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Somer Grace Coal Company LLC: 104 MSHA citations operator

Controlled by Patrick S Detherage
MSHA operator ID: 0116665

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
2
Mines on record
1
Years on record
2011
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2011
104
citations
58
significant & substantial
$213,810
proposed penalties
$11,010
paid to date
5% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $202,800 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2011
9
inspections on record
248
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: 248 inspection hours is too few for a stable rate. A minimum of 1,000 inspection hours is required.
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.
$214K
proposed penalties
$173K
current assessed
$11K
paid to date
$162K
outstanding
103 assessments are final orders; 7 contested dockets.
Of $153K in penalties contested before the Commission, $112K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2011-08-16.
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.
56.3%
significant & substantial
23.3%
high negligence or reckless
56.3%
reasonably likely or greater
44.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 1.9% low, 74.8% moderate, 23.3% 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: 2011-07-19, 15 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
12
samples
0.69
dust max (mg/m3)
7 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 5 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • CUTTING MACHINE OPERATOR6
  • BLASTER/SHOOTER/SHOTFIRER1
  • COAL DRILL OPERATOR1

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: 2011-07-19, 15 years ago
0%
over PEL
1
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • SUPPLY MAN1
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
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.
25 citations taken to the federal commission · 24% of citations on record
  • Settled 25 · 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 17 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
27%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$153K proposed, $112K 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 2012-06-26. 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 2012-40 Settlement Moran 2013 $54K → $36K
KENT 2012-1245 Settlement Moran 2014 $47K → $35K
KENT 2012-838 Settlement Moran 2014 $29K → $21K
KENT 2012-764 Settlement Moran 2014 $15K → $11K
KENT 2012-41 Settlement Moran 2013 $4K → $4K
KENT 2012-548 Settlement Moran 2013 $4K → $4K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2011
2

Mines on record

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Somer Grace 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.

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