[Wildcatk23]

Every regulatory department in the US government has its share of anti-industry employees. Lynn Martin, a Republican who served as Interior Secretary under George H. W. Bush, was one of the most anti-coal crusaders that we have ever had. She fancied herself a potential presidential candidate and engaged in a vendetta against the coal industry to generate publicity for herself.

Do you want to correct the record about the amount of the fine that Massey was assessed? I assume that since you discovered Spadaro's name that you probably stumbled upon the exact amount of the fine as well.

Yes The Correct amount is not what u have given either.

Instead, the number was whittled down to two with a total fine of $110,000. Massey Energy appealed those citations; one was removed. The only federal violation Massey is cited with is for failing to properly notify MSHA about changes in water flow from the impoundment; fine: $55,000.

A fine by the state of Kentucky was much stiffer. (Martin County Coal) agreed in the summer of 2002 to pay $3.25 million in penalties and damages, the largest mining-related fine in the state's history.

Massey Energy says it has spent over $40 million in cleanup costs. But Massey's CEO, Don Blankenship, also announced during a conference call with investment bankers on July 31, 2003, that the company had just won a $21 million insurance settlement for property damage and business interruptions that resulted from the October 2000 slurry spill.