WVa Flood Victims Blame Highway, Va. Coal Company

VICKI SMITH

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — A group of southern West Virginia residents has sued four coal companies over the strip mining that helped build the King Coal Highway, claiming it has contributed to devastating flooding.

Twenty families along Pigeon Creek have filed property damage cases in Mingo County Circuit Court, naming as defendants Alpha Natural Resources Inc. of Abingdon, Va., and three subsidiaries, Nicewonder Contracting, White Flame Energy and Cobra Natural Resources.

Alpha, however, denied any wrongdoing late Friday and said that it was not cited for any stormwater runoff violations after the spring flood that damaged thousands of homes.

"It was a natural disaster caused by exceedingly high rainfalls and ground saturation," said company spokesman Ted Pile, adding that 4.5 inches of rain fell between May 8 and the morning of May 9. "It was an act of God, not an act of man."

A motion filed with the lawsuits Thursday says they are the first of dozens to come, with at least 20 more expected by people who live along Mate Creek. The plaintiffs want their cases transferred to a mass litigation panel appointed by the state Supreme Court.