Water Management Report

2010 – Massey Energy Company

 

 

WHEREAS: In January 2008, Massey agreed to pay a $20 million civil penalty to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Clean Water Act (CWA) violations at Massey’s coalmines in West Virginia and Kentucky. This was the largest civil penalty in EPA's history levied against a company for wastewater discharge permit violations.

 

EPA charged that Massey “illegally poured pollutants into West Virginia and Kentucky waterways about 4,633 times within the past six years” and that Massey discharged metals, sediment, and acid mine drainage into hundreds of rivers and streams in West Virginia and Kentucky in amounts 40 percent or more than allowed. Some pollutants were discharged at levels more than 10 times over the permit limits. “These spills occurred as a result of failures in the processing, storage, and transportation of coal slurry.”  (EPA News Release, January 17, 2008.) http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/dc57b08b 5acd42bc852573c90044a9c4/6944ea38b888dd03852573d3005074ba!OpenDocument

 

In addition to the penalty, Massey was required to invest $10 million to develop and implement procedures to prevent future violations, including a comprehensive environmental compliance program audited by a third party.

 

In August, 2008, Massey published its Inaugural Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report which notes some improvements and investments the company has made and identifies on-going environmental challenges facing the company, e.g.: developing new technologies to meet CWA requirements, and ensuring environmental compliance at all mines and facilities.  

 

The CSR Report states Massey’s commitments to improve environmental performance in key areas: meeting and exceeding CWA requirements for water discharged from active mining operations; reducing water usage to a minimum; and installing real-time water quality testing technology to its more than 2500 water outlets.

 

RESOLVED:  Shareholders request that Massey’s Board of Directors report to shareowners, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, six months prior to the 2011 annual meeting on the company’s progress in implementing the reforms required under the EPA settlement and the commitments stated in its CSR Report, including: the key performance indicators established; actual performance data; all CWA violations; progress in reducing water usage; and the status of the real-time testing systems at all its water outlets.