Owen Co. mining company ordered to pay $110,000 for unpaid penalties relating to worker safety violations

Eagle Stone operated Gosport Stone, a crushed limestone mining operation in Owen County.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced that the Justice Department has secured a judgment against Eagle Stone, Inc., a Southern Indiana mining company, for Eagle Stone’s failure to pay civil penalties imposed against it for violations of federal mining health and safety standards.

Eagle Stone operated Gosport Stone, a crushed limestone mining operation in Owen County, Indiana. Between 2019 and 2022, the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration imposed scores of civil penalties against Eagle Stone for violations of worker safety requirements at the Gosport Stone operation. The violations ranged from faulty brakes on vehicles, to failure to insulate electrical wiring, to unsafe storage practices for hazardous chemicals, all of which endangered the health and safety of the employees working at this facility. Eagle Stone stopped operating in or around 2022 and no longer has any employees.

In 2023, the Department of Justice and Department of Labor sued Eagle Stone in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, seeking judgment for the unpaid penalties along with interest. Eagle Stone agreed to a court order requiring it to immediately pay $110,000 to resolve the civil penalties against it. On September 19, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana entered a consent judgment in favor of the United States and against Eagle Stone, requiring the company to pay $110,000 to the government.

“Miners and other professionals in the field deserve a safe workplace as they do important jobs of our communities and our economy,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “When companies disregard safety standards, they must be held accountable. This judgment and recovery on behalf of the public demonstrates that the Department of Justice and Department of Labor are committed to ensuring that companies pay fines for endangering workers and do not evade accountability.”

Department of Labor officials echoed U.S. Attorney Myers’s remarks. “When employers avoid their legal obligations, the U.S. Department of Labor will use its enforcement powers to hold them accountable,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “We are pleased to partner with the Department of Justice in implementing vigorous enforcement strategies to ensure that mine operators are held accountable when they cut corners on mine safety and health.”

“Civil penalties are one of the primary mechanisms MSHA uses to compel operators to improve safety and health conditions at their mines,” said Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Chris Williamson. “I thank Zachary Myers and his office for their efforts to pursue unpaid civil penalties. Those efforts will make miners in Indiana, and across the country, safer and healthier.”

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Taylor Kirklin and Jason Grover, Counsel for Trial Litigation in the Department of Labor’s Office of the Solicitor, who litigated the case.

Members of the public who have concerns about environmental matters, including matters involving environmental justice issues, in the Southern District of Indiana can report them to the U.S. Attorney’s office via email to USAINS-Environmental@usdoj.gov.