Armstrong Energy, Inc. - FORM 10-Q - EX-95.1 - August 14, 2015

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10-Q - FORM 10-Q - Armstrong Energy, Inc.d53293d10q.htm

Exhibit 95.1

Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Safety Data

Armstrong Energy, Inc.’s mining operations are subject to regulations issued by MSHA under the U.S. Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the Mine Act). MSHA inspects our mines on a regular basis and issues various citations and orders when it believes a violation has occurred under the Mine Act. Whenever MSHA issues a citation or order, it also generally proposes a civil penalty, or fine, related to the alleged violation. Citations or orders can be contested and appealed, and as part of that process, are often reduced in severity and amount, and are sometimes dismissed. The number of citations, orders and proposed assessments varies depending on the size and type (underground or surface) of the mine, among other factors.

The following disclosures have been provided pursuant to Section 1503(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Act).

Mine Safety Data. The following provides additional information about references used in the table below to describe the categories of violations, orders or citations issued by MSHA under the Mine Act:

 

  •   Section 104 S&S Citations: Citations issued by MSHA under Section 104(a) of the Mine Act for violations of health or safety standards that could significantly and substantially contribute to a serious injury if left unabated.

 

  •   Section 104(b) Orders: Orders issued under Section 104(b) of the Mine Act, which represent a failure to abate a citation under Section 104(a) within the period prescribed by MSHA. This results in an order of immediate withdrawal from the area of the mine affected by the condition until MSHA determines that the violation has been abated.

 

  •   Section 104(d) Citations and Orders: Citations and orders issued by MSHA under Section 104(d) of the Mine Act for unwarrantable failure to comply with mandatory health or safety standards. These types of violations could significantly and substantially contribute to a serious injury; however, the conditions do not cause imminent danger (refer to discussion of imminent danger orders below).

 

  •   Section 104(e) Notices: Notices issued by MSHA under Section 104(e) of the Mine Act for an alleged pattern of violations of mandatory health or safety standards that could significantly and substantially contribute to mine health or safety hazards.

 

  •   Section 110(b)(2) Violations: Flagrant violations identified by MSHA under Section 110(b)(2) of the Mine Act. The term flagrant with respect to a violation is defined as “a reckless or repeated failure to make reasonable efforts to eliminate a known violation of a mandatory health or safety standard that substantially and proximately caused, or reasonably could have expected to cause, death or serious bodily injury.”

 

  •   Section 107(a) Orders: Orders issued by MSHA under Section 107(a) of the Mine Act for situations in which MSHA determined an imminent danger existed. Orders issued under Section 107(a) of the Mine Act require the operator of the mine to cause all persons (except authorized persons) to be withdrawn from the mine until the imminent danger and the conditions that caused such imminent danger cease to exist.

The following table details the violations, citations and orders issued to us by MSHA during the three months ended June 30, 2015, not taking into account any changes to the severity or amount of such citations or orders during the review and approval process as described above:

 

Mine(1)

   MSHA
ID		     Section
104 S&S
Citations
(#)		     Section
104(b)
Orders
(#)		     Section
104(d)
Citations
and
Orders
(#)		     Section
110 (b)(2)
Violations
(#)		     Section
107(a)
Orders
(#)		     Total Dollar
Value of
Proposed
MSHA
Assessments
(in
thousands)
($)		     Total
Number
of
Mining
Related
Fatalities
(#)		     Received
Notice of
Pattern of
Violations
Under
Section
104(e)
(yes/no)		     Received
Notice of
Potential
to Have
Pattern of
Violations
Under
Section
104(e)
(yes/no)		  

Midway

     15-19217        4        0        0        0        0      $ 0.1        0        No        No   

Parkway Underground

     15-19358        15        0        0        0        0        43.4        0        No        No   

East Fork

     15-19407        0        0        0        0        0        0.0        0        No        No   

Equality Boot

     15-19344        4        0        0        0        0        2.7        0        No        No   

Lewis Creek

     15-19511        0        0        0        0        0        0.0        0        No        No   

Kronos Underground

     15-19535        23        0        0        0        1        57.0        0        No        No   

Lewis Creek Underground

     15-19669        0        0        0        0        0        0.0        0        No        No   

Survant Underground

     15-19744        2        0        0        0        0        1.1        0        No        No   

Midway Prep.

     15-19165        5        0        0        0        0        1.2        0        No        No   

Parkway Prep.

     15-19356        0        0        0        0        0        0.0        0        No        No   

Armstrong Prep. & Dock

     15-19345        0        0        0        0        0        0.0        0        No        No   

(1)  The table does not include the following: (i) facilities which have been idled or closed unless they received a citation or order issued by MSHA; and (ii) permitted mining sites where we have not begun operations and therefore have not received any citations.

Pending Legal Actions. The table below provides a summary of legal actions pending before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (the Commission) as of June 30, 2015, as well as the aggregate number of legal actions instituted and resolved during the three months ended June 30, 2015. The Commission is an independent adjudicative agency established by the Mine Act that provides administrative trial and appellate review of legal disputes arising under the Mine Act. These cases may involve, among other questions, challenges by operators to citations, orders and penalties they have received from MSHA, or complaints of discrimination by miners under Section 105 of the Mine Act.

The following provides additional information of the types of proceedings that may be brought before the Commission:

 

  •   Contest Proceedings – A contest proceeding may be filed by an operator to challenge the issuance of a citation or order issued by MSHA.

 

  •   Civil Penalty Proceedings – A civil penalty proceeding may be filed by an operator to challenge a civil penalty MSHA has proposed for a violation contained in a citation or order. The validity of the citation may be challenged in this proceeding, as well.

 

  •   Discrimination Proceedings – Involves a miner’s allegation that he or she has suffered adverse employment action because he or she engaged in activity protected under the Mine Act, such as making a safety complaint. Also includes temporary reinstatement proceedings involving cases in which a miner has filed a complaint with MSHA stating that he or she has suffered discrimination and the miner has lost his or her position.

 

  •   Compensation Proceedings – A compensation proceeding may be filed by miners entitled to compensation when a mine is closed by certain closure orders issued by MSHA. The purpose of the proceeding is to determine the amount of compensation, if any, due to miners idled by the orders.

 

  •   Temporary Relief – Applications for temporary relief are applications filed under section 105(b)(2) of the Mine Act for temporary relief from any modification or termination of any order.

 

  •   Appeals – An appeal may be filed by an operator to challenge judges’ decisions or orders to the Commission, including petitions for discretionary review and review by the Commission on its own motion.

 

Mine

   MSHA
ID		     Legal
Actions
Pending
as of
Last
Day of
Period
(#)		     Contests
of
Citations
and
Orders
(#)		     Contests
of
Proposed
Penalties
(#)		     Complaints
for
Compensation
(#)		     Complaints of
Discharge,
Discrimination,
or Interference
(#)		     Applications
for
Temporary
Relief
(#)		     Appeals
of
Judges’
Decisions
or
Orders
(#)		     Legal
Actions
Initiated
During
Period
(#)		     Legal
Actions
Resolved
During
Period
(#)		  

Midway

     15-19217        11        0        11        0        0        0        0        7        2   

Parkway Underground

     15-19358        150        1        149        0        0        0        0        50        91   

East Fork

     15-19407        1        0        1        0        0        0        0        1        0   

Equality Boot

     15-19344        14        0        14        0        0        0        0        2        14   

Lewis Creek

     15-19511        5        0        5        0        0        0        0        2        0   

Kronos Underground

     15-19535        243        0        243        0        0        0        0        54        62   

Lewis Creek Underground

     15-19669        44        0        44        0        0        0        0        10        55   

Survant Underground

     15-19744        2        0        2        0        0        0        0        2        0   

Midway Prep.

     15-19165        2        0        2        0        0        0        0        2        3   

Parkway Prep.

     15-19356        3        0        3        0        0        0        0        3        0   

Armstrong Prep. & Dock

     15-19345        9        0        9        0        0        0        0        3        5   

Big Run Underground

     15-18552        0        0        0        0        0        0        0        0        0   

Armstrong Energy, Inc. Reports