Attached files
| file | filename |
|---|---|
| 10-Q - FORM 10-Q - UNITED STATES LIME & MINERALS INC | c16175e10vq.htm |
| EX-31.1 - EX-31.1 - UNITED STATES LIME & MINERALS INC | c16175exv31w1.htm |
| EX-31.2 - EX-31.2 - UNITED STATES LIME & MINERALS INC | c16175exv31w2.htm |
| EX-32.1 - EX-32.1 - UNITED STATES LIME & MINERALS INC | c16175exv32w1.htm |
| EX-32.2 - EX-32.2 - UNITED STATES LIME & MINERALS INC | c16175exv32w2.htm |
EXHIBIT 99.1
MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
The following disclosures are provided pursuant to Section 1503(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), which requires certain
disclosures by companies required to file periodic reports under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended, that operate mines regulated under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977
(the “Mine Act”). Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC has proposed rules to carry out the purposes of
these provisions, but has not issued final rules as of the date of this report. While we believe
the following disclosures meet the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act, it is possible that final
rulemaking by the SEC will require disclosures to be presented in a form that differs from the
following.
The Mine Act has been construed as authorizing MSHA to issue citations and orders pursuant to
the legal doctrine of strict liability, or liability without fault. If, in the opinion of an MSHA
inspector, a condition that violates the Mine Act or regulations promulgated pursuant to it exists,
then a citation or order will be issued regardless of whether the operator had any knowledge of, or
fault in, the existence of that condition. Many of the Mine Act standards include one or more
subjective elements, so that issuance of a citation or order often depends on the opinions or
experience of the MSHA inspector involved and the frequency and severity of citations and orders
will vary from inspector to inspector.
Whenever MSHA believes that a violation of the Mine Act, any health or safety standard, or any
regulation has occurred, it may issue a citation or order which describes the violation and fixes a
time within which the operator must abate the violation. In some situations, such as when MSHA
believes that conditions pose a hazard to miners, MSHA may issue an order requiring cessation of
operations, or removal of miners from the area of the mine, affected by the condition until the
hazards are corrected. Whenever MSHA issues a citation or order, it has authority to propose a
civil penalty or fine, as a result of the violation, that the operator is ordered to pay.
The table that follows reflects citations, orders, violations and proposed assessments issued
to the Company by MSHA during the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and all pending legal actions as of
March 31, 2011. Due to timing and other factors, the data may not agree with the mine data
retrieval system maintained by MSHA. The proposed assessments for the quarter ended March 31, 2011
were taken from the MSHA system as of April 28, 2011.
Additional information follows about MSHA references used in the table:
| • | Section 104(a) Citations: The total number of citations received from
MSHA under section 104(a) of the Mine Act for alleged violations of
health or safety standards that could significantly and substantially
contribute to a serious injury if left unabated. |
||
| • | Section 104(b) Orders: The total number of orders issued by MSHA under
section 104(b) of the Mine Act, which represents a failure to abate a
citation under section 104(a) within the period of time 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: The total number of 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. |
||
| • | Section 110(b)(2) Violations: The total number of flagrant violations
issued by MSHA under section 110(b)(2) of the Mine Act. |
||
| • | Section 107(a) Orders: The total number of orders issued by MSHA under
section 107(a) of the Mine Act for situations in which MSHA determined
an imminent danger existed. |
Citations and orders can be contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review
Commission (the “Commission”), and as part of that process, are often reduced in severity and
amount, and are sometimes dismissed. The Commission is an independent adjudicative agency 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.
| Section | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 104(d) | Proposed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Section | Section | Citations | Section | Section | MSHA | Pending | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 104(a) | 104(b) | and | 110(b)(2) | 107(a) | Assessments(2) | Legal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mine(1) | Citations | Orders | Orders | Violations | Orders | ($ in thousands) | Fatalities | Actions(3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Texas Lime Company |
1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arkansas Lime Company |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Plant |
1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Limedale Quarry |
3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Colorado Lime Company |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Monarch Quarry |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Salida Plant |
— | — | — | — | — | .1 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Delta Plant |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Lime Company — St. Clair |
7 | — | — | — | — | 2.3 | — | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (1) | The definition of a mine under section 3 of the Mine Act includes the
mine, as well as other items used in, or to be used in, or resulting from, the work of extracting
and processing limestone, such as roads, land, structures, facilities, equipment, machines, tools,
kilns, and other property. These other items associated with a single mine have been aggregated in
the totals for that mine. |
|
| (2) | The proposed MSHA assessments issued during the reporting period do not
necessarily relate to the citations or orders issued by MSHA during the reporting period or to the
pending contests reported above. |
|
| (3) | Includes any pending legal action before the Commission involving such mine as
of March 31, 2011. All pending legal actions were initiated by the Company and may include multiple
citations or orders. The pending legal actions may relate to the citations or orders issued by MSHA
during the reporting period or to citations or orders issued in prior periods. |
Pattern or Potential Pattern of Violations. During the quarter ended March 31, 2011, none of
the mines operated by the Company received written notice from MSHA of either (a) a pattern of
violations of mandatory health or safety standards that are of such nature as could have
significantly and substantially contributed to mine health or safety hazards under section 104(e)
of the Mine Act or (b) the potential to have such a pattern.