"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' "clean up" of the flood-ravaged area cost $3.7 million. The state of West Virginia negotiated with the federal government until 1988, finally agreeing to repay $9.5 million to cover clean-up costs and a portion of the interest. The state sued Pittston for $100 million, $50 million of which was earmarked to recoup the cost of damages and recovery efforts. Governor Moore negotiated a final $1-million settlement just three days prior to leaving office in 1977." [Please remember this is the governor who, while in office, was found with something like $20,000 cash in his desk drawer that he didn't know where it had come from. He's out of jail now and trying to get his law license back. --Granny]
"Numerous lawsuits were filed. In the largest class action suit, some 600 survivors and family members of victims sued Pittston for $64 million. They settled out of court for $13.5 million in 1974, with each individual receiving an average of $13,000 after legal costs. A 70-year-old man commented to a Pittston attorney, "I've often thought some of this stuff could have been avoided if somebody would have come around and said, `Here's a blanket and here's a dress for your wife' or `Here's a sandwich. Could I give you a cup of coffee?' But they never showed up. Nobody showed up to give us a place to stay. . . The Pittston Company never offered me a pair of pants to put on, no shirt. . . ."
quote from Everything in Its Path,
by Kai T. Erikson
"The lawyers for the plaintiffs,Arnold & Porter of Washington,D.C., donated a portion of their legal fees for the construction of a new community center. The state never built the center promised by Governor Moore in May, 1972." (Quote from http://www.wvlc.wvnet.edu/history/ buffcreek/ bctitle.html)
In 1999 there are still over 400 similar "dams" left in West Virginia. Oddly, the dam inspectors (I think there are two) for the state are underfunded by our ex-coal-company-executive governor. He can't quite get the personnel out there to inspect these models of safe civil engineering on a regular basis. Might it be that he is oh...let's say influenced.--Granny