A Massey Energy subsidiary has been cited for blasting violations at a mountaintop removal mine on Coal River Mountain, a site where environmental groups have campaigned to put a wind energy facility instead of a strip mine.

DEP officials said that State Department of Environmental Protection inspectors cited Massey's Marfork Coal Company last week after the company repeatedly used incorrect calculations that led to a larger explosive load than allowed by law.

According to a notice of violation issued by DEP on November 4th 2009, Marfork was ordered to begin using the correct calculations and to amend its blasting log to reflect the earlier errors. DEP officials have not yet assessed a fine. The notice said that "Failure to use the closest structure caused the allowed maximum weight of explosives to be detonated in any eight millisecond period to be exceeded.”

Mr Tom Clarke director of the DEP Division of Mining and Reclamation said that he did not know what the difference in distance between the gas well and the gas line was. But the incident was not considered a major violation. He said that "Given the nature of what happened, we don't believe any members of the public or employees of Massey were in danger but they were still in violation.”

Mr Jeff Gillenwater a spokesman for Massey said that the notice of violation was the result of a 7 millisecond delay, instead of an 8 millisecond delay, between 2 holes that were part of the overall shot.

(Sourced from wvgazette.com)