Mining Incidents

Susquehanna Coal Company: 112 MSHA citations operator

Controlled by Kenneth M Pollock
MSHA operator ID: P22445

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
3
Mines on record
1
Years on record
2015–2017
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2002
112
citations
33
significant & substantial
$41,453
proposed penalties
$41,243
paid to date
99% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $210 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
98
inspections on record
3,111
inspection hours
3.6
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.
112 citations across 3,111 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
$41K
current assessed
$41K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
102 assessments are final orders; 5 contested dockets.
Of $46K in penalties contested before the Commission, $24K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2026-05-21.
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.
30.3%
significant & substantial
3.7%
high negligence or reckless
32.1%
reasonably likely or greater
20.2%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.9% none, 32.1% low, 63.3% moderate, 3.7% 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.
0.00
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
No reportable injury cases in any year shown. Employee-hours were reported in each of those years, so these are true zeros rather than missing data. Citations, listed in the compliance record above, are inspector-found violations and are counted separately from worker injuries.
Below average. The US coal mining average was 3.19 and the all-US-mining average was 1.97 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
2025 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2024 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2023 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2021 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2020 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2019 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2018 * 0.00 0.00 0.000
2017 * 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: 2026-07-20
99%
within 1.5 mg/m3
355
samples
2.48
dust max (mg/m3)
1
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.
240 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 115 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR92
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR70
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR60

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2026-05-29
7.6
silica avg (%)
31
samples
29.2
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR12
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR8
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR7

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: 2026-05-20
1%
over PEL
166
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BACKHOE OPERATOR44
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER30
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE28
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 · 4% 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%
0%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$24K proposed, $24K 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 2017-05-18. 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 2016-0239 Settlement Lewis 2017 $41K → $19K
PENN 2017-0143 Default Lesnick 2017 $2K → $2K
PENN 2016-278 Settlement Lewis 2017 $2K → $2K
PENN20030028 Settlement Barbour 2003 $341 → $200
PENN20020191 Settlement Barbour 2002 $219 → $150
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2017
1
2016
1
2015
1

Mines on record

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Susquehanna Coal Company 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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