MSHA penalties by year
Since 2000, MSHA has proposed $1.8B in civil penalties on 3,043,928 assessed violations. After conferences and settlements $1.5B stood, 19.6% below what was proposed; operators have paid $1.3B, and $195.6M is outstanding, $165.7M of it on assessments with a final order.
Every civil penalty assessment in the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) assessed violations file, totalled by the year the violation was issued, refreshed weekly. Recent years keep moving as assessments are issued, conferenced, contested and paid.
Since 2000
- Proposed
- $1.8B
- on 3,043,928 assessed violations
- Assessed now
- $1.5B
- 19.6% below proposed
- Paid
- $1.3B
- as recorded by MSHA
- Outstanding
- $195.6M
- $165.7M on final orders
For violations issued in 2024, MSHA proposed $70.1M; $58.5M stood after conferences and settlements (16.6% less), and $49.5M has been paid. The two most recent years are still settling, so read them as running totals.
Every year on record
2000–2026| Year | Proposed | Assessed now | Paid | Outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $38.8M | $38.1M | $16.0M | $22.0M |
| 2025 | $59.3M | $52.1M | $38.3M | $13.8M |
| 2024 | $70.1M | $58.5M | $49.5M | $8.9M |
| 2023 | $70.5M | $57.7M | $53.0M | $4.7M |
| 2022 | $56.7M | $47.0M | $44.1M | $2.8M |
| 2021 | $41.8M | $36.0M | $32.6M | $3.4M |
| 2020 | $39.7M | $33.9M | $31.7M | $2.2M |
| 2019 | $51.9M | $43.7M | $39.0M | $4.7M |
| 2018 | $53.8M | $44.8M | $38.5M | $6.3M |
| 2017 | $54.0M | $45.0M | $40.5M | $4.5M |
| 2016 | $50.7M | $40.9M | $38.0M | $2.9M |
| 2015 | $63.0M | $50.9M | $45.8M | $5.1M |
| 2014 | $94.3M | $72.2M | $60.8M | $11.4M |
| 2013 | $91.5M | $73.7M | $61.2M | $12.5M |
| 2012 | $118.3M | $92.2M | $80.0M | $12.1M |
| 2011 | $154.3M | $120.8M | $107.4M | $13.4M |
| 2010 | $155.9M | $118.2M | $102.8M | $15.4M |
| 2009 | $131.7M | $103.3M | $93.0M | $10.3M |
| 2008 | $136.3M | $103.1M | $92.5M | $10.5M |
| 2007 | $124.1M | $86.6M | $77.0M | $9.6M |
| 2006 | $41.6M | $36.1M | $32.0M | $4.1M |
| 2005 | $27.3M | $24.2M | $22.4M | $1.9M |
| 2004 | $24.0M | $21.7M | $19.1M | $2.6M |
| 2003 | $21.4M | $19.3M | $16.4M | $2.9M |
| 2002 | $20.8M | $18.1M | $15.4M | $2.7M |
| 2001 | $22.6M | $19.8M | $17.4M | $2.4M |
| 2000 | $22.5M | $19.6M | $17.2M | $2.3M |
Download this table as CSV (exact dollars, plus the outstanding amount on final orders).
What the columns mean
- Proposed is the penalty MSHA first proposed for each assessed violation.
- Assessed now is the current assessed amount on MSHA's file, after any safety-and-health conference, settlement or decision.
- Paid is what MSHA records as paid against the assessment.
- Outstanding is assessed now minus paid for each assessment, never below zero. It includes penalties not yet due and penalties under contest, so it is not a measure of unpaid debt.
Break the numbers down
- Operators by MSHA violations , each with its own penalty card
- Inspections by year and fatalities by year on the same footing
- National statistics across fatalities, violations, penalties and hours worked
Totals derive from MSHA's Assessed Violations dataset, one row per assessed violation, filed under the year the violation was issued. Violations issued before 2000 are left out (a few dozen stray rows). MSHA's delinquency date field is not used: it is set on many assessments that were paid in full.
Citing this page: Mining Incidents, “MSHA penalties by year,” MSHA assessed violations 2000–2026, miningincidents.org/penalties-by-year (violations issued through 2026-09-14). Formats and permanence guarantees are on the citation page.