EX-99.01 10 g25580exv99w01.htm EX-99.01 exv99w01
EXHIBIT 99.01
MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
     The operation of the Company’s U.S. aggregate quarries and mines is subject to regulation by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the “Mine Act”). MSHA inspects the Company’s quarries and 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.
     Under the recently-enacted Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd-Frank Act), the Company is required to present information regarding certain mining safety and health citations which MSHA has issued with respect to its aggregates mining operations in its periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). In evaluating this information, consideration should be given to factors such as: (i) the number of citations and orders will vary depending on the size of the quarry or mine and type of operations (underground or surface), (ii) the number of citations issued will vary from inspector to inspector and location to location, and (iii) citations and orders can be contested and appealed, and in that process, may be reduced in severity and amount, and are sometimes dismissed.
     We believe the following mine safety disclosure meet the requirements of Section 1503(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act. However, as of the date of this report, the SEC has not issued final rules and regulations under these provisions; therefore, it is possible that any final rules adopted by the SEC will require disclosures to be presented in a different form. Certain information is provided in response to proposed rules of the SEC issued under these provisions, but we cannot be assured of what the final rules might be in this regard. The disclosures reflect U.S. mining operations only, as the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act do not apply to our quarries and mines operated outside the United States.
     The Company presents the following items regarding certain mining safety and health matters for both the three months ended December 31, 2010 (Appendix 1) and for the year ended December 31, 2010 (Appendix 2):
•   Total number of violations of mandatory health or safety standards that could significantly and substantially contribute to the cause and effect of a mine safety or health hazard under section 104 of the Mine Act for which the Company received a citation from MSHA (hereinafter, “Section 104 S&S Citations”). If MSHA determines that a violation of a mandatory health or safety standard is reasonably likely to result in a reasonably serious injury or illness under the unique circumstance contributed to by the violation, MSHA will

61

 

    classify the violation as a “significant and substantial” violation (commonly referred to as a “S&S” violation). MSHA inspectors will classify each citation or order written as a “S&S” violation or not.
 
•   Total number of orders issued under section 104(b) of the Mine Act (hereinafter, “Section 104(b) Orders”). These orders are issued for situations in which MSHA determines a previous violation covered by a Section 104(a) citation has not been totally abated within the prescribed time period, so a further order is needed to require the mine operator to immediately withdraw all persons (except certain authorized persons) from the affected area of a quarry or mine.
 
•   Total number of citations and orders for unwarrantable failure of the mine operator to comply with mandatory health or safety standards under Section 104(d) of the Mine Act (hereinafter, “Section 104(d) Unwarrantable Failure Citations/Orders”). These violations are similar to those described above, but the standard is that the violation could significantly and substantially contribute to the cause and effect of a safety or health hazard, but the conditions do not cause imminent danger, and the MSHA inspector finds that the violation is caused by an unwarranted failure of the operator to comply with the health and safety standards.
 
•   Total number of flagrant violations under section 110(b)(2) of the Mine Act (hereinafter, “Section 110(b) Flagrant Violations”). These violations are penalty violations issued if MSHA determines that violations are “flagrant”, for which civil penalties may be assessed. A “flagrant” violation means 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 been expected to cause, death or serious bodily injury.
 
•   Total number of imminent danger orders issued under section 107(a) of the Mine Act (hereinafter, “Section 107(a) Imminent Danger Orders”). These orders are issued for situations in which MSHA determines an imminent danger exists in the quarry or mine and results in orders of immediate withdrawal of all persons (except certain authorized persons) from the area of the quarry or mine affected by its condition until the imminent danger and the underlying conditions causing the imminent danger no longer exist.
 
•   Total dollar value of proposed assessments from MSHA under the Mine Act. These are the amounts of proposed assessments issued by MSHA with each citation or order for the time period covered by the reports. Penalties are assessed by MSHA according to a formula that considers a number of factors, including the mine operator’s history, size, negligence, gravity of the violation, good faith in trying to correct the violation promptly, and the effect of the penalty on the operator’s ability to continue in business.

62

 

     The attached Appendices list the total dollar value of proposed assessments from MSHA under the Mine Act for the three months ended December 31, 2010 and for the year ended December 31, 2010. Some of these assessments were paid by the Company during the year in question or have been paid since year end. Other of these assessments have been contested by the Company in accordance with its rights and procedures. Some of the assessments may have been reduced in severity or amount, or even dismissed. The total dollar value of all assessments from MSHA under the Mine Act remaining outstanding as of December 31, 2010 was approximately $0.4 million.
     During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company experienced only one fatality at any of its aggregate quarries or mines, which occurred on October 10, 2010, when an employee of an electrical contractor, not an employee of the Company, was killed while performing maintenance work on an electrical circuit breaker located at the Company’s Snyder Mine in Synder, Oklahoma, when an arch flash occurred resulting in an electrical explosion.
     For the three months ended December 31, 2010 and the year ended December 31, 2010, none of the Company’s aggregate quarries or mines received written notice from MSHA of (i) a pattern of violations of mandatory health or safety standards that are of such nature as could have significantly and substantially contributed to the cause and effect of other mine health or safety hazards under section 104(e) of the Mine Act; or (ii) the potential to have such a pattern. If MSHA determines that a mine has a “pattern” of these types of violations, or the potential to have such a pattern, MSHA is required to notify the mine operator of the existence of such a thing.
     The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (the “Commission”) is an independent adjudicative agency that provides administrative trial and appellate review of legal disputes arising under the Mine Act. The 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. As of December 31, 2010, the Corporation had a total of 43 matters pending before the Commission. This includes legal actions that were initiated prior to the year ended December 31, 2010 and which do not necessarily relate to the citations, orders or proposed assessments issued by MSHA during such year.

63

 

APPENDIX 1
For the Three Months Ended December 31, 2010*
(dollar amounts are in actual dollars)
                                                 
                                    Total No. of        
                    Total No. of §104(d)     Total No. of     §107(a)        
    Total No. of             Unwarrantable     §110(b)     Imminent     Total $ Value of  
    §104 S&S     Total No. of     Failure     Flagrant     Danger     Proposed  
Location   Citations     §104(b) Orders     Citations/Orders     Violations     Orders     Assessments  
(45) North Indianapolis SURFACE
     2       0       0       0       0     $ 0  
Ames Mine
     3       0       0       0       0       0  
Augusta Quarry-GA
     1       0       0       0       0       0  
Bedrock Plant
     2       0       0       0       0       978  
Berkeley Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       698  
Black Rock Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Blake Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       0  
Camak Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       1,080  
Cayce Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       450  
Clarks Quarry
     1       0       0       0       1       1,842  
Colfax Sand and Gravel
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
Durham Mine
     3       0       0       0       0       0  
Fort Dodge Mine
     8       1       4       0       0       2,093  
Fountain Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       0  
Fredonia Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       350  
Hickory Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       138  
Iowa Grading 26810
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Jones Mill Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Kannapolis
     0       0       0       0       0       224  
Linn County Sand
     1       0       0       0       0       162  
Marshalltown Sand
     3       0       0       0       0       1,099  
Milford
     1       0       0       0       0       0  
Noblesville Sand and Gravel
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
North Indianapolis
     1       0       0       0       0       0  
Ohio Recycle
     0       0       0       0       0       200  

64

 

                                                 
                                    Total No. of        
                    Total No. of §104(d)     Total No. of     §107(a)        
    Total No. of             Unwarrantable     §110(b)     Imminent     Total $ Value of  
    §104 S&S     Total No. of     Failure     Flagrant     Danger     Proposed  
Location   Citations     §104(b) Orders     Citations/Orders     Violations     Orders     Assessments  
Pomona Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       0  
Rock Hill
     1       0       0       0       0       0  
Ross Gravel
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
R-S Sand and Gravel
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
Salisbury Shop
     0       0       0       0       0       300  
Saylorville Sand
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
Snyder
     1       0       0       0       0       5,250  
Spanish Springs Quarry
     2       0       0       0       1       0  
Stamper Mine
     1       0       0       0       0       0  
Thomasville Quarry
     2       0       0       0       0       507  
Troy Gravel
     1       0       0       0       0       262  
Weeping Water Mine
     2       1       0       0       0       0  
Woodleaf Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       833  
Woodville
     2       0       0       0       0       0  
 
                                                
Total*
     44       2       4       0       2     $ 17,566  
 
*   The foregoing table presents information for quarries and mines for which an entry in the table is required. During the three-months ended December 31, 2010, the Company operated 149 other quarries and mines that did not have any matter required to be reported in the foregoing table.

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APPENDIX 2
For the Year Ended December 31, 2010*
(dollar amounts are in actual dollars)
                                                 
                    Total No. of             Total No. of        
                    §104(d)     Total No. of     §107(a)     Total $ Value  
    Total No. of             Unwarrantable     §1.0(b)     Imminent     of Proposed  
    §104 S&S     Total No. of     Failure     Flagrant     Danger     MSHA  
Location   Citations     §104(b) Orders     Citations/Orders     Violations     Orders     Assessments  
(45) North Indianapolis SURFACE
     3       0       0       0       0     $ 1,087  
Alabaster Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       685  
Alden Portable Sand
     1       0       0       0       0       1,148  
Alden Portable Plant 1
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
Alden Portable Plant 2
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
Alden Portable Wash
     1       0       0       0       0       499  
Alden Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       1,006  
Alden Shop
     1       0       0       0       0       550  
American Stone Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       276  
Ames Mine
     24       1       1       0       0       55,318  
Anderson Creek
     2       0       0       0       0       1,405  
Apple Grove
     1       0       0       0       0       934  
Appling Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       290  
Arrowood
     3       0       0       0       0       3,670  
Asheboro Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       376  
Auburn, Al Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       1,242  
Auburn, GA Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       476  
Augusta Quarry-GA
     5       0       0       0       1       4,250  
Augusta Quarry-KS
     1       0       0       0       0       580  
Bakers
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Beckman Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       892  
Bedrock Plant
     2       0       0       0       0       1,312  
Benson Quarry
     1       0       0       0       1       1,996  
Berkeley Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       898  
 
                                                

66

 

                                                 
                    Total No. of             Total No. of        
                    §104(d)     Total No. of     §107(a)     Total $ Value  
    Total No. of             Unwarrantable     §1.0(b)     Imminent     of Proposed  
    §104 S&S     Total No. of     Failure     Flagrant     Danger     MSHA  
Location   Citations     §104(b) Orders     Citations/Orders     Violations     Orders     Assessments  
Bessemer City
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Black Ankle Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
Black Rock Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Black Spur Quarry
     3       0       0       0       0       14,535  
Blake Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       334  
Bonds
     1       0       0       0       1       5,211  
Boonsboro
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Burlington Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       493  
Burning Springs
     5       0       2       0       0       47,014  
Caldwell Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       424  
Camak Quarry
     6       0       0       0       0       12,406  
Carmel Sand and Gravel
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Cayce Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       550  
Cedar Rapids Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       127  
Central Rock Quarry
     2       0       0       0       0       485  
Charlotte
     2       0       0       0       0       5,765  
Chattanooga Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       308  
Chesterfield Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Chico
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Clarks Quarry
     1       0       0       0       1       1,842  
Clinton County
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
Cloverdale
     0       0       0       0       0       1,025  
Colfax Sand and Gravel
     0       0       0       0       0       300  
Cook Road
     1       0       0       0       0       363  
Cumberland Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Davis
     2       0       0       0       0       852  
Denver
     0       0       0       0       0       227  
Des Moines Portable
     0       0       0       0       0       538  
Dubois Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       300  
Durham Mine
     8       0       0       0       0       7,337  
Earlham Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       585  
East Alamance
     0       0       0       0       0       117  
E-Town Sand and Gravel
     2       0       1       0       0       1,072  
Fairborn Gravel
     3       0       0       0       0       979  
 
                                                

67

 

                                                 
                    Total No. of             Total No. of        
                    §104(d)     Total No. of     §107(a)     Total $ Value  
    Total No. of             Unwarrantable     §1.0(b)     Imminent     of Proposed  
    §104 S&S     Total No. of     Failure     Flagrant     Danger     MSHA  
Location   Citations     §104(b) Orders     Citations/Orders     Violations     Orders     Assessments  
Fairfield
     2       0       0       0       0       1,283  
Ferguson Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       2,461  
Forsyth Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Fort Calhoun
     7       0       0       0       0       7,488  
Fort Dodge Mine
     16       1       4       0       0       7,737  
Fountain Quarry
     4       0       0       0       0       1,260  
Franklin Gravel
     1       0       0       0       0       481  
Franklin Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Fredonia Quarry
     3       0       0       0       0       1,634  
Garner Quarry
     2       0       0       0       0       1,546  
Garwood
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
Georgetown ll
     0       0       0       0       0       300  
Granite Canyon Quarry
     4       0       3       0       0       9,093  
Greenwood
     7       0       2       0       0       14,094  
Guernsey
     1       0       0       0       0       1,459  
Hatton Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Hickory Quarry
     2       0       0       0       0       3,460  
Hicone Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Hugo
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Idabel
     1       0       0       0       0       585  
Iowa Grading
     0       0       0       0       0       317  
Iowa Grading 26810
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
Jamestown Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Jefferson Quarry
     3       0       0       0       0       870  
Jones Mill Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       1,045  
Junction City Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
Kannapolis
     4       0       0       0       0       3,160  
Kaskaskia Mine
     0       0       0       0       0       2,244  
Kentucky Ave Mine
     1       0       0       0       0       963  
Kings Mountain
     3       0       0       0       0       2,561  
Kokomo Sand
     1       0       0       0       0       100  
Kokomo Stone
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Lemon Springs Quarry
     2       0       0       0       0       3,859  
Linn County Sand
     1       0       0       0       0       162  
 
                                                

68

 

                                                 
                    Total No. of             Total No. of        
                    §104(d)     Total No. of     §107(a)     Total $ Value  
    Total No. of             Unwarrantable     §1.0(b)     Imminent     of Proposed  
    §104 S&S     Total No. of     Failure     Flagrant     Danger     MSHA  
Location   Citations     §104(b) Orders     Citations/Orders     Violations     Orders     Assessments  
Malcom Mine
     3       0       0       0       0       4,198  
Mallard Creek
     1       0       0       0       0       444  
Marshalltown Sand
     3       0       0       0       0       1,199  
Matthews
     0       0       0       0       0       454  
Maylene Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       238  
Milford
     1       0       0       0       0       0  
Mill Creek
     1       0       0       0       0       1,332  
Moore Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       250  
New Braunfels Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       350  
Noblesville Sand and Gravel
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Noblesville Stone
     0       0       0       0       0       538  
North Columbia Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       376  
North Indianapolis
     3       0       0       0       0       607  
North Marion Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
North Troy
     1       0       0       0       0       1,034  
Ohio Recycle
     1       0       0       0       0       549  
O’Neal
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Onslow Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Ottawa Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       738  
Parkville Mine
     2       0       0       0       0       4,173  
Paulding Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       117  
Pederson Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
Perry Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Perryville Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
Pinesburg
     1       0       0       0       0       866  
Pomona Quarry
     5       0       0       0       0       3,767  
Portable Crushing
     0       0       0       0       0       381  
Poteet (Sand Plant)
     1       0       0       0       0       276  
Raccoon River Sand
     1       0       0       0       0       243  
Raleigh Durham Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       300  
Randolph Deep Mine
     9       2       0       0       1       12,032  
Red Hill
     1       0       0       0       0       634  
Red Oak Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       307  
Reidsville Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
 
                                                

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                    Total No. of             Total No. of        
                    §104(d)     Total No. of     §107(a)     Total $ Value  
    Total No. of             Unwarrantable     §1.0(b)     Imminent     of Proposed  
    §104 S&S     Total No. of     Failure     Flagrant     Danger     MSHA  
Location   Citations     §104(b) Orders     Citations/Orders     Violations     Orders     Assessments  
Rock Hill
     7       0       0       0       0       6,540  
Rocky Point Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       538  
Rosiclare Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       327  
Ross Gravel
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
R-S Sand and Gravel
     0       0       0       0       0       300  
Ruby Quarry
     1       0       0       0       1       975  
Salisbury Shop
     0       0       0       0       0       876  
San Pedro Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
Sawyer
     0       0       0       0       0       350  
Saylorville Sand
     0       0       0       0       0       200  
Shorter Sand and Gravel
     0       0       0       0       0       100  
Six Mile Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       276  
Snyder
     2       0       0       0       0       6,695  
Spanish Springs Quarry
     3       0       0       0       1       4,101  
St Cloud Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       250  
Stamper Mine
     1       0       0       0       0       1,112  
Statesville Quarry
     0       0       0       0       0       227  
Sully Mine
     3       1       0       0       0       5,125  
Sunflower
     3       0       1       0       0       1,318  
Thomasville Quarry
     2       0       0       0       0       507  
Three Rivers Quarry
     8       0       0       0       0       3,554  
Troy Gravel
     2       0       0       0       0       532  
Tyrone Quarry
     1       0       0       0       0       625  
Vance Quarry
     4       0       1       0       0       17,217  
Warrenton Quarry
     4       0       0       0       0       2,635  
Weeping Water Mine
     11       2       1       0       0       23,821  
Woodleaf Quarry
     4       0       0       0       0       3,716  
Woodville
     6       0       0       0       0       6,404  
 
                                                
Total*
     261       7       16       0       7     $ 378,265  

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*   The foregoing table presents information for quarries and mines for which an entry in the table is required. During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company operated 34 other quarries and mines that did not have any matter required to be reported in the foregoing table.

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