2/5/2003

Lawyer urges jurors to put coal company under court supervision

By MARTHA BRYSON HODEL

Associated Press Writer

MADISON, W.Va. (AP) -- A lawyer representing about 150 residents asked jurors on Wednesday to put a Massey Energy subsidiary under the court's supervision, claiming the company has operated with "complete indifference'' to its neighbors.

The plaintiffs, all residents of Sylvester, are suing Elk Run Coal over coal dust from its operations that they say covers their homes and cars. The lawsuit, filed in Boone County Circuit Court, seeks more than $3 million in damages and other compensation.

The trial started in October and jurors heard closing arguments Wednesday.

Brian Glasser, the residents' lawyer, said a coal crushing machine at Elk Run's operations outside the town was supposed to have been enclosed in a building 21 years ago. In August 2002, the machine was still in the open, he said.

"That's complete indifference to your neighbors. ... These violations are obviously intentional,'' Glasser said.

Elk Run's lawyer, Al Emch, told jurors that the company's operations are "well-run, well-maintained, and well-cared for. It provides 500 jobs. It's something we need to keep ... something we need to be tolerating.''

Glasser showed jurors photographs of similar coal operations in Wyoming, Illinois, England and Russia that he said had no dust problems. He argued that technology exists to control dust but that Elk Run has failed to use it.

"Elk Run's lawyer promised you there was no coal company anywhere in the world that took more steps than Elk Run to control the dust. That is a total fabrication. That was complete hogwash,'' Glasser said.

Glasser said publicity about the town's dust problem has hurt property values.

In 2001, the state Department of Environmental Protection ordered Elk Run to remove or cover coal stockpiles to limit the amount of dust blowing across Sylvester. The company erected a nylon dome last year over some of its coal handling areas.

Glasser asked jurors to put Elk Run under court supervision, saying the company will not correct the dust problem unless it is forced to do so.

"They're going to do what they want to do. We're tired of that,'' he said.

Emch said the media and environmental groups have unfairly portrayed Elk Run's operations as a blight. He said dust is not unusual in coalfield communities and that it has not caused any health problems.

"Was it intolerable or was it just some variation of normal, or close to normal, for a number of small southern West Virginia coal communities?'' Emch asked.

"It's not like they drove one of these big trucks through someone's house. There are no allegations of health damage.''

Emch said the complaints are due in part to the aging of Sylvester's population.

"It has gotten older and most of the residents no longer work in the coal industry. They were less tolerant of the coal industry,'' he said.

Jury deliberations were expected to begin Wednesday afternoon.

Massey, based in Richmond, Va., is West Virginia's largest coal producer and the seventh largest in the nation. The company employs about 5,000 people in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. Massey owns 18 mining complexes in central Appalachia, including operations in Logan, Mingo, Raleigh and Boone counties.