“From the Horse’s Mouth”

Shocking Quotes on Mountaintop Removal

 “We’re mining coal with a great deal of stewardship.”

Bill Raney, WV Coal Association

"We're helping to develop the region.  They're just a very emotional, anti-business group ... taking their case to the United Nations, I think, is extremely inappropriate."

                                                                        Bill Caylor, President, Kentucky Coal Association

5/9/07 speaking to reporters on the Coalfield Delegation plea to the U.N.  Read Story

“Mountain top mining does less damage than urban construction because it is temporary and properly managed with proper drainage controls and so forth.  It is something that is ugly during construction, but if you look at it 20 years from now you can hardly see it.  People forget that Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. and Baltimore and New York were some of the pristine beautiful forests and living areas that there were in the United States and that is the reason it became concrete for the rest of our lives.”

Don Blankenship, CEO, Massey Energy

Source:  WVIncOnline  8/1/05

Shocking Quotes from the Coal Industry

"There is no question that the majority party in this country wants to eliminate the coal industry."

Robert Murray

Chairman, president and chief executive of Murray Energy Corp.

Shocking Quotes on “Clean Coal” and Energy Production

“For so many, filthy coal is a dirty four-letter word.  These individuals, I tell you, have their heads buried in the sand.”  

Representative Nick V. Rahall, Democrat of West Virginia

Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee  5/29/07

"Energy equals more clean coal." (modifying the classic “E = mc2” equation)  Read full story

Greg Boyce, President and Ceo, Peabody Energy

Source:  PR Newswire  5/1/07

"It is not an obligation of government to say how a company wants to produce electricity."  Read

Sigmar Gabriel,  Germany’s Environmental Minister

Shocking Quotes on Mining Violations

"For the permits in question, the company believes it achieved a compliance rate of 99 percent or better.  Importantly, the vast majority of incidents at issue had little or no impact on water quality."

Massey Energy responds to Federal Lawsuit

Source:  Forbes Magazine 5/14/07  Read full Story  

"We don't pay much attention to the violation count."

Don Blankenship, CEO, Massey Energy

Source:  Forbes Magazine  9/26/03

Shocking Quotes on Overweight Coal Trucks

“The truth of the matter is . . . four to six fatalities a year, with the number of miles coal trucks are traveling on these highways each year, is no worse than average.”

Don Blankenship, CEO, Massey Energy

Shocking Quotes on Land Reclamation

“You can build on it. You can do something with the land.  The way it was before, it wasn’t worth nothing.”

C. C.,  Dragline Operator, Hazard, KY

“The process commonly includes recontouring or reshaping the land to its approximate original

appearance, restoring topsoil and planting native grasses and ground covers.  Reclamation is closely regulated by both state and federal law, and the coal industry’s outstanding effort in this area has resulted in millions of acres of restored productive land throughout the country.

West Virginia Coal Association Website

Shocking Quotes on Environmental Performance

"Massey Energy has been, and continues to be, respectful of the environment in which we operate. We go to great lengths to ensure compliance with all federal and state regulations."

Don Blankenship, CEO, Massey Energy

Responding to Federal Lawsuit 5/14/07

"The Green Miner Award will be awarded each year to the Massey group with the best environmental performance.  It recognizes diligence and initiative in environmental compliance and reflects our ongoing commitment to doing the right thing - for Massey, our communities and the environment."

Don Blankenship, Massey Chairman and CEO

Speaking on June 21, 2004, Charleston, WV

Shocking Quotes on Labor

Massey Energy Company is pleased to announce that the miners at its Progress Coal Company operation voted against representation by the United Mine Workers of America in a vote of 180 to 110.  (Massey Press Release 4/19/07)     "We are pleased the vast majority of our members at Progress have chosen to vote against the UMWA," said Don L. Blankenship, Chairman, CEO & President. "We appreciate the confidence these members have in their company and are pleased our members can now put this event behind them and focus on what they do best - safely mining coal."

Shocking Speeches (excerpts)

“The nation needs an energy policy that centers on coal.”

“Coal is the key to national security.”

“Coal-fired electric plants can transform the economies of poor countries and eliminate the economic conditions that cause conflict and terrorism.”

“American coal will reduce the need for our young men and women to fight for oil in the Middle East.”"

“Regulators in coal states such as West Virginia need to change as well.  Instead of using investigations and fines to terrorize the industry, Blankenship said regulators should require mine operators to adopt practices that Massey and other companies already are using,  Environmental regulation also must change. Lawsuits that slow down surface mines or try to recover flood damages from mine operators risk driving customers for West Virginia and Central Appalachian coal to foreign suppliers and other states such as Wyoming and Illinois.”

“In 50 years, the biggest criticism of today is going to be that society "sterilized" coal reserves by not allowing mountaintop removal mines.”

Don Blankenship, speaking at the Bluefield Coal Symposium

As reported by the Associated Press  9/28/06

  Read   ShockingFacts