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This news story originally provided by The Charleston Gazette
October 15, 2005
Feds repeatedly cite slurry impoundment
By Ken Ward Jr.
Staff writer
Federal regulators have repeatedly cited a Massey Energy coal slurry impoundment near a Raleigh County elementary school for the same types of safety violations, according to records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration has repeatedly cited Massey subsidiary Goals Coal for allowing erosion on the impoundment, the records show.
The MSHA has also repeatedly cited the company for dumping wood, scrap metal and other materials into the impoundment and for not properly compacting coal waste, the records show.
Over the last decade, the MSHA has cited Goals Coal about once every six months for safety violations at its Shumate Impoundment, according to agency records.
Massey has not challenged the citations, and has paid the more than $2,500 in fines assessed by the MSHA.
In August, when questions were raised about the impoundment’s safety record, MSHA officials refused to release copies of citations issued to the facility without a formal Freedom of Information Act request.
This week, the MSHA released copies of most of the citations issued to the operation since 1999.
Among other things, the citations showed:
Two weeks ago, the MSHA cited a new violation.
During a Sept. 28 inspection, MSHA officials found problems with the automatic warning system on construction equipment at the impoundment, records show. A fine for that violation has not yet been assessed.
Results of an ongoing inspection, started in July, have not been made public by MSHA officials.
The impoundment — with a 385-foot-high dam that can hold up to 2.8 billion gallons of liquid coal waste — is just up the hollow from Marsh Fork Elementary School near Sundial.
Since late June, the Goals Coal site has been under increasing scrutiny from regulators and from coalfield residents who fear it is a danger to students.
Suzy Bohnert, an MSHA spokeswoman, said in August that her agency’s inspectors “did not find a problem” with the impoundment “so there was nothing to correct.”
Gov. Joe Manchin has halted a separate investigation by his office into the issue.
Two weeks ago, Manchin general counsel Carte Goodwin said in a letter to Coal River Mountain Watch that administration officials examined “documents of extensive federal and state oversight” of the impoundment and “determined ... that the impoundment satisfied governing federal and state regulations.”
“Although you may personally take issue with some of these findings, we were pleased — in the interest of the health, safety and welfare of our citizens — that the extensive investigation revealed no evidence of health risks or regulatory noncompliance,” Goodwin wrote.
Massey officials have not returned phone calls seeking comment on the impoundment’s compliance history.
To contact staff writer Ken Ward Jr., use e-mail or call
348-1702.
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