Mountaintop Coal Mining Inc: 41 MSHA citations operator
Controlled by
William C Vought
MSHA operator ID: P24630
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- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 2
- Mines on record
- 1
- Years on record
- 2004–2005
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
41
citations
8
significant & substantial
$5,897
proposed penalties
$4,712
paid to date
80% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $1,185 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2001
72
inspections on record
1,887
inspection hours
2.2
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.41 citations across 1,887 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.$6K
proposed penalties
$5K
current assessed
$5K
paid to date
$1
outstanding
40 assessments are final orders; 4 contested dockets.
Of $3K in penalties contested before the Commission, $1K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2020-04-03.
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.20.0%
significant & substantial
0.0%
high negligence or reckless
20.0%
reasonably likely or greater
17.5%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 60.0% low, 40.0% moderate, 0.0% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, 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.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: 2019-10-09, 6 years ago
ⓘ
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.98%
within 1.5 mg/m3
98
samples
2.90
dust max (mg/m3)
0
over MSHA ECV
ⓘ
The excessive concentration value (ECV) is MSHA's own per-sample enforcement threshold, which builds in measurement uncertainty; a sample over its ECV can trigger a citation. The count covers only samples MSHA assigned an ECV.94 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 4 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
- CRANE OPER/DRAGLINE OPERATOR46
- MECHANIC13
- BULLDOZER OPERATOR10
Silica (quartz)
Last sampled: 2007-11-15, 18 years ago25.7
silica avg (%)
4
samples
32.8
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
- BULLDOZER OPERATOR4
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: 2020-05-05, 6 years ago
ⓘ
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.1%
over PEL
74
samples
Most-sampled occupations
- CRANE OPER/DRAGLINE OPERATOR37
- MECHANIC11
- HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER7
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.
4
citations taken to the federal commission · 10% of citations on record
- Settled 3 · 75%
- Stood as issued 1 · 25%
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 3 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
26%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$326 proposed, $242 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 2009-07-28. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PENN 2004-212 | Settlement | Zielinski | 2005 | $2K → $1K |
| PENN 2007-18 | Settlement | Lesnick | 2007 | $144 → $90 |
| PENN 2009-656 | Default | Lesnick | 2010 | $127 → $127 |
| PENN 2003-139 | Settlement | Lesnick | 2003 | $55 → $25 |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- MACHINERY 1 non-fatal
- NO VALUE FOUND 1 non-fatal
Incident timeline
2005
1
2004
1
Mines on record
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Mountaintop Coal Mining Inc 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.