Pete Lien & Sons Inc: 1,322 MSHA citations operator
Controlled by
Pete Lien & Sons Inc
MSHA operator ID: L00438
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- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 605
- Mines on record
- 21
- Years on record
- 1983–2026
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
1,322
citations
277
significant & substantial
$413,573
proposed penalties
$383,850
paid to date
93% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $29,723 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
672
inspections on record
14,089
inspection hours
9.4
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.1,322 citations across 14,089 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.$414K
proposed penalties
$384K
current assessed
$384K
paid to date
$147
outstanding
1,311 assessments are final orders; 36 contested dockets.
Of $110K in penalties contested before the Commission, $76K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-04-15.
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.21.0%
significant & substantial
3.9%
high negligence or reckless
21.0%
reasonably likely or greater
44.1%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 12.5% low, 83.6% moderate, 3.9% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2025
ⓘ
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.2.58
total case rate
0.43
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 1.65 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 cases per 100 workers.
| Year | total case rate | days-away | fatal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3.33 | 0.83 | 0.000 |
| 2025 | 2.58 | 0.43 | 0.000 |
| 2024 | 4.03 | 0.90 | 0.000 |
| 2023 | 5.27 | 1.44 | 0.000 |
| 2022 | 4.58 | 1.53 | 0.000 |
| 2021 | 3.09 | 1.03 | 0.000 |
| 2020 | 3.78 | 1.62 | 0.000 |
| 2019 | 5.46 | 4.47 | 0.000 |
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.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: 2026-08-04
ⓘ
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.4%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
378
samples
237
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
- Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz804 over
- Nuisance dust, total, <1% Qtz123 over
- Calcium oxide1182 over
- Nuisance dust, respirable, <1% Qtz301 over
Area samples (mill and shop air)
Last sampled: 2013-02-26, 13 years ago1
samples
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.
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.
105
citations taken to the federal commission · 8% of citations on record
- Settled 91 · 87%
- Stood as issued 10 · 10%
- Vacated or withdrawn 3 · 3%
- Still open 1 · 1%
62%
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 63 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
25%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$90K proposed, $67K 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 2024-12-29. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CENT 2013-472M | Settlement | Bulluck | 2015 | $15K → $11K |
| CENT 2014-0299 | Dismissal | Miller | 2014 | $10K → $7K |
| CENT 2018-0196 | Settlement | Lesnick | 2018 | $9K → $9K |
| WEST 2008-0832M | Settlement | Manning | 2009 | $9K → $6K |
| CENT20020046M | Settlement | Zielinski | 2002 | $8K → $3K |
| CENT20010197M | Settlement | Schroeder | 2001 | $8K → $5K |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- HANDLING OF MATERIALS 228 non-fatal
- SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON 111 non-fatal
- MACHINERY 77 non-fatal
- HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) 58 non-fatal
- POWERED HAULAGE 48 non-fatal
- OTHER 35 non-fatal
Incident timeline
2026
4
2025
6
2024
10
2023
11
2022
9
2021
7
2020
7
2019
11
2018
14
2017
10
2016
14
2015
12
2014
19
2013
15
2012
14
2011
9
2010
12
2009
13
2008
11
2007
13
2006
23
2005
16
2004
12
2003
12
2002
17
2001
29
2000
12
1999
18
1998
21
1997
21
1996
21
1995
20
1994
10
1993
9
1992
12
1991
13
1990
14
1989
17
1988
32
1987
19
1986
13
1985
7
1984
12
1983
4
Mines on record
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- WYOMING LIME PRODUCTS WY
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- ORAL SAND PLANT SD
- Portable Plant #1 SD
- Hunter Quarry WY
- Pete Lien & Sons, S&G Portable Plant SD
- CF & I PIT SD
- CRESTON SAND PLANT SD
- WASTA SAND PLANT SD
- St. Barbara Pit CO
- VONDRISKA PIT, SUNDANCE WY
- Rawlins Quarry WY
- WEAVER QUARRY CO
- Lime Plant SD
- BLUNT PLANT SD
- MUNROE QUARRY CO
- Sheep Draw Quarry CO
- Nemo Iron Ore SD
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Pete Lien & Sons 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.