Massey Energy
Encyclopedia
Massey Energy Company was a coal
extractor in the United States with substantial operations in West Virginia
, Kentucky
and Virginia
. By revenue, it was the fourth largest producer of coal in the United States and the largest coal producer in Central Appalachia. By coal production weight, it was the sixth largest producer of coal in the United States.
Massey's mines yielded around 40 million tons annually. The company controled 2.3 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves in Southern West Virginia
, Eastern Kentucky
, Southwest Virginia
and Tennessee
or about a third of all Central Appalachian reserves. It employed approximately 5,850 people and operated 35 underground mines and 12 surface mines.
In January 2011, it was announced that Massey Energy company would be bought by competitor Alpha Natural Resources
for $7.1 billion. More than 99% of Massey shareholders and 98% of Alpha shareholders voted in favor of the acquisition and courts in Delaware and West Virginia refused to block the shareholders' vote.
Massey Energy owned and operated Upper Big Branch Mine
where 29 miners were killed in April 2010.
St. Joe Minerals
acquired a majority interest in A.T. Massey in 1974. Six years later, St. Joe Minerals formed the Massey Coal Partnership, along with Royal Dutch Shell
. In 1981, the Fluor Corporation acquired St. Joe Minerals. In 1984, the United Mine Workers of America went on strike against A.T. Massey, sparking a series of confrontations documented in the film Mine War on Blackberry Creek and in 1987, the Massey Coal Partnership was reorganized into A.T. Massey Coal Company, a wholly owned mining subsidiary of Fluor Corporation, initiating a period of significant growth through acquisitions.
In 1992 Don Blankenship
was appointed President, Chairman and CEO of A.T. Massey Coal Company; he served as the Chairman and CEO of Massey for 18 years. Under Blankenship's direction and leadership, the growth of the late-80s continued and accelerated with several more acquisitions taking place and the establishment of a number of subsidiaries.
A.T. Massey completed a reverse spin-off from Fluor Corporation in 2000 and was renamed Massey Energy Company. Today, Massey Energy produces, processes, and sells bituminous coal of steam and metallurgical grades, primarily of low sulfur content, through its 22 processing and shipping centers, called "resource groups," many of which receive coal from multiple coal mines.
Massey currently operates 35 underground mines and 12 surface mines in West Virginia
, Kentucky
and Virginia
. In 2007, Massey announced a strategic alliance with Essar Mineral Resources Ltd., a member of Essar Group
of India
, to jointly evaluate and develop select business opportunities on a project-by-project basis.
The company recently promoted several executives to new positions. In November 2008, Massey promoted Baxter Phillips Jr., formerly executive vice president and chief administrative officer, to president, a position previously held by Massey Chairman and CEO Don Blankenship. Phillips’ new position will focus on Massey Energy's strategic growth plans and will continue to manage sales, finance, human resources, information systems and investor relations at the company's Richmond
headquarters.
In January 2009, the company promoted John M. Poma to vice president and chief administrative officer, Jeffrey M. Gillenwater to vice president of human resources and Steve Sears to vice president of sales and marketing, nearly a year after promoting Shane Harvey to general counsel.
On Dec. 31, 2010, longtime CEO Don Blankenship
stepped down, and was replaced as CEO by Massey President Baxter F. Phillips Jr.
An aggressive proponent of mountaintop removal mining (stripmining or surface mining), Massey Energy's record on safety and following environmental protocols were also called into question when in October 2000 a containment area for the liquid by-product failed at a Massey impoundment in eastern Kentucky, releasing a 300-million gallon spill of toxic sludge, making the Martin County spill "the worst environmental disaster in the United States east of the Mississippi."
resulted in the deaths of 29 miners.
The explosion, which has become known as the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster
, is the worst mining disaster in 40 years, with a greater loss of life than in any mining accident since the 1970s. Mine safety investigators are still searching for an exact cause, though the methane explosion, largely preventable by proper ventilation, is being closely examined. Investigators are also reviewing the historical record of safety violations at the Upper Big Branch mine, which amassed more than 1,100 violations in the past three years, many of them serious, including 50 of them in March 2010 for violations including improper ventilation of methane and poor escape routes. Federal regulators had ordered portions of the mine closed 60 times over the year preceding the explosion. In addition, the FBI has reportedly also launched a probe, investigating possible criminal wrongdoing at the mine, including criminal negligence and possible bribery
of federal regulators. Questions about Massey Energy's mining safety practices, along with questions about CEO Don Blankenship's excessive spending on court appointment campaigns, are coming from the public, the Dept of Labor, and President Obama.
In response to a prolonged citizen campaign on the environment, on May 29, 2009 Ohio State University
President E. Gordon Gee announced his resignation from the Board of Massey Energy. Gee had said he believed he could do more environmental good on the board than off it.
----
In November 2008, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of a $77 million case
against Massey brought by Harman Mining. The suit alleges contract interference by Massey drove Harman out of business. Wal-Mart
, PepsiCo
, Intel Corporation
, Lockheed Martin
, Common Cause
and Public Citizen
filed briefs in the case urging the Supreme Court to throw out the West Virginia Supreme Court decision in favor of Massey. The corporations contended that Justice Brent Benjamin was biased in the case. On June 8, 2009, The US Supreme Court agreed 5-4, sending the case back to the West Virginia Supreme Court, and forcing Justice Benjamin to recuse himself from the case. The New York Times opined that the case involved "egregious ethical myopia" on the part of Justice Benjamin.
, complained that Massey's Goals Coal Company was endangering the health and well-being of students at the adjacent Marsh Fork Elementary School. In July 2005, the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection revoked a permit for construction of a coal silo near the school. However, some local employees and residents support Massey Energy by arguing that the economic benefits received from the company outweigh the environmental impact to the area. At a protest against the coal silo on June 23, 2009, anti-mountaintop removal activist. 30 non-violent protestors were arrested, including actress Daryl Hannah
, NASA
climatologist James E. Hansen, and former West Virginia Congressman Ken Hechler
. In June 2009, the West Virginia Supreme Court concluded that the Massey was allowed to build their second silo; "We therefore find that the circuit court did not err, and properly affirmed the decision of the West Virginia Surface Mine Board."
In February 2003 a judge ordered Massey to pay the residents of Sylvester, West Virginia
$473,000 to settle complaints that coal dust from Massey's Elk Run Processing Plant had caused health problems and lowered property values in the nearby town. The judge also ordered Massey to construct a cloth dome over their facility to reduce the dust.
On September 16, 2004, a civil jury ordered Massey to pay $1.54 million in damages to 245 residents of Mingo County, W. Va., who lost their water wells after Massey had mined beneath the homes. The jury concluded that Massey acted “with malicious, willful, wanton, reckless or intentional disregard for plaintiffs’ rights.”
In December, 2008 residents of Prenter, West Virginia
filed a lawsuit claiming that underground slurry injection from a Massey coal facility and other coal preparation plants contaminated their underground water supply.
(EPA) to resolve thousands of violations of the Clean Water Act
for routinely polluting waterways in Kentucky and West Virginia with coal slurry
and wastewater. Although this was the largest Clean Water Act settlement, the violations were estimated to have fines on the order of $2.4 billion. Over 700 miles of rivers and streams in the coalfields have been buried by the waste rock left over from mountaintop removal
, a method of strip mining coal which requires the blowing up of mountain tops, removing from 500 to 800 feet (243.8 m) of mountaintop in the process. This method of coal mining has created some of the worst environmental disasters in the Mississippi area in regards to the poisoning of waterways, the flooding of local communities, and the destruction of the biodiversity of the Appalachian Mountains
in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
In October 2000, a Massey Energy subsidiary in Martin County, Kentucky accidentally released 306 million gallons of coal slurry waste from an impoundment into two mountain streams, Coldwater Creek and Wolf Creek (see photo right). The Martin County sludge spill
was called the worst ever environmental disaster in the southeastern United States by the EPA. The spill smothered all aquatic life in the streams and left residents with contaminated drinking water. Cleanup costs for the spill were approximately $50 million.
. Efforts to fight the fire were hampered by inadequate fire extinguishers, fire hose couplings which did not match the water line, and a lack of water in the lines. On December 22, 2008 Massey Energy agreed to pay $4.2 million in civil and criminal penalties for the accident. It is the largest financial settlement in the coal industry's history. The Charleston (WV) Gazette reported on January 15, 2009 that Aracoma widows Delorice Bragg and Freda Hatfield urged U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver to reject Massey's plea bargain and fine for the accident. Widow Bragg stated that it was clear "that Massey executives expected the Alma Mine to emphasize production over the safety of the coal miners inside."
On February 1, 2006, bulldozer operator Paul K. Moss, 58, of Sissonville, West Virginia
died when his machine ruptured a 16 inches (406.4 mm) natural gas line at Elk Run Coal Co.'s Black Castle surface mine. The bulldozer was immediately engulfed in flames. According to the Mine Safety and Health Administration
report, operator Moss exited the cab but his body was found behind the blade. Massey Energy was fined $2.5 million after a federal judge accepted the company's guilty plea to 10 criminal charges for the fire. A U.S. District approved a plea deal despite a provision sparing Massey officials and the Richmond, Va., coal company from prosecution. The agreement also required Aracoma to pay a $1.7 million fine for civil violations found by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration
.
On October 8, 2008 Steven Cain, 32, of Comfort, West Virginia was killed at Massey Energy's Independence Coal Justice No. 1 Mine when he was crushed by a railcar. A Mine Safety and Health Administration
report concludes Cain was killed because Massey managers assigned him a dangerous job, although he had “little mining experience and minimal training.”
In 2009, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration
cited Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine for 495 violations and proposed $911,802 in fines.
On April 5, 2010, 29 miners were killed in a mine explosion at the Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine
at Montcoal, West Virginia
. Safety officials claimed that the mine had previous violations for not properly ventilating methane gas. In the previous year, federal inspectors had fined the company more than $382,000 for violations involving ventilation and equipment at the plant. This explosion and subsequent deaths was the worst US mine disaster in 40 years.
ordered Massey to pay fines totaling $30 million as part of an agreement resulting from a May 2007 complaint filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
.
. Protests have involved activists going onto mine sites, chaining themselves to heavy equipment, blocking roads, occupying two trees to stop blasting, and putting up large banners. In June 2009, a Raleigh County judge granted a preliminary injunction to block anti-mountaintop removal activists from further peaceful protests on some Massey Energy sites.
, providing MD student loans that are waived if the recipient practices medicine for a minimum of seven years in Massey’s operating region. The Massey Cancer Center of Virginia Commonwealth University
is named in honor of William E. Massey for his financial endowment.
In 2005 Massey established the Family Wellness Center that offers medical services to employee’s families in McDowell
and Logan county
in West Virginia, who often lack access to primary care physicians and health care facilities. A Harvard
study found that these counties, perhaps due to the nature of mining operations, rank among the 25 worst countywide life expectancy averages in the United States.
Since 2008, an overview of Massey’s community services is given in an annual “Corporate Social Responsibility Report”.
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
extractor in the United States with substantial operations in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. By revenue, it was the fourth largest producer of coal in the United States and the largest coal producer in Central Appalachia. By coal production weight, it was the sixth largest producer of coal in the United States.
Massey's mines yielded around 40 million tons annually. The company controled 2.3 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves in Southern West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, Eastern Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Southwest Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
or about a third of all Central Appalachian reserves. It employed approximately 5,850 people and operated 35 underground mines and 12 surface mines.
In January 2011, it was announced that Massey Energy company would be bought by competitor Alpha Natural Resources
Alpha Natural Resources
Alpha Natural Resources is a large American producer of metallurgical and thermal coal. It also provides services relating to equipment repairs, road construction and logistics . It doesn't produce all of the coal it sells, some is purchased and resold. Alpha operates in Virginia, West Virginia,...
for $7.1 billion. More than 99% of Massey shareholders and 98% of Alpha shareholders voted in favor of the acquisition and courts in Delaware and West Virginia refused to block the shareholders' vote.
Massey Energy owned and operated Upper Big Branch Mine
Upper Big Branch Mine disaster
The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5, 2010 about underground in Raleigh County, West Virginia at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine located in Montcoal . Twenty-nine out of thirty-one miners at the site were killed. The explosion occurred at 3:27 pm...
where 29 miners were killed in April 2010.
History
A.T. Massey incorporated the A.T. Massey Coal Company in 1920 as a coal brokering business in Richmond, Va., and served as the company’s first president. A.T. Massey acquired its first mining operation in 1945 and expanded its business to include coal mining and processing. Several members of the Massey family succeeded A.T. Massey as company president, including Evan Massey in 1945, William E. Massey in 1962 and E. Morgan Massey in 1972.St. Joe Minerals
St. Joe Minerals
St. Joe Minerals Corporation was the United States largest producer of lead and zinc when it merged with Fluor Corporation in 1981.St. Joe was founded at the St. Joseph Lead Company on March 25, 1864 by Lyman W. Gilbert, John E. Wylie, Edmund I. Wade, Wilmot Williams, James L. Dunham and James L....
acquired a majority interest in A.T. Massey in 1974. Six years later, St. Joe Minerals formed the Massey Coal Partnership, along with Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
. In 1981, the Fluor Corporation acquired St. Joe Minerals. In 1984, the United Mine Workers of America went on strike against A.T. Massey, sparking a series of confrontations documented in the film Mine War on Blackberry Creek and in 1987, the Massey Coal Partnership was reorganized into A.T. Massey Coal Company, a wholly owned mining subsidiary of Fluor Corporation, initiating a period of significant growth through acquisitions.
In 1992 Don Blankenship
Don Blankenship
Donald Leon "Don" Blankenship was Chairman and CEO of Massey Energy Co., the sixth largest coal company in the United States...
was appointed President, Chairman and CEO of A.T. Massey Coal Company; he served as the Chairman and CEO of Massey for 18 years. Under Blankenship's direction and leadership, the growth of the late-80s continued and accelerated with several more acquisitions taking place and the establishment of a number of subsidiaries.
A.T. Massey completed a reverse spin-off from Fluor Corporation in 2000 and was renamed Massey Energy Company. Today, Massey Energy produces, processes, and sells bituminous coal of steam and metallurgical grades, primarily of low sulfur content, through its 22 processing and shipping centers, called "resource groups," many of which receive coal from multiple coal mines.
Massey currently operates 35 underground mines and 12 surface mines in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. In 2007, Massey announced a strategic alliance with Essar Mineral Resources Ltd., a member of Essar Group
Essar Group
The Essar Group is a multinational conglomerate corporation in the sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping Ports & Logistics as well as Construction head quartered at Mumbai, India...
of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, to jointly evaluate and develop select business opportunities on a project-by-project basis.
The company recently promoted several executives to new positions. In November 2008, Massey promoted Baxter Phillips Jr., formerly executive vice president and chief administrative officer, to president, a position previously held by Massey Chairman and CEO Don Blankenship. Phillips’ new position will focus on Massey Energy's strategic growth plans and will continue to manage sales, finance, human resources, information systems and investor relations at the company's Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
headquarters.
In January 2009, the company promoted John M. Poma to vice president and chief administrative officer, Jeffrey M. Gillenwater to vice president of human resources and Steve Sears to vice president of sales and marketing, nearly a year after promoting Shane Harvey to general counsel.
On Dec. 31, 2010, longtime CEO Don Blankenship
Don Blankenship
Donald Leon "Don" Blankenship was Chairman and CEO of Massey Energy Co., the sixth largest coal company in the United States...
stepped down, and was replaced as CEO by Massey President Baxter F. Phillips Jr.
An aggressive proponent of mountaintop removal mining (stripmining or surface mining), Massey Energy's record on safety and following environmental protocols were also called into question when in October 2000 a containment area for the liquid by-product failed at a Massey impoundment in eastern Kentucky, releasing a 300-million gallon spill of toxic sludge, making the Martin County spill "the worst environmental disaster in the United States east of the Mississippi."
Upper Big Branch mine disaster
On April 5, 2010, an explosion at Massey owned Performance Coal Co. mine in Montcoal, West VirginiaMontcoal, West Virginia
Montcoal is an unincorporated community in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. Montcoal is located on West Virginia Route 3 south of Whitesville.-Coal mine explosion:...
resulted in the deaths of 29 miners.
The explosion, which has become known as the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster
Upper Big Branch Mine disaster
The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5, 2010 about underground in Raleigh County, West Virginia at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine located in Montcoal . Twenty-nine out of thirty-one miners at the site were killed. The explosion occurred at 3:27 pm...
, is the worst mining disaster in 40 years, with a greater loss of life than in any mining accident since the 1970s. Mine safety investigators are still searching for an exact cause, though the methane explosion, largely preventable by proper ventilation, is being closely examined. Investigators are also reviewing the historical record of safety violations at the Upper Big Branch mine, which amassed more than 1,100 violations in the past three years, many of them serious, including 50 of them in March 2010 for violations including improper ventilation of methane and poor escape routes. Federal regulators had ordered portions of the mine closed 60 times over the year preceding the explosion. In addition, the FBI has reportedly also launched a probe, investigating possible criminal wrongdoing at the mine, including criminal negligence and possible bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
of federal regulators. Questions about Massey Energy's mining safety practices, along with questions about CEO Don Blankenship's excessive spending on court appointment campaigns, are coming from the public, the Dept of Labor, and President Obama.
Sale of Massey to Alpha
On June 1, shareholders of Alpha Natural Resources agreed to buy Massey Energy for $7.1 billion, making it the nation's largest metallurgical coal company. Some shareholder groups had tried to block the sale claiming that Massey managers had engineered the sale of the company to protect themselves from liabilities and had arranged new management jobs with Alpha.Board of directors
- Baxter F. Phillips Jr., president and CEO, Massey Energy
- James B. Crawford, former chairman and CEO, James River Coal Company
- General Robert H. FoglesongRobert H. FoglesongGeneral Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong formerly of Williamson, West Virginia is a former President of Mississippi State University. He served in the United States Air Force from April 1972 until retirement as general in February 2006...
, retired four-star general, U.S. Air Force - Richard M. Gabrys, former vice chairman, Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Robert B. Holland, former director, Financial Guaranty Insurance Corporation
- Admiral Bobby Inman, former director, National Security AgencyNational Security AgencyThe National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
- Dan R. Moore, chairman, Moore Group, Inc.
- Stanley C. Suboleski, former commissioner, Federal Mine Safety and Health Review CommissionFederal Mine Safety and Health Review CommissionThe Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is an independent adjudicative agency of the United States government that provides administrative trial and appellate review of legal disputes arising under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act, or Mine Act, of 1977.Under the Mine...
- Linda J. Welty, former president and Chief Operating Officer, H. B. Fuller and Flint Ink
In response to a prolonged citizen campaign on the environment, on May 29, 2009 Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
President E. Gordon Gee announced his resignation from the Board of Massey Energy. Gee had said he believed he could do more environmental good on the board than off it.
Location
There are 23 coal mining sites run by Massey Energy. There are sixteen sites located in West Virginia, five in Kentucky, and one in Virginia. Locations in West Virginia: Delbarton, Elk Run, Greun Valley, Guyandotte, Independece, Logan, County, Mammoth, Marfork, Nicholas Energy, Progress Energy, Rawl, Republic Energy, and Stirrat. Locations in Kentucky: Long Fork, Martin County, New Ridge, and Sidney. Locations in Virginia: Knox Creek.----
Competitors
Top Massey Energy competitors are:- Arch CoalArch CoalArch Coal is an American coal mining and processing company. The company mines, processes, and markets bituminous and sub-bituminous coal with low sulfur content in the United States. Arch Coal is the second largest supplier of coal in the U.S. behind Peabody Energy. The company supplies 16% of...
- CONSOL EnergyConsol EnergyConsol Energy is an energy company headquartered in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, suburb of Cecil Township, in the Southpointe complex. It is one of the US's largest coal mining companies, along with Peabody Energy and Arch Coal...
- Peabody EnergyPeabody EnergyPeabody Energy Corporation , previously Peabody Coal Company, is the largest private-sector coal company in the world. The company is headquartered in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri....
Court rulings
In 2005, Wheeling, W.Va.-based steelmaker Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel sued Massey Energy claiming Massey failed to deliver on a contract of 104,000 tons of coal monthly. In July 2007, a Circuit Court in Brooke County, W.Va. upheld the jury award of more than $267 million, including accrued interest. Massey appealed the case to the US Supreme Court, which declined to hear the appeal in December, 2008.In November 2008, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of a $77 million case
Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co.
Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Co., 129 S. Ct. 2252 , is a decision by United States Supreme Court dealing with the circumstances under which a judge has a duty to recuse himself from a case.- History :...
against Massey brought by Harman Mining. The suit alleges contract interference by Massey drove Harman out of business. Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
, PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
, Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most...
, Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
, Common Cause
Common Cause
Common Cause is a self-described nonpartisan, nonprofit lobby and advocacy organization. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican former cabinet secretary under Lyndon Johnson, as a "citizens' lobby" with a mission focused on making U.S. political institutions more open and...
and Public Citizen
Public Citizen
Public Citizen is a non-profit, consumer rights advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., United States, with a branch in Austin, Texas. Public Citizen was founded by Ralph Nader in 1971, headed for 26 years by Joan Claybrook, and is now headed by Robert Weissman.-Lobbying Efforts:Public Citizen...
filed briefs in the case urging the Supreme Court to throw out the West Virginia Supreme Court decision in favor of Massey. The corporations contended that Justice Brent Benjamin was biased in the case. On June 8, 2009, The US Supreme Court agreed 5-4, sending the case back to the West Virginia Supreme Court, and forcing Justice Benjamin to recuse himself from the case. The New York Times opined that the case involved "egregious ethical myopia" on the part of Justice Benjamin.
Lawsuits
In 2005, some residents of Raleigh County, West VirginiaRaleigh County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 79,220 people, 31,793 households, and 22,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 130 people per square mile . There were 35,678 housing units at an average density of 59 per square mile...
, complained that Massey's Goals Coal Company was endangering the health and well-being of students at the adjacent Marsh Fork Elementary School. In July 2005, the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection revoked a permit for construction of a coal silo near the school. However, some local employees and residents support Massey Energy by arguing that the economic benefits received from the company outweigh the environmental impact to the area. At a protest against the coal silo on June 23, 2009, anti-mountaintop removal activist. 30 non-violent protestors were arrested, including actress Daryl Hannah
Daryl Hannah
Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...
, NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
climatologist James E. Hansen, and former West Virginia Congressman Ken Hechler
Ken Hechler
Kenneth William Hechler is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented West Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1959 to 1977 and was West Virginia Secretary of State from 1985 to 2001....
. In June 2009, the West Virginia Supreme Court concluded that the Massey was allowed to build their second silo; "We therefore find that the circuit court did not err, and properly affirmed the decision of the West Virginia Surface Mine Board."
In February 2003 a judge ordered Massey to pay the residents of Sylvester, West Virginia
Sylvester, West Virginia
Sylvester is a town in Boone County, West Virginia, United States, along the Big Coal River. The population was 195 at the 2000 census. Sylvester was incorporated on April 11, 1952 by the Boone County Circuit Court.-Geography:...
$473,000 to settle complaints that coal dust from Massey's Elk Run Processing Plant had caused health problems and lowered property values in the nearby town. The judge also ordered Massey to construct a cloth dome over their facility to reduce the dust.
On September 16, 2004, a civil jury ordered Massey to pay $1.54 million in damages to 245 residents of Mingo County, W. Va., who lost their water wells after Massey had mined beneath the homes. The jury concluded that Massey acted “with malicious, willful, wanton, reckless or intentional disregard for plaintiffs’ rights.”
In December, 2008 residents of Prenter, West Virginia
Prenter, West Virginia
Prenter is an unincorporated community in Boone County, West Virginia, United States. Prenter is east-southeast of Madison....
filed a lawsuit claiming that underground slurry injection from a Massey coal facility and other coal preparation plants contaminated their underground water supply.
Environmental record
In early 2008, the company agreed to a $20 million settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyUnited States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA) to resolve thousands of violations of the Clean Water Act
Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that...
for routinely polluting waterways in Kentucky and West Virginia with coal slurry
Coal slurry
Coal slurry consists of solid and liquid waste and is a by-product of the coal mining and preparation processes. It is a fine coal refuse and water. Mining generates enormous amounts of solid waste in the form of rocks and dirt. This refuse is used to dam the opening of a hollow between adjacent...
and wastewater. Although this was the largest Clean Water Act settlement, the violations were estimated to have fines on the order of $2.4 billion. Over 700 miles of rivers and streams in the coalfields have been buried by the waste rock left over from mountaintop removal
Mountaintop removal
Mountaintop removal mining is a form of surface mining that requires the removal of the summit or summit ridge of a mountain in order to permit easier access to the coal seams...
, a method of strip mining coal which requires the blowing up of mountain tops, removing from 500 to 800 feet (243.8 m) of mountaintop in the process. This method of coal mining has created some of the worst environmental disasters in the Mississippi area in regards to the poisoning of waterways, the flooding of local communities, and the destruction of the biodiversity of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
In October 2000, a Massey Energy subsidiary in Martin County, Kentucky accidentally released 306 million gallons of coal slurry waste from an impoundment into two mountain streams, Coldwater Creek and Wolf Creek (see photo right). The Martin County sludge spill
Martin County sludge spill
The Martin County Sludge Spill was an accident that occurred after midnight on October 11, 2000 when the bottom of a coal sludge impoundment owned by Massey Energy in Martin County, Kentucky, USA, broke into an abandoned underground mine below. The slurry came out of the mine openings, sending an...
was called the worst ever environmental disaster in the southeastern United States by the EPA. The spill smothered all aquatic life in the streams and left residents with contaminated drinking water. Cleanup costs for the spill were approximately $50 million.
Mine safety
On January 19, 2006 a belt line fire killed miners Don I. Bragg, 33, and Ellery Elvis Hatfield, 47, at Massey's Aracoma Alma Number 1 Mine in Logan County, West VirginiaLogan County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 37,710 people, 14,880 households, and 10,936 families residing in the county. The population density was 83 people per square mile . There were 16,807 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...
. Efforts to fight the fire were hampered by inadequate fire extinguishers, fire hose couplings which did not match the water line, and a lack of water in the lines. On December 22, 2008 Massey Energy agreed to pay $4.2 million in civil and criminal penalties for the accident. It is the largest financial settlement in the coal industry's history. The Charleston (WV) Gazette reported on January 15, 2009 that Aracoma widows Delorice Bragg and Freda Hatfield urged U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver to reject Massey's plea bargain and fine for the accident. Widow Bragg stated that it was clear "that Massey executives expected the Alma Mine to emphasize production over the safety of the coal miners inside."
On February 1, 2006, bulldozer operator Paul K. Moss, 58, of Sissonville, West Virginia
Sissonville, West Virginia
Sissonville is an unincorporated census-designated place in Kanawha County, West Virginia, along the Pocatalico River. The population was 4,028 at the 2010 census...
died when his machine ruptured a 16 inches (406.4 mm) natural gas line at Elk Run Coal Co.'s Black Castle surface mine. The bulldozer was immediately engulfed in flames. According to the Mine Safety and Health Administration
Mine Safety and Health Administration
The Mine Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to enforce compliance with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents, to reduce...
report, operator Moss exited the cab but his body was found behind the blade. Massey Energy was fined $2.5 million after a federal judge accepted the company's guilty plea to 10 criminal charges for the fire. A U.S. District approved a plea deal despite a provision sparing Massey officials and the Richmond, Va., coal company from prosecution. The agreement also required Aracoma to pay a $1.7 million fine for civil violations found by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration
Mine Safety and Health Administration
The Mine Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to enforce compliance with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents, to reduce...
.
On October 8, 2008 Steven Cain, 32, of Comfort, West Virginia was killed at Massey Energy's Independence Coal Justice No. 1 Mine when he was crushed by a railcar. A Mine Safety and Health Administration
Mine Safety and Health Administration
The Mine Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to enforce compliance with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents, to reduce...
report concludes Cain was killed because Massey managers assigned him a dangerous job, although he had “little mining experience and minimal training.”
In 2009, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration
Mine Safety and Health Administration
The Mine Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to enforce compliance with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents, to reduce...
cited Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine for 495 violations and proposed $911,802 in fines.
On April 5, 2010, 29 miners were killed in a mine explosion at the Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine
Upper Big Branch Mine disaster
The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5, 2010 about underground in Raleigh County, West Virginia at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine located in Montcoal . Twenty-nine out of thirty-one miners at the site were killed. The explosion occurred at 3:27 pm...
at Montcoal, West Virginia
Montcoal, West Virginia
Montcoal is an unincorporated community in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. Montcoal is located on West Virginia Route 3 south of Whitesville.-Coal mine explosion:...
. Safety officials claimed that the mine had previous violations for not properly ventilating methane gas. In the previous year, federal inspectors had fined the company more than $382,000 for violations involving ventilation and equipment at the plant. This explosion and subsequent deaths was the worst US mine disaster in 40 years.
Age discrimination
On Oct 30, 2009, Fayette County West Virginia Judge Paul Blake ruled in an age discrimination lawsuit that more than 200 miners who were not rehired after Massey Energy Co. bought a bankrupt West Virginia mine were entitled to a settlement of $8.75 million. The suit covers 229 miners, including 82 union miners. Massey has been ordered to rehire the miners. Under the terms of the settlement, the 82 union miners will each receive $38,000. The remaining miners will receive $19,000.EPA complaint
In January 2008, the United States Department of JusticeUnited States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
ordered Massey to pay fines totaling $30 million as part of an agreement resulting from a May 2007 complaint filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
.
Protests
In 2009, there have been fourteen trespassing incidents at Massey mines in West Virginia in connection with mountaintop removalMountaintop removal
Mountaintop removal mining is a form of surface mining that requires the removal of the summit or summit ridge of a mountain in order to permit easier access to the coal seams...
. Protests have involved activists going onto mine sites, chaining themselves to heavy equipment, blocking roads, occupying two trees to stop blasting, and putting up large banners. In June 2009, a Raleigh County judge granted a preliminary injunction to block anti-mountaintop removal activists from further peaceful protests on some Massey Energy sites.
Community service
Among Massey Energy’s contributions to the community are an annual Christmas Extravaganza for local children, financial assistance to local schools, and $1 million in college and post-graduate scholarships. Massey co-sponsors the Appalachian Leadership and Education Foundation (ALEF) and in 1997 formed Doctors for our Communities with Marshall UniversityMarshall University
Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....
, providing MD student loans that are waived if the recipient practices medicine for a minimum of seven years in Massey’s operating region. The Massey Cancer Center of Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University is a public university located in Richmond, Virginia. It comprises two campuses in the Downtown Richmond area, the product of a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968...
is named in honor of William E. Massey for his financial endowment.
In 2005 Massey established the Family Wellness Center that offers medical services to employee’s families in McDowell
McDowell County, West Virginia
McDowell County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The land that became McDowell was originally part of Tazewell County, Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,113. Its county seat is Welch. McDowell county is the southern-most county in the state, geographically...
and Logan county
Logan County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 37,710 people, 14,880 households, and 10,936 families residing in the county. The population density was 83 people per square mile . There were 16,807 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...
in West Virginia, who often lack access to primary care physicians and health care facilities. A Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
study found that these counties, perhaps due to the nature of mining operations, rank among the 25 worst countywide life expectancy averages in the United States.
Since 2008, an overview of Massey’s community services is given in an annual “Corporate Social Responsibility Report”.
See also
- Aracoma Alma Mine accidentAracoma Alma Mine accidentThe Aracoma Alma Mine accident occurred when a conveyor belt in the Aracoma Alma Mine No. 1 at Melville in Logan County, West Virginia caught fire...
- Martin County sludge spillMartin County sludge spillThe Martin County Sludge Spill was an accident that occurred after midnight on October 11, 2000 when the bottom of a coal sludge impoundment owned by Massey Energy in Martin County, Kentucky, USA, broke into an abandoned underground mine below. The slurry came out of the mine openings, sending an...
- Mountaintop removalMountaintop removalMountaintop removal mining is a form of surface mining that requires the removal of the summit or summit ridge of a mountain in order to permit easier access to the coal seams...
- Upper Big Branch Mine disasterUpper Big Branch Mine disasterThe Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5, 2010 about underground in Raleigh County, West Virginia at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine located in Montcoal . Twenty-nine out of thirty-one miners at the site were killed. The explosion occurred at 3:27 pm...
Other sources
- Shnayerson, MichaelMichael ShnayersonMichael Beahan Shnayerson is an American journalist and contributing editor for Vanity Fair magazine. He is the author of several books and over 75 Vanity Fair stories since 1986. Two of his pieces for the magazine have been developed into films...
(2008), Coal RiverCoal River (book)Coal River: How a Few Brave Americans Took on a Powerful Company–and the Federal Government–to Save the Land They Love is a book by Michael Shnayerson....
, New York, New York: Farrar, Straus and GirouxFarrar, Straus and GirouxFarrar, Straus and Giroux is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger W. Straus, Jr. and John C. Farrar. Known primarily as Farrar, Straus in its first decade of existence, the company was renamed several times, including Farrar, Straus and Young and Farrar, Straus and Cudahy...
.
External links
- Massey Energy Corporate Web site
- Massey Energy Google Finance
- Massey 2009 Corporate Social Responsibility Report
- Massey Annual Report FY 2007
- Impact on Marsh Fork Elementary School by critics
- Black and White about Massey
- Massey Energy Blasts West Virginia’s Coal River Mountain - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
- Prosecute Massey: Petition Prosecutor to Bring Manslaughter Charge