.0
2009 Q1 893 0 0 0.0
2008 Q4 1,310 0 0 0.0
2008 Q3 1,316 0 0 0.0
2008 Q2 1,349 0 0 0.0
2008 Q1 1,060 0 0 0.0
2007 Q4 1,260 0 0 0.0
2007 Q2 1,515 0 0 0.0
2007 Q1 892 0 0 0.0
2006 Q4 1,050 0 0 0.0
2006 Q3 1,551 1 0 644.7
2006 Q2 1,792 0 0 0.0
2006 Q1 1,339 0 0 0.0
2005 Q4 1,480 0 0 0.0
2005 Q3 686 0 0 0.0
2005 Q2 534 0 0 0.0
2005 Q1 1,026 0 0 0.0
2004 Q4 499 2 0 4008.0
2004 Q3 561 0 0 0.0
No fatalities recorded at this mine.

Reportable incidents

2 on file

2026 · 1 incident

June 15, 2026 CO · Metal/Non-Metal maintenance man, mechanic, repair/serviceman, boilermaker, fueler, tire tech, field service tech HANDLING OF MATERIALS
Whitewater Building Materials Corp · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Miner was pulling the battery from the battery tray when the rope that was attached to the battery fully extended and "snapped up" and jerked EE's right shoulder.

2024 · 1 incident

April 29, 2024 CO · Metal/Non-Metal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON
Whitewater Building Materials Corp · Over-exertion (Not Elsewhere Classified)

The employee was working on the bucket of a skid steer and while prying on the handles, the spry bar came loose causing the employee to lose balance and fall back. When the employee fell back EE caught self / fell on EE's ankle. The employee claims there were two pops and instant swelling.