Mining Incidents

Powell Mountain Energy LLC: 1,066 MSHA citations operator

Controlled by Arch Resources Inc
MSHA operator ID: 0089126

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
32
Mines on record
2
Years on record
2009–2014
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2008
1,066
citations
313
significant & substantial
$1,098,267
proposed penalties
$882,563
paid to date
80% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $215,704 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2008
231
inspections on record
9,029
inspection hours
11.8
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.
1,066 citations across 9,029 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.
$1.1M
proposed penalties
$887K
current assessed
$886K
paid to date
$379
outstanding
1,039 assessments are final orders; 52 contested dockets.
Of $949K in penalties contested before the Commission, $697K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2020-06-29.
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.
30.2%
significant & substantial
4.4%
high negligence or reckless
30.2%
reasonably likely or greater
16.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.1% none, 7.9% low, 87.5% moderate, 4.4% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2013
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.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.94 and the all-US-mining average was 2.99 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
2013 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2012 3.20 3.20 0.000
2011 4.51 1.13 0.000
2010 4.08 3.06 0.000
2009 3.44 1.15 0.000
2008 * 0.00 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: 2013-05-07, 13 years ago
89%
within 1.5 mg/m3
700
samples
9.97
dust max (mg/m3)
339 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 361 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR300
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)52
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR30

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2013-05-01, 13 years ago
7.2
silica avg (%)
43
samples
18.8
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR13

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: 2013-05-01, 13 years ago
8%
over PEL
145
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SHUTTLE CAR OPERATOR (STANDARD SIDE)20
  • CONTINUOUS MINER OPERATOR18
  • SCOOP CAR OPERATOR17
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.
338 citations taken to the federal commission · 32% of citations on record
  • Settled 272 · 80%
  • Stood as issued 66 · 20%
93%
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 196 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
25%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$871K proposed, $656K 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 2013-03-12. 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
KENT 2010-440 Settlement Rae 2011 $83K → $37K
KENT 2010-1384 Settlement McCarthy 2013 $63K → $44K
KENT 2010-971 Settlement McCarthy 2013 $62K → $44K
KENT 2010-1448 Settlement McCarthy 2013 $59K → $38K
KENT 2012-858 Settlement Miller 2013 $57K → $50K
KENT 2012-1161 Settlement Miller 2013 $47K → $31K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2014
3
2013
2
2012
3
2011
5
2010
12
2009
7

Mines on record

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Powell Mountain Energy 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.

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