Zapata Pit: 13 MSHA citations Metal/Non-Metal
Terra Firma Materials LLC
· Surface
Controlled by
Oscar Cuellar; Nancy Cuellar Davenport
MSHA Mine ID: 4105661
Zapata Pit has $2K 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 2023
13
citations
3
significant & substantial
$1,859
proposed penalties
$1,859
paid to date
100% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $0 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2023
5
inspections on record
41
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: 41 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Zapata Pit has $2K 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.$2K
proposed penalties
$2K
current assessed
$2K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
13 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $715 in penalties contested before the Commission, $715 was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2023-01-11.
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.23.1%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
23.1%
reasonably likely or greater
15.4%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 0.0% low, 100.0% 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.
5
citations taken to the federal commission · 38% of citations on record
- Stood as issued 5 · 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
$715 proposed, $715 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 2023-04-05.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CENT 2023-0153 | Default | 2023 | $715 → $715 |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Ownership history
- Terra Firma Materials LLC 2023 to present
Source: MSHA controller and operator history, updated weekly.
Workforce and production
| Year | Employees |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 |
Source: MSHA quarterly employment and production, updated weekly.
Zapata Pit sits in Zapata County, Texas, where the Census mining category is 6.3% 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.Zapata County, Texas · Population 13,855
6.3%
Mining share of county employment
$36,527
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Q4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023 Q3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023 Q2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023 Q1 | 2,701 | 13 | 3 | 4813.0 |
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.