The permit for the second structure at the Goals Coal facility, located near Marsh Fork Elementary School in Sundial, West Virginia, was suspended when doubts surfaced regarding the legitimacy of maps Massey submitted with its original application.

Newer maps illustrated an extended boundary line of 75ft, exactly enough to include the anticipated 168ft-high silo.

Because the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved the plans based on older maps – which did not show the boundary as overstepping a government mandate making construction of new coal facilities within 300ft of a school illegal – the application was suspended while an investigation was conducted.

The maps submitted earlier in the year showed it would be on property where operations were authorized prior to the law, enacted in 1977.

“The maps were inaccurate, the company did not have an appropriate response, so now the permit has been rescinded,” said DEP spokesperson Jessica Greathouse. Massey’s existing silo is not affected by the decision.

The Goal Coal complex as a whole has been the recent target of activist groups, including Coal River Mountain Watch and Mountain Justice Summer; they claim dust from the operation infiltrates the nearby school and causes respiratory problems.

Their list of demands to Massey includes closing the preparation plant, an 1849-acre mine-site and a 2.8-billion gallon coal sludge dam about 1200ft from the school.

In response, Massey recently launched an advertising campaign to demonstrate its commitment to a “total environment” in the state and what it was doing to give back, accusing protestors of forgetting about “the needs of the people”