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AP Newsbreak: Massey settles WV coal slurry case

MORGANTOWN, W.Va . (AP) — Mining company Massey Energy has settled a 7-year-old lawsuit with hundreds of southern West Virginia residents who claim the company poisoned their drinking water supplies with coal slurry, a judge who helped broker the deal said Wednesday.

Circuit Judge Alan Moats, who serves on the state's Mass Litigation Panel, told The Associated Press that he and Judge Derek Swope worked with the lawyers until nearly 4 a.m. to hammer out an agreement in Charleston. The financial terms will not be disclosed, but Moats said that as is typical in a settlement, Massey admits no wrongdoing.

Neither lawyers for Massey nor its new owner, Virginia-based Alpha Natural Resources, immediately commented. Attorneys for the plaintiffs also declined comment because both sides remain under a gag order issued last week by a separate panel of judges who were preparing for an Aug. 1 trial.

This was the third attempt to settle the case.

"It was a huge team effort," Moats said, praising both sides for working hard to find common ground after such a long fight. The resolution "shows justice can be done and cases can be officially moved even if they are cases like this."

Some 700 current and former residents of Rawl, Lick Creek, Sprigg and Merrimac sued Massey and its Rawl Sales & Processing subsidiary, claiming the companies contaminated their aquifer and wells by pumping 1.4 billion gallons of toxic coal slurry into worked-out underground mines between 1978 and 1987.

Slurry is created when coal is washed to help it burn more cleanly. The residents say it seeped out of the old mine workings and into their aquifer, turning their well water varying shades of red, brown and black, and causing ailments ranging from learning disabilities to cancer.

For the plaintiffs, Moats said the settlement provides peace of mind.

"Resolving something yourself takes the uncertainty out of it," he said. "I tell people when they come into court, usually it's going to be more palatable than if someone reaches the agreement for you. It's definitely a good thing for the resolution to be reached."

The case would have been heard in a series of trials, with the first seven cases covering only 17 plaintiffs. That left hundreds more cases that would have tied up the courts for months.

For decades, coal companies in Appalachia have injected slurry into worked-out mines as a cheap alternative to dams and other systems that can safely store or treat it. The industry claims underground injection is safe, but critics say slurry leaches into water tables through natural and man-made cracks in the earth.

Massey, Southern W.Va. residents settle coal slurry case - News ...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- After a marathon mediation session that ended just before dawn Wednesday, mining company Massey Energy settled a 7-year-old lawsuit with hundreds of Southern West Virginia residents who say the company poisoned their drinking water supplies with coal slurry.

Circuit Judge Alan Moats, who serves on the state's Mass Litigation Panel, told The Associated Press that he and Judge Derek Swope worked with the lawyers until nearly 4 a.m. to hammer out an agreement in Charleston. The financial terms will not be disclosed, but Moats said that as is typical in a settlement, Massey admits no wrongdoing.

"We're pleased we were able to find an agreeable resolution for all parties,'' said Rick Nida, spokesman for Virginia-based Alpha Natural Resources. Alpha became involved in the case when it bought Massey for $7.1 billion in June and has been considering a deal that would satisfy both sides, he said.

The parties have been subject to a gag order imposed last week, but an attorney for the plaintiffs issued a brief statement by email.

"After a seven-yearlong fight and looking after one another, the good people of Rawl, Lick Creek, Merrimac and Sprigg have achieved a settlement,'' said lawyer Bruce Stanley. "Hopefully, no other West Virginia community will ever again be subjected to such a blatant abuse of basic human needs.''

As Swope and Moats handled mediation of the case, a separate panel of judges was preparing for a trial on Monday. The settlement will avert that trial.

Rawl resident Donetta Blankenship, whose case would have been among the first tried, says she suffered life-threatening liver problems in 2005 and 2006 that she believes were caused by the tainted water. She has since had medical treatment and now gets her water from a public system. Today, Blankenship says, she's healthy.

"I'm thankful it's over,'' she said, adding that she hopes the residents' victory sends a message to other communities facing battles with corporations like Massey.

"People can see that they don't have to put up with it anymore,'' said Blankenship, 44. "I want everybody all over the country to find out they don't have to do that. They can fight and stick together. ... They can fight and win.''

This was the third attempt to settle the case.

"It was a huge team effort,'' Moats said, praising both sides for working hard to find common ground after such a long fight. The resolution "shows justice can be done and cases can be officially moved even if they are cases like this.

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Bulletin - West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station

Bulletin / West Virginia. Agricultural Experiment Station, Morgantown

Annual report of the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station

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