This news story originally provided by The Herald-Dispatch

July 29, 2005

DEP sets timetable for demolition of Massey silo

BY LAWRENCE MESSINA
Associated Press Writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- As Massey Energy Co. plans its challenge of the loss of a permit needed to build a new coal silo in Raleigh County, state regulators have given the company 10 days to tear down what parts of the silo it has built, officials said Friday.

Massey also has until Aug. 5 to present its plan for demolishing the uncompleted project and restoring the land beneath it, Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Jessica Greathouse said Friday.

Greathouse said DEP officials have told Massey's lawyers that the agency would object if the company sought to delay the order to demolish the silo, which accompanied Monday's decision to rescind the necessary permit.

Massey had inquired about a delay earlier this week and has also contacted the state Surface Mine Board, one of two venues to field an appeal of the permit decision, Greathouse said.

The board next meets Aug. 9. Massey could also appeal to circuit court. Spokeswoman Katharine Kenny said Massey will appeal, but has not announced which avenue it will take.

"Pending the appeal, we will seek a stay of the decision that we demolish our silo foundation," Kenny said Friday.

Massey wants to build a 168-foot-high silo about 260 feet from Marsh Fork Elementary, as part of ongoing mining operations in the area. State law bars new surface mine operations within 300 feet of a school, but Massey believes the silo falls within an area approved for operations before the 1977 law took effect.

DEP has concluded that Massey has relied on inaccurate maps to argue the silo would be within previously-approved boundaries. After initially granting Massey a permit for the silo on June 30, DEP suspended the permit July 17 and then rescinded it.

DEP's reversal follows weeks of protests by some area residents, aided by Coal River Mountain Watch and Mountain Justice Summer. They have targeted the proposed silo as well as a large reservoir of coal sludge held back by an earthen dam about 400 yards from the school. DEP also renewed a permit for the waste impoundment June 30.

Massey CEO and Chairman Don Blankenship has blamed politics for DEP's actions, and sued Gov. Joe Manchin the same day regulators rescinded the permit. Blankenship alleges Manchin is retaliating against him for waging a successful, $650,000 advertising campaign to defeat last month's pension bond proposal in a special election.

During a joint appearance Friday, Manchin and DEP Secretary Stephanie Timmermeyer said Massey has not been singled out.

"We make permit decisions here at the agency based on the science and the rules and regulations," Timmermeyer said. "That's the way we've always operated."