FAIRMONT, W.Va. (AP) — Most of the protesters arrested at a West Virginia power plant linked to Sen. Joe Manchin have settled trespassing cases.
Twelve of the 16 protesters arrested last weekend at the Grant Town Power Plant in Marion County settled cases on Friday, the activist group West Virginia Rising said.
All 16 were arrested this past Saturday for trespassing after forming a human chain, The Dominion Post reported.
The protest attracted about 200 people to call attention to the plant’s burning of low-grade coal, which emits more pollution.
Manchin’s son runs the plant and burns the low-grade coal sold by Enersystems, the senator’s company. Manchin, Democrat, is chairman of the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Among the protesters last week was J. Davitt McAteer, the former mine safety chief in the Clinton administration.
McAteer said Manchin “appears to be contributing mightily to the problem (of coal pollution) while reaping untold benefits,” he said.