WVa Court Rejects Appeal Of Coal Silo Near School

TIM HUBER

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The West Virginia Supreme Court has rejected an appeal that sought to bar construction of a coal storage silo some 260 feet from an elementary school.

The court said Tuesday in a unanimous opinion that a Kanawha County Circuit judge correctly upheld a state Surface Mine Board decision approving a permit for the silo. The board had approved the permit after it was rejected by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

In the opinion written by Justice Menis Ketchum, the court rejected Coal River Mountain Watch's argument that the permit shouldn't be issued because of an inaccurate map. Coal River Mountain Watch contended a map submitted with the permit application placed the silo outside the mine's boundary.

Markers at the site put the silo inside the boundary and the court said state and federal law clearly define the permit area of a surface mine as the area indicated on the map and identified by markers.

The silo has long been the subject of litigation and protests between surface mining foes, environmentalists and Appalachian coal mining giant Massey Energy Co. The Richmond, Va.-based company's Goals Coal Co. subsidiary already has one storage silo near Marsh Fork Elementary in Raleigh County and maintains that building a second one would reduce airborne dust in the area.