According to the Associated Press, the court decided in a unanimous vote on Tuesday to allow the silo in Raleigh County, siding with the SMB’s earlier decision.
The SMB approved the application after the state Department of Environmental Protection rejected it in 2005.
The long-standing issue with the planned construction has been its proximity, 260 feet, to the adjacent Marsh Fork Elementary School.
Residents and anti-coal protesters have spoken out about the plans, arguing that the permit should not be issued due to an inaccurate map that actually placed the silo outside of the mine’s property and on the school’s land.
The Massey complex already has a silo and, according to various media reports, that structure is 240ft from the school.
The high court said this week that the second silo would be within the original permit area based on maps and perimeter markers, according to the AP.
Also, Massey’s Goals Coal subsidiary maintains that the second structure will help reduce airborne dust in the area.
Massey officials did not respond by press time to an ILN request for comment and details about the construction schedule of the new 168ft silo.
However, spokesperson Jeff Gillenwater told the news service that the company was happy the case was over and that the court agreed with the producer’s position.
"This case involves the interpretation of several statutes," Justice Menis Ketchum said in the hearing’s letter for the majority, noting that the case did not include the public policy effects of state and federal reclamation and surface mining acts.
“We are aware of the extensive public concern about appellee Goals Coal's decision to construct a second coal silo less than a football field's length from an elementary school,” he said.
"The DEP has determined it must allow the construction to occur in deference to statutory law [and] the wisdom or desirability of these decisions are outside the province of the judicial branch."
Anti-coal group Coal River Mountain Watch spoke out against the high court’s decision and, according to the AP, called on state governor Joe Manchin to replace the school.
"The court has given Massey Energy the go-ahead to put more tons of fine coal dust in the air that children breathe every school day during their crucial development years,” the group said.
“Placing a second coal silo within 300 feet of the school is a clear violation of the intent of the law, which is to protect the public."
The permit for the silo was originally submitted to the DEP in June 2005.
Massey took over the Goals Coal facility complex in 1994 from Peabody Energy, which operated it with union members for about a decade.
