A Virginia coal mine that has been cited for 87 significant and substantial violations was identified in February 2024 as meeting federal Pattern of Violations (POV) criteria.
The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) determined that Twin State Mining’s Mine No. 39 in McDowell County, West Virginia met the initial POV criteria to qualify for a POV notice.
A POV notice is one of MSHA’s toughest enforcement actions. The notice authorizes MSHA to withdraw miners from an area of a mine where any additional significant and substantial, or S&S, violations are found. Only miners needed to correct the violation are allowed in the area of the mine affected by the notice.
An MSHA S&S violation is one “that could contribute in a significant and substantial way to the cause and effect of a safety or health hazard.”
Agency postpones notice due to ‘mitigating circumstances’
MHSA identified Mine No. 39 during its second POV screening of 2023, which examined all U.S. mines and the violations they accumulated. This was the first time that the agency conducted more than one POV screening in a single calendar year.
The agency found that Mine No. 39’s 87 S&S violations from Nov. 1, 2022 through Oct. 31, 2023 stood out against the 2023 S&S rate of 9.11 per 100 inspection hours and the national average rate of 2.90 for underground coal mines.
Although Mine No. 39 met the initial POV screening criteria, MSHA also reviewed it for mitigating circumstances and determined that a postponement was warranted. However, MSHA will continue to monitor the mine and could rescind the postponement and issue a POV notice if one is warranted.
