This news story originally provided by WVEC

August 26, 2005

School near coal prep plant opens without a hitch

Associated Press

An elementary school at the heart of a Massey Energy coal preparation plant dispute opened on Friday without incident, a county school official said.

Some residents and environmental groups have argued that coal dust from the plant, located next to Marsh Fork Elementary School, enters the school, causing asthma and respiratory problems. Some have said the students should be moved to another school. The plant is operated by Massey subsidiary Goals Coal Co. Massey is based in Richmond, Va.

Gov. Joe Manchin's office last month launched a review of the complaints.

Thursday, the Department of Education performed an air quality test and general inspection of the school and said it was "not currently aware of any compromise to the indoor environment at Marsh Fork Elementary that may effect the health or safety of children."

The letter to Raleigh County officials from Bill Elswick, executive director of the department's Office of School Facilities, also ruled out moving the school to either of two proposed alternate locations.

Parents were not at the school Friday to protest the opening, said Janet Lilly, Raleigh County's assistant superintendent for elementary education. A headcount won't be taken until next Monday, so school officials couldn't say if the dispute caused parents to keep their children at home on Friday.

The K-5 school ended last year with 224 students.

Some residents are also concerned about a 385-foot-high earthen dam, about 400 yards from the school, that has a 2.8 billion gallon lifetime capacity. The impoundment is used to hold coal wastes.

Massey Energy spokesman Jeff Gillenwater said Friday that the company gave residents and teachers a tour of the impoundment on Thursday.

"The tour was well received by those that attended and clearly eased their minds," Gillenwater said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

The preparation plant dispute escalated this summer when the Department of Environmental Protection revoked a permit that would have allowed Goals to build a second coal silo at the plant. The company had been given earlier permission to start building the silo's foundation, but the state agency later realized the silo was being built outside the permitted area. The silo would have been located about 260 feet from the school.

Don Blankenship, Massey's president, chairman and CEO, sued Manchin in federal court on the same day the DEP revoked the silo permit, alleging the regulatory ruling was retaliation for Blankenship's successful $650,000 campaign to defeat the governor's pension bond proposal in June.

Manchin and state officials have said Massey was not singled out.