Some Coal River Valley residents say Massey Energy is blasting too close to a giant coal slurry dam on Coal River Mountain. Lorelei Scarbro of Rock Creek said " We need to protect our homes. We need to let everyone know that it's not necessary to do what they've doing. We're not here because we're radical environmentalists or wackos. " The arguments are not new, but concerns of some Coal River Valley residents have heightened since blasting got underway this falll at a Massey Energy mining operation near Whitesville.

Several, familiar faces in the environmental groups fighting mountaintop removal, voiced concern in Charleston Friday. They say the Massey mining operation is blasting too close to a giant coal slurry impoundment on Coal River Mountain. Chuck Nelson is a coal miner from Glen Daniels. He said " You know it's a threat to the entire community (Whitesville) by Massey's own word IF this dam failed 998 people would lose their lives and I feel like that's a conservative number."

The same arguments were voiced prior to blasting. Both Massey and state government said and say the coal waste dam is safe. The contour mining mine site on Coal River Mountain has been the subject of intense dispute between Massey and environmentalists who wish it were a wind farm.