On December 6, 2011 the Mine Safety and Health Administration announced a $10,825,368 levy against Massey, the largest monetary penalty imposed by the agency in history.

Fluor and Royal Dutch Shell dissolved the Massey Coal Partnership in 1987, with each entity assuming ownership of half of the operations.

Fluor changed the name of the operations it owned back to A. T. Massey Coal Company, initiating a period of significant growth through acquisitions.

[20] In response to a prolonged citizen campaign on the environment, on May 29, 2009 Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee announced his resignation from the Board of Massey Energy.

[23] In January 2008, the company agreed to a $20 million settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to resolve thousands of violations of the Clean Water Act for routinely polluting waterways in Kentucky and West Virginia with coal slurry and wastewater.

[25] The Martin County coal slurry spill was called the worst ever environmental disaster in the southeastern United States by the EPA.

[26] On January 19, 2006, a belt line fire killed miners Don I. Bragg, 33, and Ellery Elvis Hatfield, 47, at Massey's Aracoma Alma Number 1 Mine in Logan County, West Virginia.

[29] The Charleston (WV) Gazette reported on January 15, 2009 that Aracoma widows Delorice Bragg and Freda Hatfield urged U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver to reject Massey's plea bargain and fine for the accident.

[30] Widow Bragg stated that it was clear "that Massey executives expected the Alma Mine to emphasize production over the safety of the coal miners inside."

On February 1, 2006, bulldozer operator Paul K. Moss, 58, of Sissonville, West Virginia died when his machine ruptured a 16-inch (410 mm) natural gas line at Elk Run Coal Co.'s Black Castle surface mine.

The agreement also required Aracoma to pay a $1.7 million fine for civil violations found by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.

[35] On April 5, 2010, an explosion at Massey owned Performance Coal Co. mine in Montcoal, West Virginia resulted in the deaths of 29 miners.

[36] It was claimed, that the FBI had launched a probe investigating the possible bribery of federal officials overseeing mining industry regulation by Massey Energy.

[37][38] In June 2009, a Raleigh County judge granted a preliminary injunction to block anti-mountaintop removal activists from further protests on some Massey Energy sites.

[45] In addition, the payment to the residents of Sylvester, Massey Energy was ordered to construct a cloth dome over their coal processing plant to reduce the dust.

[48] In 2005, some residents of Raleigh County, West Virginia, complained that Massey's Goals Coal Company was endangering the health and well-being of students at the adjacent Marsh Fork Elementary School.

[citation needed] In July 2005, the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection revoked a permit for construction of a coal silo near the school.

However, some local employees and residents supported Massey Energy by arguing that the economic benefits received from the company outweigh the environmental impact to the area.

30 non-violent protestors were arrested, including actress Daryl Hannah, NASA climatologist James E. Hansen, and former West Virginia Congressman Ken Hechler.