Mining Incidents

Colony Bay Coal Company LLC: 1 recorded fatality operator

Controlled by Patriot Coal Corporation
MSHA operator ID: P24385

Watch this operator

Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any Colony Bay Coal Company LLC mine.

Fatalities
1
Total incidents
29
Mines on record
1
Years on record
2000–2010
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
17
citations
8
significant & substantial
$40,604
proposed penalties
$21,475
paid to date
53% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $19,129 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
38
inspections on record
1,489
inspection hours
1.1
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.
17 citations across 1,489 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.
$41K
proposed penalties
$21K
current assessed
$21K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
15 assessments are final orders; 1 contested dockets.
Of $39K in penalties contested before the Commission, $20K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2013-01-08.
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.
53.3%
significant & substantial
13.3%
high negligence or reckless
53.3%
reasonably likely or greater
26.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 13.3% low, 73.3% moderate, 13.3% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2004
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.
11.70
total case rate
11.70
days-away rate
3.899
fatality rate
Above average. The US coal mining average was 5.57 and the all-US-mining average was 4.33 cases per 100 workers.
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
2004 * 11.70 11.70 3.899
2003 * 10.60 7.95 0.000
2002 19.39 11.31 0.000
2001 * 6.10 2.03 0.000
2000 * 3.72 0.00 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.
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: 2004-05-06, 22 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
48
samples
1.27
dust max (mg/m3)
43 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 5 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR13
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER8
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE8

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2001-12-04, 24 years ago
30.4
silica avg (%)
2
samples
33.9
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR2

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: 2001-11-28, 24 years ago
0%
over PEL
5
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR1
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR1
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER1
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, 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.
2 citations taken to the federal commission · 12% of citations on record
  • Settled 2 · 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 2 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
49%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$39K proposed, $20K 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 2005-06-02. Vacated and withdrawn citations are removed from the file this view attributes through, so that outcome is slightly undercounted here.
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 operator contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, with the outcome on record.
Docket Decision Judge Year Proposed / upheld
WEVA 2005-152 Settlement Bulluck 2005 $39K → $20K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2010
1
2004
4 (1f)
2003
4
2002
14
2001
4
2000
2

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

1 recorded
February 10, 2004 WV · Coal haul/off road/coal/ore/pit/quarry/rock/rubber tire truck driver, transportation truck driver Fatality · POWERED HAULAGE
Colony Bay Coal Company · Drowning

Employee was driving a service truck down the Colony Bay access road. Just past CP-4, employee stated he lost his brakes and was the road clear. The truck apparently hit the bank at the padded pond and went along the pond road. The truck slid into the pond. Employee was under water about 2-3 minutes. He died 2/26/04.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Colony Bay Coal Company LLC stands on silica, penalties, and injury rate

MSHA's standard limits respirable silica to 50 micrograms per cubic metre, but MSHA publishes dust and quartz as separate files and never the silica figure itself. We derive it per sample, score it against the limit, and set the operator's injury rate against a benchmark built from the full MSHA operator record. With the 26-year penalty trail, contest posture, and fatality history. Delivered as a PDF with the underlying data as CSV.

The federal record itself stays free on this site. What costs money, and why.

See a sample report
Need a different cut of the data? Ask us