Massey watch

W. Va. Supreme Court to get out of bed with Blankenship, reconsider his case 4

A while back, loathsome mountaintop-mining outfit Massey Energy was hit with a $50 million judgment in a West Virginia court, in a ruling that they had illegally driven other area mining companies out of business. They appealed to the W. Va. Supreme Court, which overturned the ruling in a vote of 3-2.

Later, pictures turned up of loathsome Massey CEO Don Blankenship vacationing on the French Riviera with W. Va. Supreme Court justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard -- one of those three votes -- way back in 2006, as the case was being litigated.

They were both in Monte Carlo by coincidence, Massey claimed. They just got a few meals together! On three consecutive nights! With "two females apparently traveling with them as companions"! Oops.

Anyway, the W. Va. Supreme Court has now unanimously decided to rehear the case. Probably a good call.

In other news I didn't get around to mentioning at the time, a while back a judge hit Massey with a whopping $20 million in civil-penalty fines for pollution under the Clean Water Act. It was the largest such judgment ever, the result of a two-year EPA investigation that turned up more than 4,500 violations over seven years. In some cases Massey was discharging slurry that contained more than ten times the permitted levels of heavy metals and sediment. The company claimed it was settling not because it was guilty -- no sir! -- but simply because it wanted to protect its shareholders from the "uncertainties" of litigation. Mm-hm.

David Roberts is staff writer for Grist. You can follow his Twitter feed at twitter.com/drgrist.

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  1. Liz Borkowski Posted 11:28 pm
    28 Jan 2008

    they also have problems with worker safetyAfter two miners died in a fire at Massey's Aracoma mine, the Mine Safety & Health Administration fined the company a record $1.5 million for a long list of violations -- 21 of which were classified as "reckless disregard."  

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  2. Celeste Monforton Posted 12:12 am
    29 Jan 2008

    $50 million versus $1.5 millionThe disparity in these penalty amounts says a lot about our nation's misplaced values.  A company (Massey), with underground mine working conditions so dangerous that they were characterized as "reckless disregard," kills Don Bragg, 33 and Ellery "Elvis" Hatfield, 46, and is assessed a $1.5 million penalty from MSHA.  That same company is found guilty of driving out competitor mining companies and receives a punitive judgment of $50 million.  That's dozens of times more value on inanimate objects like "competition," "markets" and "business potential" than on real live human beings.  Things are really out of whack.  

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  3. wesrolley Posted 1:10 am
    29 Jan 2008

    Massey WatchAt one time, I ran a blog called PomboWatch.  It stayed up until Richard Pombo was down... for the count.
    It seems to me that a full time MasseyWatch would be a good use of someone's time.  
    I also think it would be a good use of time to pay attention to the acts of Congressman Nick Rahall (D. WV) who chairs the House Committee on Natural Resources... a committee that has much to say about coal and little to say about mountain top removal.
    Don't get me wrong.  Rahall has been a breath of fresh air compared to his predecessors (Pombo and Alaska's Don Young). Still I would question his ability to take any strong action regarding coal demand or coal mining (other than mine safety) and, at the same time, to keep being re-elected from W. Virginia.  

    Wes Rolley



    CoChair - EcoAction Committee

    Green Party US

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  4. Pompey Road Posted 12:03 pm
    29 Jan 2008

    Home of the Mountain King:A little off topic but someone should put Blankenships mansion on the hill on this site. He put his estate on the top of a non-molested mountain as to make some kind of statement. Lord of the Mountains, King of the Hill, whatever. Ironic the guy who destroys mountains for a living, highlights his oplent home on a picturesque mountian scene for all the world to see. He lords over the valley, one of the few he has not buried yet and reigns triumphant as Massey's number 1 flunky. The Magnanimous Master of Mountain Top Removal at the pinicale of his profession, destroyer of the earth. I don't know if that will be his accolade or epitaph. Will probably end up living in a used mobile home on one of his stip jobs by the time the lawyers and tax man gets through with him.

    The eons of time and nature was good to us down here. It was not until we become civilized that destroying our habitat become fathomable or fashionable.

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