Press Release

April 3, 2003

Contact: Dave Cooper or Vivian Stockman, OVEC 304-522-0246 Bill McCabe, CCC, 304-339-2523 Judy Bonds, CRMW, 304-854-0479

Blankenship's sinking ship
Enviro groups: Massey's mess-master must resign

CHARLESTON, W. VA.-After the latest in a long string of bad news for both Massey Energy and the neighbors of its coal mining operations, several West Virginia environmental groups today called on Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship to resign from the company.

"It's time for Don Blankenship to finally give a real-life example of Massey's reality-challenged motto. He could for once help his company in 'doing the right thing with energy' by immediately resigning. His actions have for too long shown extreme disregard for not only the company's stockholders, but, most importantly, the people living near Massey's operations," said Vivian Stockman, communications coordinator for the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently asked Massey to restate its 2001 and 2002 financial figures. The new statement shows Massey lost over $4 million more than it originally reported in 2001. In 2002, the company first reported a net loss of $32 million. After SEC questioning, Massey revised its 2002 loss to $32.6 million. SEC had been examining problems in the company's financial reports since at least February.

Reasons Massey cited for the losses include changes in accounting systems for black lung benefit disabilities, as well as settlements in lawsuits over workers' compensation, a pollution discharge and an unlawful employment termination.

"The fact that Massey's stock is falling is one thing. But the real tragedy is the decline in the property values of the unfortunate people who live in the areas where Massey operates. Massey needs someone at the top who really wants to be a good neighbor, not someone who just gives lip service," said Bill Price, Environmental Justice Resource Coordinator for the Sierra Club.

"The only possible good Don Blankenship has accomplished as CEO of Massey Energy is to acquire a multimillion dollar personal fortune," said Doyle Coakley, immediate past chairman of the Citizens Coal Council. "He admits he was intimately involved in the bitter strikes of the 80s which resulted in massive losses of good union jobs.

"Ultimately, as CEO he must be held responsible for the long list of messes created during his tenure, from the massive slurry spill in Martin County, Ky., to the multitude of smaller blackwater spills, to the jury verdicts finding Massey guilty of unfair competition and polluting its neighbors. Most importantly to Massey stockholders, Blankenship has presided over a pattern of decreasing value in assets, dividends and stock prices. Anyway you look at it, Blankenship's leadership has damaged the company, the company's workers, the communities near the company and the environment in general. If Massey Energy really wants to be a good corporate neighbor, it will get rid of the blight of Don Blankenship," Coakley said.

Groups calling for Blankenship's resignation included Coal River Mountain Watch, Citizens Coal Council, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and West Virginia Citizen Action Group. The groups are members of the Friends of the Mountains, a coalition calling for an end to mountaintop removal coal mining.

"Blankenship likes to say that environmentalists are making high wages pointing out all the problems with his operations. I'd like to have him introduce me to even one West Virginia environmentalist that makes one tenth what he makes, not counting his stock options. Coalfield residents who dare to speak up about what he is doing to our communities will be a lot better off when Blankenship is gone," said Patty Sebok, office manager at Coal River Mountain Watch.

The environmental groups said Massey had a very public, very bad record-bad enough that calling for Blankenship's resignation was highly warranted and long overdue.

Among "Massey Mega-Messes" the group cited:

. Workers Comp: Massey seems to make a practice of dodging workers' compensation payments by using "contractors." In 2001, the Charleston Gazette's investigative reporter Paul Nyden found that Massey "contractors" owed $71 million in unpaid workers' compensation charges.

. Unsafe working conditions: In 2001 Massey Energy had nearly 50% of mine deaths in the state. The United Mine Workers of America has decried the company's union-busting tactics and safety record.

. The Oct. 2000 Martin County, Ky., coal sludge impoundment disaster: A Massey Energy subsidiary was responsible for 306 million gallons of slurry that deeply covered people's lawns and gardens, and spilled into 75 miles of waterways in the southeast's worst-ever environmental disaster. The company had been forewarned of potential catastrophe, after an earlier spill in 1994. The company used inaccurate mine maps while building the huge slurry "lake."

. Illegal competition: Massey lost a lawsuit filed by a coal company that said Massey breached contracts, thus forcing the company to close.

. Multiple and frequent blackwater spills from subsidiaries including Independence Coal, Marfork Coal, Elk Run Coal, Green Valley Coal: The Lyburn Hollow valley fill/settling pond disaster last July was one extreme example in a long list of spills. On March 10, the latest reported spill, a Massey subsidiary released tens of thousands of gallons of blackwater into a tributary of the Tug Fork River. On March 13, two Massey subsidiaries were ordered to pay $200,000 in fines for polluting a Boone County creek.

. Coal dust: Despite years of citizens' requests and Department of Environmental Protection orders, a Massey subsidiary repeatedly released coal dust into Sylvester; W. Va. Citizens recently won court-ordered protections from the Massey dusting.

. "Greenwashing": Massey Energy prefers to run public relations campaigns rather than take actual steps to clean up its impact on citizens and the environment.

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