Mining Incidents

Walnut Creek Mining Company: 176 MSHA citations operator

Controlled by Black Walnut Mining, LLC
MSHA operator ID: P19790

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Fatalities
0
Total incidents
43
Mines on record
1
Years on record
1989–2015
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
176
citations
23
significant & substantial
$57,769
proposed penalties
$51,582
paid to date
89% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $6,187 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
73
inspections on record
3,435
inspection hours
5.1
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.
176 citations across 3,435 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.
$58K
proposed penalties
$52K
current assessed
$52K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
176 assessments are final orders; 11 contested dockets.
Of $17K in penalties contested before the Commission, $11K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2016-06-14.
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.
13.1%
significant & substantial
2.3%
high negligence or reckless
13.1%
reasonably likely or greater
10.8%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.6% none, 23.9% low, 73.3% moderate, 2.3% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2016
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 3.79 and the all-US-mining average was 2.59 cases per 100 workers.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2016 0.00 0.00 0.000
2015 0.84 0.84 0.000
2014 0.00 0.00 0.000
2013 0.00 0.00 0.000
2012 0.00 0.00 0.000
2011 0.00 0.00 0.000
2010 0.00 0.00 0.000
2009 0.00 0.00 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.

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: 2016-06-23, 10 years ago
100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
141
samples
0.67
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.
127 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 14 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR52
  • COAL TRUCK DRIVER28
  • ROAD GRADER OPERATOR18

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2001-10-16, 24 years ago
23.9
silica avg (%)
1
samples
23.9
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER 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: 2016-06-23, 10 years ago
11%
over PEL
140
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR43
  • COAL TRUCK DRIVER20
  • ROAD GRADER 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.
25 citations taken to the federal commission · 14% of citations on record
  • Settled 25 · 100%
50%
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 18 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
37%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$17K proposed, $11K 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 2016-04-19. 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 2016-0316 Settlement Simonton 2016 $5K → $2K
CENT 2014-38 Settlement Simonton 2015 $3K → $3K
CENT 2010-1085 Settlement Manning 2012 $2K → $467
CENT 2013-713 Settlement Simonton 2014 $2K → $2K
CENT 2012-445 Settlement Paez 2013 $2K → $385
CENT 2012-108 Settlement Manning 2012 $1K → $1K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2015
2
2010
2
2007
1
2006
1
2005
1
2004
1
2003
2
2002
2
2001
1
2000
1
1999
1
1998
2
1995
1
1994
1
1993
6
1992
5
1991
3
1990
1
1989
9

Mines on record

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Walnut Creek Mining 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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