SUNDIAL, W.Va. -- Five protesters say they've been ticketed for trespassing at a Massey Energy surface mine in West Virginia.
The protesters say state police troopers ticketed them Thursday atop the containment dam for a coal slurry pond at Massey's Edwight Surface Mine near Marsh Fork Elementary School. Spokeswoman Nicole Motson says they wanted to draw attention to the potential danger to the school.
The school long has been the focus of protests and lawsuits over Massey's desire to build a second coal silo nearby. Massey already has a silo about 300 feet away.
A spokesman for Richmond, Va.-based Massey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The protest was the third recent instance of civil disobedience targeting surface mining in southern West Virginia.