# Hess Creek Surface Mine

- **MSHA mine ID:** 4407244
- **Status:** Abandoned
- **Type / commodity:** Surface / Coal (Bituminous)
- **Location:** Russell, VA
- **Operator:** Knox Creek Coal Corporation
- **Controller:** Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.
- **Public source rows linked:** 322
- **Source coverage:** 15 / 20
- **Generated:** 2026-10-13T11:26:59.401Z

## Current entity hierarchy

**Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (0041211) → Knox Creek Coal Corporation (P23902) → Hess Creek Surface Mine (4407244)**

Current identity source: `msha-mines`. This is a current snapshot, not a historical claim.

## Controller and operator valid-time history

- **Massey Energy Company → Knox Creek Coal Corporation:** 2008-10-14 through 2011-05-31; derived from co-tenure at mine 4407244; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.
- **Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. → Knox Creek Coal Corporation:** 2011-06-01 through current/open; derived from co-tenure at mine 4407244; source `msha-controller-operator-history`.

- History rows: 2
- Typed edges: 5
- Interval anomalies: 0
- Valid-time bounds: inclusive; date granularity; null end means open-ended in the upstream history row; not independent proof of present control.
- Transaction-time observation: 2026-10-13T11:19:05.459773+00:00.

## Assessment signals

1. **SAFETY — 0 since 2021:** Accidents and injuries 1 historical accident/injury rows; 0 coded fatalities and 0 lost days across the published record.
2. **COMPLIANCE — 0 since 2021:** Violations and penalties 49 violation rows across the full record; 15 carry an S&S flag and $19,666 appears in current assessed amounts.
3. **HEALTH — 24 samples:** Occupational health samples 15 coal dust; 9 noise. 0 personal-sample rows have a published C/E ratio above 1; 2 noise rows have an action-level or PEL dose above 100%. These are separate measures, not a silica exceedance count. Silica results and sample status are shown separately.
4. **PRODUCTION — 0 tons:** Quarterly production and employment 0 employee hours and 0 summed average employees across reported subunits in the latest published quarter.
5. **LEGAL — 16 linked rows:** Contests, conferences and decisions 8 contested-violation rows, 8 civil-penalty docket/decision rows, and 0 conference records linked by issuance number.
6. **CONTRACTORS — 2 linked entities:** Contractors Contractors are linked through this mine’s violation or accident records. Their production and hours cover all their operations, so they are not included in this mine’s totals.
7. **INSPECTIONS — 0 since 2021:** Inspections 7 inspection events and 334 published inspection hours across the historical record.

## EIA annual operating context

No matched record in the 2024 EIA coal-public workbook. This may be inapplicable for a non-coal operation.

## Recent Title 30 crosswalk

Snapshot current through 2026-08-19.

- **30 CFR 77.1713 — Daily inspection of surface coal mine; certified person; reports of inspection.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-R/section-77.1713
- **30 CFR 77.1605 — Loading and haulage equipment; installations.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-Q/section-77.1605
- **30 CFR 77.400 — Mechanical equipment guards.** (2 retained recent rows) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-E/section-77.400
- **30 CFR 77.205 — Travelways at surface installations.** (2 retained recent rows) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-C/section-77.205
- **30 CFR 77.1110 — Examination and maintenance of firefighting equipment.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-L/section-77.1110
- **30 CFR 77.1606 — Loading and haulage equipment; inspection and maintenance.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-Q/section-77.1606
- **30 CFR 77.404 — Machinery and equipment; operation and maintenance.** (2 retained recent rows) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-E/section-77.404
- **30 CFR 77.1104 — Accumulations of combustible materials.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-L/section-77.1104
- **30 CFR 77.1004 — Ground control; inspection and maintenance; general.** (1 retained recent row) — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/chapter-I/subchapter-O/part-77/subpart-K/section-77.1004

## Source coverage

- **Accident, Injuries, and Illnesses:** 1 rows; 2008-11-10 through 2008-11-10; source ID `msha-accidents`
- **Addresses of Record:** 1 rows; 2010-09-27 through 2010-09-27; source ID `msha-addresses`
- **Assessed Violations:** 49 rows; 2008-10-29 through 2010-02-23; source ID `msha-assessed-violations`
- **Civil Penalty Dockets and Decisions:** 8 rows; 2011-09-22 through 2012-03-07; source ID `msha-civil-penalty-dockets-decisions`
- **Coal Dust Samples:** 15 rows; 2008-12-05 through 2009-12-11; source ID `msha-coal-dust-samples`
- **Contested Violations:** 8 rows; 2009-11-19 through 2010-02-23; source ID `msha-contested-violations`
- **Contractor Employment and Production — Quarterly:** 129 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-contractor-production-quarterly`
- **Contractor Employment and Production — Yearly:** 22 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-contractor-production-yearly`
- **Controller and Operator History:** 2 rows; 2008-10-14 through 2008-10-14; source ID `msha-controller-operator-history`
- **Inspections:** 7 rows; 2008-10-29 through 2010-06-23; source ID `msha-inspections`
- **Mine Employment and Production — Quarterly:** 16 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-mine-production-quarterly`
- **Mine Employment and Production — Yearly:** 5 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-mine-production-yearly`
- **Mines:** 1 rows; unknown through unknown; source ID `msha-mines`
- **Noise Samples:** 9 rows; 2008-12-05 through 2009-06-02; source ID `msha-noise-samples`
- **Violations:** 49 rows; 2008-10-29 through 2010-02-23; source ID `msha-violations`

## Caveats

- This is public-record decision support, not legal advice or an official MSHA record.
- Missing data can indicate no event, publication delay, an unresolved identity, or inapplicability.
- Contractor production data is entity-level and is not attributed to this mine.

## Alternate representations

- HTML: `/mines/hess-creek-surface-mine-4407244`
- JSON: `/api/v1/mines/hess-creek-surface-mine-4407244`
- Silica records, units, sample status and quarterly means: `/api/v1/mines/4407244/silica` (snapshot year by default; `?year=all` for history; `&format=csv` for all matching rows)
- Relationship JSON: `/api/v1/mines/4407244/relationships`
- MCP resource: `mine://4407244/assessment`
- Complete Title 30 corpus: `/data/title30-sections.json`