This is *TOO* funny!

Massey Energy fine sets record

Richmond-based firm to pay $20 million to settle pollution claims

Friday, Jan 18, 2008 - 12:09 AM Updated: 01:24 AM

By GREG EDWARDS AND REX SPRINGSTON
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS

Richmond's Massey Energy Co. set a record yesterday for a corporate water-polluter.
Massey Energy settled a lawsuit with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, agreeing to pay a $20 million civil penalty, the largest ever for a water-pollution case.

The violations occurred in West Virginia and Kentucky.

The nation's fourth-largest coal producer also agreed to invest about $10 million at mining operations in Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia to ensure that the pollution never happens again, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

"This is a landmark case," said Robert Klepp, the EPA's lead attorney in the case.

"Because of the penalty, there is a strong signal to Massey and everyone else . . . that it doesn't pay to pollute," Klepp said in a phone interview.

The Massey Energy case gives Virginia the dubious distinction of having a connection to the EPA's two top civil penalties involving wastewater permits.

The second-largest penalty is the $12.4 million ($15.9 million in today's dollars) that a federal judge imposed on Smithfield Foods in 1997 for polluting a tributary of the James River in Isle of Wight County.

Even as technology improves to allow the cleaner burning of coal, the Massey Energy case shows that lots of pollution can occur before that coal is burned, said Cale Jaffe, an attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, an environmental group.

"We need to be looking at the extraction side as well," Jaffe said.

Massey Energy's stock closed at $28.86 yesterday, down $3.46 or 10.7 percent, on news of the EPA settlement.

However, by removing the uncertainty that had surrounded the lawsuit, the settlement is positive for the company, said Steven F. Marascia, a securities analyst with Anderson & Strudwick in Richmond. The cost of the settlement should be something that Massey Energy can absorb, he said.

The fine is much higher than the $5 million the company had initially estimated and had set aside, but lower than some analysts had predicted. The additional $15 million will be charged against Massey Energy's earnings in the fourth quarter of 2007 and will not be deductible for income-tax purposes, the company said.

Massey Energy will not report fourth-quarter earnings until the end of January. For the first nine months of last year, ending Sept. 30, the company reported profits of $89 million on sales of $1.56 billion.

The settlement "will benefit the environment as well as our shareholders," Baxter Phillips Jr., a member of Massey Energy's board of directors, said in a statement.

"When we factored in the costs and uncertainties of litigation and the absorption of management time on the matter, we concluded that our shareholders would best be served by a timely settlement," Phillips said.

In a complaint filed last year, the government alleged that Massey violated the Clean Water Act's permit rules more than 4,500 times between January 2000 and December 2006. The violations resulted in the discharge of excess amounts of metals, sediment and acid mine drainage into hundreds of rivers and streams, the Justice Department said.

Some pollutants were discharged at levels more than 10 times over permit limits, the government said.

The EPA also charged the company with spilling large amounts of slurry -- waste containing metals and sediment -- numerous times into local waterways. Sediment can clog streams and kill fish.

The settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval of a federal judge in West Virginia.

(Now, if only someone would sue them for the second highest fine for scalping all those innocent mountains...)

I'm A Celebrity!

As previously noted, people seem to think I look like Dwight Yoakam...

I've also heard that I look like Lars Ulrich from Metallica...

Now there's a new one. This shopping lady said that I look like Dave Grohl...

I still like Baby Girl's comparison the best. She says that I look like my favorite actor, Nicolas Cage...

Graffiti Lives!

The following is the first installment of "WDN Graffiti." As you'll see, some of it goes back quite a few years. That's how it ties in with the grand-daddy of Cruel Music, WDN. We used to do this crap all the time for WDN. Seems like only yesterday... So, yeah, I'll scan these (HUNDREDS) of pictures from time to time, and post them up here as "Graffiti." Enjoy the dumbness of it all!

Moments Ago...

Earlier today we saw "National Treasure 2." Awesome movie! And, then, more pictures...

Renovations

The blog is kinda screwy right now... I'm renovating it a little, and getting ready for the big, annual new web site design (coming February 1st, with any luck). Been creating some new links, buttons, templates, and all that jazz. Fun, nerdy stuff... Heh. But, it should look really neat when I get everything done. I'm even going to have some animation this year! I've wanted to animate the page, pretty much, ever since I started it. This year it's actually becoming a reality! Baby Girl found this cool animation site, and I've been playing around with it. The Cruel Music page is going to be 10 years old this year, so I've gotta make it a little flashy!

New Year's Eve Jam

Here's some of the last pictures I appeared in for 2007:

Headbanging or about to fall forward? You make the call...

And, here's a bonus one... This is Ozzy, stoned, lasted night:

Song of the moment...

"The Great Destroyer"

~Nine Inch Nails

Say your name.
Try to speak as clearly as you can.
You know everything gets written down.
Nod your head.
Just in case they could be watching.
With their shiny satellite.

I hope they cannot see.
The limitless potential.
Living inside of me.
To murder everything.
I hope they cannot see.
I am the great destroyer.

Turn it up.
Listen to the shit they pump into your head.
Filling you with apathy.
Hold your breath.
Wait until you know the time is right on time.
The end is near.

I hope they cannot see.
The limitless potential
Living inside of me.
To murder everything.
I hope they cannot see
I am the great destroyer

Learning how to take pix with the timer...

My Christmas In Photography

Around 3:30, my mom and dad picked me up, and took me to 10's house for Christmas dinner.

10 greeted us in the kitchen...

Debra was there for a few minutes, with the baby. Of course, Mom had to have another picture with him (she has, like, 15 million of those by now...).

Molly was there, too!

Dinner is served (around 4:30).

After eating (WAYYYYYY too much), I worked on the cover of the 3 Santas album.

And, here's the finished product... Well, kinda (the camera flash killed it on this picture).

Merry Christmas!!!

We got a cool new web cam for Christmas. See?

I was sick yesterday... Finished the Christmas album last night, and doing the cover art as we speak. It's pretty dumb... I'm feeling better today, but still a little weak, and snotty. I survived work another year! Playing with the new Nine Inch Nails remix data thing (another Christmas gift)... Read the first page of Slash's book (yet another Christmas gift)... Graduated college... Hey, Merry Christmas, y'all!!!

Christmas Album!!!

Hey, I'm currently in the process of recording a Christmas album. Cruel Music has been around for all these years... I don't even know how many years! What is it, like, 15, maybe? Anyway, it's been around for 14 or 15 years, and we've never did a Christmas album... Until now!!! Can't really say much about it right now, but, trust me, it's going to be the best Christmas album ever recorded! "10" did guest vocals for one song ("O Holy Night"), today. I hope to have this thing done within the next day or so. Busy, busy!

New WDN Poopie!

WDN just won't seem to go away! Yeah, WDN has had many incarnations since its humble beginnings in 1988. We started out with cassette tapes, then video tapes, and then we invaded the Internet, with such gems as "Chatters" and "Musings." Today was my last day of college, so I'll have time to do goofy stuff again! So, I'm proud to announce the birth of "WDN Graffiti." Well, kinda... It doesn't have a page yet, but I'm working on it! What is it? It's an assortment of newspaper clippings, pictures, and books that I've vandalized over the years, and turned into humorous little works of art. Coming soon...

Party Like It's 1998!

The computer got a nasty virus, last week. Thank you for that, by the way, Mr. Hacker Sir. Greatly appreciated. Many thanks! So, yeah, the good old, trusty HP Pavillion is, seemingly, dead now. It was getting old, and all, anyway. I bought it in 2003, but still... What gives you, Mr. Hacker Sir, the right to hack in to it, and give it a terrible, nasty virus?! Get a life, man! Leave us alone already! Sheesh! Ya know? I deleted the virus, and now the computer won't even boot up. Weird... After a week of no internet, and a week of falling behind in my classes, we're finally back online. Kinda. Brought the old Acer Aspire back to life for a bit, until we can figure out what's going on with the HP. And, when I say "old Acer," I mean oooooolllllldddddd!!! This thing is the first computer I ever got. I got this computer for Christmas back in 1997. It has Windows 98 on it, and everything! Heh heh. Umm... Yeah... Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!

From Last To First

Last night was my fifth concert... Here's a look back at my very first concert. I did this review for the Cruel Music web site way back on December 13, 1998, and it has just been sitting here on this old floppy disc, forgotten about until now:

AEROSMITH
December 13, 1998


All quotes are by Steven Tyler, unless otherwise noted.

My seat: Section 28, Row OO, Seat #22. It was a floor seat, about 20 rows away from the stage. Once the big rock show started, I could actually feel the heat from the pyrotechnics.

7:30pm The opening band, Seven Mary Three, hits the stage.

8:05 Seven Mary Three announces that they only have one more show with AEROSMITH. They thank the audience, and leave the stage.

8:35 The curtains on the stage fall. Egyptian-type music starts playing. The curtains begin changing colors from the lights. Six silhouettes appear on the curtain. One, who was standing with a microphone, starts making shadow puppets of a bird in flight…

Back in the Saddle starts playing. The curtains go up, revealing Aerosmith and their awesome stage setup, when the singing starts… “Good Evening Huntington!” Love in An Elevator… After the song, “Uhhh…. I can’t believe it, I’m at a f%#$ing loss for words! As this guy (Joe Perry) says, we’ll ‘let the music do the talking.’” Falling in Love (Is Hard On The Knees)… “This is off our new album, ‘A Little South of Sanity.’” Eat the Rich. I could have sworn it was on “Get a Grip” before it was on “Sanity,” but who am I to argue?! “Burrrrp.”… Seasons of Wither. “That’s what we call old school, boys and girls.”… Rag Doll… Dream On… Janie’s Got a Gun. Apparently Joey Kramer had a gun too! The opening drum beats could almost knock you off your feet they were so loud!… “What kind of love are you on, baby?” What Kind of Love Are You On… Kiss Your Past Goodbye… “Time for a little more old school.” Same Old Song And Dance… For the next song, Steven has on a top hat that he took from someone in the front row. Pink. Complete with pink lights… “This one is not old school, and it’s not new school. It’s somewhere in between.” Some Kind of Lady. I’m assuming that was the name of this one. I had never heard it before. It was a cool blues song… Draw The Line. “More old school for you.”… “Ladies and gentlemen, on the guitar, playing his a$$ off, and singing his a$$ off, Mr. Joe f#$%ing Perry.” Joe Perry: “And this is your brain on the blues.” Stop Messin’ Around. At the end of the song, the band went into a cool jamming instrumental… Steven then goes into the Intro from “Eat the Rich,” “Wake up kids…etc.” Walk This Way… “This next one is about some guy who was f#$%ing around with my daughter.” I don’t Want To Miss A Thing… Cryin’… Dude (Looks Like A Lady). “Thank you Huntington. Goodnight.”… Chants of “We want more” feel the arena.
-ENCORE-
The band walks back out. “Now I look like a big rock star.” Steven has a pink feathered scarf on. “Yeah right… s#$t.” Big 10 Inch Record. “Let’s just lock the doors, and play all night!”… “Let’s see what this young lady wrote for me: ‘Steven, I have a red corvette. If you can beat me, you can eat me.’” He then stuffs the letter down his pants… What it Takes. “And I still remember that one’s phone number!”… Instrumental. “Ladies and gentlemen, on the bass guitar, Mr. Tom Hamilton.” Sweet Emotion. It had a medley of more older tunes that I did not recognize toward the end… “Goodnight Huntington, God bless you, we love you!” The audience, for some strange reason, get up and start to leave before the band even left the stage. “HEY!!! Sit you’re a$$es down, the show’s not over yet!” Steven introduces the band; Tom, Brad, Russ Irwin, Joey, and Joe. Joe Perry then introduces Steven: “And last but not least, weighing in at 145 pounds, the screaming demon, Steven Tyler.” Steven: “Goodnight Huntington, we love you.” I think they were probably going to do another encore, but the audience acted like they were in a hurry to get out, so Aerosmith left.

My Big, Wild Hinder Night

Last night I saw my fifth concert, Hinder. Good times! The first band was some goofs, called 12 Stones. Next, was Papa Roach. That was my second time seeing Papa Roach. They opened for Guns N' Roses, last year. Too bad I don't like Papa Roach, huh? I mean, they put on a good show, and all, but they're just not my style. Too rappy for me. Finally, after a ridiculous amount of roadie stage time, a video came on the curtain. Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" played, as the guys from Hinder got out of a limo. It showed some back-stage, meet-and-greet stuff for a bit, and then the intro to Bon Jovi's "Let It Rock" started playing. And then, the curtain dropped, and, low and behold, there was Hinder! They started out with "How Long," followed by "Home Coming Queen," and then "Bliss." "Nothin Good About Goodbye," and "Better Than Me." Then, they played a new song called "Heaven Lost You." Very cool! "By The Way," "Born To Be Wild," and another great, new song, "Thing For You." And closing it all out, they played "Room 21," "Lips Of An Angel," and "Get Stoned." It was a good show, but it was a short show. 12 songs?! No encore?! Anyway, yeah, it rocked! The smell of the arena is still locked in my nose...

(Long-Overdue) Update

Hey, how's it going? I've been kinda busy with college, as you might've guessed by now. Haven't had much time for any of this nonsense. After sitting here on my bum, pretty much, all day today, and not doing anything productive, I thought I'd take a minute to update my fans on what's going on in Junebug-Land (patent pending, all rights reserved).

College: Tough. Lame. Boring. Sucks. I'm doing pretty good, though. I'd better be, after wasting all this time! I'm over halfway done now. Only about a month left, actually! Woo hoo!!!

Jonathan:



















Growing! Heh heh.

Also, I'm going to take a moment to relax, next Saturday, and see Hinder in concert!

WDN Chatters 908

I'm taking a well-deserved, hard-earned break from my hectic work/school schedule to do a new survey... And, by "new" I mean that it's been lying around since, like, May waiting for me to do it... Here:

If you could get a tattoo today what would you get and where?
I'd kinda like to get a tattoo of a piece of poop on my butt.

What is your favorite thrill ride of all time?
By "thrill ride" do you mean, like, amusement park ride? If so, then I'd say the Hurricane. That was cool.

Have you ever been in the NASA ball at any carnival or festival?
The what?! I went to NASA's Astronaut Hall Of Fame one time. That was great!

What is on top of your dresser at home?
A tv.

Do you actually hang your clothes on hangers?
Of course. Why wouldn't I?! They'd get all wrinkled up, and stuff, if not.

How often do you do an all out cleaning of the house?
Whenever it needs it.

If you had the money to pay someone to follow you around all day, what would that person be doing?
Umm... Following me around all day! Did you forget that fast?!

What was your favorite childhood board game?
I wasn't really into board games. I had this Mario Brothers game, and Monopoly, and all that, but we didn't play them very much.

What is your favorite board game now?
As if my tastes have changed over the years? No, dude. Nothing.

What was your favorite game to play in gym class?
Kick ball. I was going to go pro with that one. Dodge Ball was pretty awesome, too.

Where do you work and what do you do?
I work at an artificial cow processing plant, where I am in charge of all business transactions involving feces.

What did you want to be when you grew up when you were in 4th grade?
Nothing. I kid you not. I knew from an early age that I didn't belong here, and that I didn't agree with society's rules, and that it's wrong to have to work to "live."

Do you know how to ski/snowboard?
No, but I'm going to learn one day.

Can you do a backbend?
No. I have six herniated discs in my spine.

Do you like to jump on trampolines?
Yes, I did enjoy it quite a bit before I herniated the six discs in my spine.

Do your parents have a pool and if they do can I come visit?
They had a pool until the mud slide buried it in 2003.

What is your favorite cereal to eat for breakfast?
Golden Grahams, mostly. Also Honey Combs, Lucky Charms, and Apple Jacks. Pac Man cereal was my all-time favorite, but they kinda stopped making that in, like, 1986.

What was the worst Christmas present you have ever received?
Nothing has ever been bad, really. I'm just thankful for what I get, and what I've got, and that I'm alive to celebrate Christmas.

If you could own any exotic animal for a pet (tame of course) what would you get?
I don't know! A shark, maybe?

Do you like strobe lights?
Yeah, sure.

What size is your bed?
Queen.

What is your favorite food item to make?
Pancakes.

If Christmas was tomorrow what would be on your wish list?
Anything, really. Or, nothing at all. I'm happy regardless.

Have you ever made a snow man?
Yeah, pretty much every time it's ever snowed deep enough to do such a thing.

Do you have a tradition that seems silly?
They may seem silly to other people, but they make perfect sense to me... Like, I always watch "Groundhog Day" every year on Groundhog Day. I always watch "The Mothman Prophecies" on Halloween. I always watch "Family Man" on Christmas. I like to go into a trance every New Year's Eve, and "see" what's going to happen in the following year.

What is your favorite Yankee candle scent?
My what?!

What kind of shampoo do you use?
Whatever.

Would you cut your hair today if you had the chance?
No. I stopped cutting my hair in 2005.

What do you do right before you go to bed?
Pray.

What is your favorite flavor tea?
Lipton Brisk Iced Green Apple Tea is great... Also raspberry green tea, and goji berry green tea, and ginger chamomile.

What is your starbucks usual?
I refuse to spend my hard-earned money in that greedy place. But, in other, more sensible, coffee shops I love french vanilla frappes, and gingerbread cappuccinos.

What is your favorite kind of cake?
There is no bad cake. Every cake is my favorite cake. Particularly black forest cakes.

Are you having a problem blowing out all your candles on your birthday recently?
No. I don't smoke.

Do you take pictures of yourself frequently?
Not really. My mom takes pictures of myself frequently, though.

Do you consider yourself a good gift giver?
In my younger days.

Has anyone ever told you that you look like someone famous?
Yes. People say that I look like Elmo on a daily basis.

What is sitting in your DVD player at home?
Nothing can sit in my DVD player it's too small... If you're asking what movie is in it, though, then I'd tell you "VH1 Classic Albums: Nirvana 'Nevermind.'"

What is the next piece of furniture you need to buy on your "need to get" list?
A new bed would be cool... But, again, I'm happy, and thankful for what I have.

When was your last water balloon war?
That time me, Roger, and Nathan threw water balloons at passing cars, back in 1990. They got in trouble, but I escaped.

On a scale of 1-10 how vain are you?
I'm so vain I probably think this song is about me. So, I guess that'd have to be a 10.